Start or end your story with someone being soothed by a hug or words of comfort.

Posted in Short Story on Jan 24, 2025

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✍️ 47 stories

“Confession is Good for the Soul” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #287

Confession is Good for the SoulTimmy always had trouble coloring between the lines, and he questioned why the 6 on his paint-by-number kit didn’t infringe a bit more on the 7. He was disturbed by the differences between blue, light blue, sky blue, and pale blue. Corn Flakes vs. Post Toasties. Coke vs. Pepsi. Porridge vs. oatmeal. It was all so confusing. Timmy wanted clear demarcations for all elements in his life. The subject matter of his angst had always been of little consequence until his 2nd grade class at St. Mary’s began preparation ...

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“Before the Last Light Fades” by DionTre Speller

Submitted to Contest #287

The sky hung heavy with smoke, the distant cries of the oppressed swallowed by the towering buildings of a city once free. A mother and daughter weaved through the shadows, their breath shallow, their hands concealed beneath tattered gloves. Vale gripped Iris’s tiny hand as they maneuvered through the ruins of their former home, each step a calculated whisper in the night. The Iron Thorn’s brand was the mark of submission or death. And they would take neither. The air carried the scent of decay, a putrid reminder of the regime’s cruelty. Peo...

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“#KipRunsFast” by Lila Evans

Submitted to Contest #287

Here’s the truth: this gear is nothing without me. My legs, my mind, my talent—that’s what makes the magic happen. Sorry to everyone who bought the same shoes thinking they’d run like me. They won’t. #KipAndOnlyKip #WahoosAreTheFuture #KipRunsFast. These are the types of posts Kip Hoffbloom posted – along with a perfectly curated flat lay of his gear, with a trophy in the corner for motivation, and his lucky blue Brooks hat. One could imagine him posting, quickly exiting out, and waiting for his phone to chirp out notifications. Kip was trai...

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“If I Fell...” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #287

The smell of sawdust assaults Arthur’s nostrils as he waits patiently for the high wire act to finish. His face is hot beneath the white greasepaint that hides his handsome face and his heart thumps wildly as he gazes upwards. One of the tightrope walkers stumbles and sways and the crowd gasps, holding its breath lest the diminutive man falls. He won’t, of course: Pippo is one of the most talented acrobats in the business. He may be small in stature, but his talent is gigantic. He is the brother of Lorenzo, the circus ringmaster, and the hus...

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“The Dusk” by Raye McLaughlin

Submitted to Contest #287

I flinched as Caprio delivered the killing blow, my hands forming tight fists. Inside, I knew the elven guard he was fighting didn't have to die- and worse, he did, too. Yet he still chose to kill her. “ Rivvil-” I muttered the slur to myself, trying to keep in mind how many lives I was saving by traveling with this man, however morally neutral he was. Still, she was a graceful and disciplined fighter, only doing her job. And I hate to see elves die. They are an intelligent peo...

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“The Last Human on Earth” by Chenchen Du

Submitted to Contest #287

So this is it," she peers up at the blackened sky while sitting with perfectly balance on a piece of driftwood. "This has been what you have wanted to see, Ting." Su Yu Ting is the last human left on Earth. She looks like she did when she was in her mid-twenties. She's from the North of a Kingdom that laid in the middle of the Earth, or so they thought, the ancient people of the Middle Kingdom. Her silky black hair cut into a bob that was easy to wash, black eyes that are both sharp with too keen of a curiosity for a human and too ble...

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“My Friend Freddy” by Joyce McBurney

Submitted to Contest #287

MY FRIEND, FREDDYA true story The year was 2009 and Janet Napolitano was Governor of Arizona. The political buzz was that she wasn’t doing a good job of managing the state’s financial affairs and Arizona was going bankrupt. This was cause and concern for individuals and companies, which included myself and the company I worked for. My company was contracted through the state with Child Protective Services and since the state was supposedly going broke, my co-workers and I were all advised to look for other jobs and, in the meantime, don’t bu...

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“A Hex is a Wish Your Heart Makes” by Elizabeth Rich

Submitted to Contest #287

That fuck. I sat across from him, watched him over-salt everything on his plate. Observed him tucking a napkin, bib-style, into the collar of his button down. We each had Target bags filled with things we both wanted returned to us from each other's apartments. I looked in the bag he handed me, thinking it would contain my heart, and found the Rolling Stones CD box set. I didn't even have a CD player, but he was NOT keeping the Stones. He could listen to the radio or whatever.He ruined this restaurant for me forever. I would never be able to...

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“Birds of a Feather” by Jes Oakheart

Submitted to Contest #287

Captain Fletch knew she was walking into a trap, but she couldn’t help herself. She and her Engineering Officer, Paola, and Weapons Officer, Jenkins, stood on the bridge of the Starling Sunstrider waiting for the ship’s scanners to verify the distress call they’d received. Fletch was quite familiar with the supposedly derelict ship that floated aimlessly nearby. The distress call from the Bittern Blight said the crew had abandoned the vessel and stole the two escape pods, but not before removing the antimatter synthesizer, rendering the ship...

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“A Hug From A Neighbor” by Ben W

Submitted to Contest #287

Oscar’s feet felt like two, thousand pound weights as he lifted them slowly, painfully, up the stairs that led to his apartment. At last, after climbing what felt like the Tower of Babel, he reached the top of the stairs. His back was now bent as though a third, thousand-pound weight was latched to his neck and dragging him to the ground. “Haaa,” he sighed as he took the 30 or so steps required to reach his front door. Oscar fumbled in his pocket for a moment trying to find his keys, only to hiss in pain as the point of his house key jabbed ...

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“Waldut” by Wes Demers

Submitted to Contest #287

I peered from my garden, over the soft roof of my modest home, through the faint woodsmoke pillar which rose from the chimney, and unto the eastern hills. Everyday did Sun rise over those gentle prominences, that lightbringer which in resplendent Summer engorges unending seas of foliage and which in aphotic Winter gives rest to darkness and makes prisms of ice and snow. Yet, never have any explorations nor necessities led onto their terraced slopes. What vegetables might be dug from their untouched soils? What leaf medicines might be meekly ...

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“Monkey's Curse” by Nicole N

Submitted to Contest #287

“Monkey’s Curse”Written by Nicole Ney**This story is inspired by true events****This story contains offensive language, discretion is advised** “Come here, it was just an accident” said Sandy as she embraced her daughter. “I, was an accident! Spilled milk is an accident! This is catastrophic!” cried Angela. “I am the idiot that unleashed monkeys on New York! Who does that?!”“By accident Angela.” Sandy reassured her. “You were overworked and overtired. That could’ve happened to anyone in that position”“Noone is going to see that Mom! You...

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“Donuts in the Snow” by Julian Hickman

Submitted to Contest #287

At Reservoir Park, I pulled the truck to the right so I had an ice-free place to get out. There they were, tire tracks going out into the snow. The small parking lot was just big enough for four or five cars. “Bastards are at it again,” I muttered. In the night, they had raced around in the snow, tearing up the park.”Little shits.”The park was absolutely empty. Whenever the Hispanic guys play soccer, the parking area was full, and cars parked along the street. Suzy, our border collie, wouldn’t get out when they were playing soccer, and since...

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“Letting Go” by Jeremy Jones

Submitted to Contest #287

As Dave set the kettle on its base and turned it on, the rumination returned. Days earlier, he had discovered the Valentine’s Day card to another man, and it had it hit like an arrow in his heart. Recently, things had seemed to be getting better in the relationship with his partner of 20 years. This discovery created a mournful doubt that perhaps it was an illusion, a manipulation; that his partner was misleading him into thinking everything was better. The water began its hissing start to boil, and Dave reminisced about what had happened ov...

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“A Mother’s Love” by Jess Salisbury

Submitted to Contest #287

“I think you’re going to be just fine.” Those were the words that made Liam’s eyes well up as the light of the computer bounced off his horn-rimmed glasses. His pink face turned into a puffy hot blimp as the tears streamed down in twisty little trails, leaving dark splotches on the collar of his shirt.You see, those were exactly the words Liam needed to hear after the fight that led up to where he was now. He’d been agonizing over what to tell his mother for months — no, years. He’d always kind of known. He never did fit in with the gir...

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Start or end your story with someone being soothed by a hug or words of comfort.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 47 stories

“Confession is Good for the Soul” by Murray Burns

“Before the Last Light Fades” by DionTre Speller

“#KipRunsFast” by Lila Evans

“If I Fell...” by Jane Andrews

“The Dusk” by Raye McLaughlin

“The Last Human on Earth” by Chenchen Du

“My Friend Freddy” by Joyce McBurney

“A Hex is a Wish Your Heart Makes” by Elizabeth Rich

“Birds of a Feather” by Jes Oakheart

“A Hug From A Neighbor” by Ben W

“Waldut” by Wes Demers

“Monkey's Curse” by Nicole N

“Donuts in the Snow” by Julian Hickman

“Letting Go” by Jeremy Jones

“A Mother’s Love” by Jess Salisbury

🌟 Similar prompts

Start or end your story with a character making a cup of tea for themself or someone else.

Set your story in a café, garden, or restaurant.

Center your story around someone who’s boiling over with anger, frustration, or jealousy.

Write a story with a character pouring out their emotions.

Contest #287

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

408

Contest entries

173

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: