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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about someone seeking forgiveness for their past actions.

Posted in Short Story on Sep 13, 2024

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✍️ 93 stories

“The Repeat” by TheLastShepherd Gaming

Submitted to Contest #268

The rain was falling harder now as the sheep went about their business. He was no sheep he was a wolf, a soulless killer. One on whom time had no effect nor would it bring forgiveness. Kane lent back on the rough exterior of the bank. A tall grey colossus which matched his view on the world. Rain dribbled from his worn and wide brimmed hat, running freely down his long duster coat he looked like something from a forgotten time. Kane scarcely registered the wet, along with most feelings. They had left him long ago. He looked out of place, out...

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“Seventy Seven Times” by Pete Gautchier

Submitted to Contest #268

Prompt: Write a story about someone seeking forgiveness for their past actions.Seventy Seven Times For most people, seeing the rising sun represents the warmth of a new day.  Today as the sun shines through my bathroom window, I am only feeling on my face the coldness from the bathroom floor tiles.  I awoke to discover I had lain in close proximity to the toilet. My head was still spinning and throbbing. The nausea had not subsided, and I felt the need to wretch the demons from within me again. When it was over,...

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“November of Our Years” by Dre Carlan

Submitted to Contest #268

It was an uneventful night when I saw a new woman sitting completely alone in the common room reading. Her brown hair was long and wavy but it wasn’t until she peered up at me that we both realized who the other was. She nearly dropped her book and I almost fell right out of my wheelchair. I tried looking away and pretending that I didn’t just see her for the first time in over fifty years. No use. She was already standing up and walking toward me with her mouth gaping open. “David?!,” she got out. “Is that you?” “It’s me,” I said slightly...

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“Five Letters and a Funeral” by Emma Morgan

Submitted to Contest #268

The absence of attendees was louder than any sentiments the priest had to offer at the funeral. The next day, five letters were picked up from the church. Roughly 4-inches by 9-inches, they looked as spectacular as a #2 pencil in a schoolroom. Their contents were written on stationary from the church’s office – as paper thin as paper can get before it disintegrates. Each envelope contained several pages folded twice and scrawled with green ink in a half-cursive font. It was obvious that the writer was unaccustomed to having others decipher t...

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“Prankster” by Clara Zhou

Submitted to Contest #268

"Hey guys! It's Asa of Asamesauce and today I'm with my sister Lily with the Locked In challenge! If you don't know, the Locked In challenge is a challenge where you pick a person to be locked in a room with for 24 hours. Lily's this person over here." "Hi," Lily said, waving and smiling. "I am one-hundred percent anticipating some sort of prank. I'll be trying to guess what it is based on the supplies in the room. If I guess it, Asa isn't allowed to prank me again during the twenty-four hour period and I get a hundred dollars." "Who knows,"...

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“You Shoulda Heard the Whine from My Screamin Machine” by James Barrett

Submitted to Contest #268

It was a hot summer night several years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. I had too many beers. I shouldn’t have been driving. That’s not an excuse, just an explanation. Ralphie shouldn’t have challenged me in the first place, but he did. I was running my mouth about my new Mustang, and I guess it rubbed Ralphie the wrong way. Ralphie said his three-year-old Corvette StingRay would blow the doors off my new Mustang. Callahan’s parking lot was crowded with our peers. All beer drinkers and gearheads. I had to accept. The alcohol made i...

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“The Awakening of Ruth Callahan” by J. Gordon Manias

Submitted to Contest #268

Ruth set her empty cup in the sink and walked toward the balcony. On the way, the bottle of wine they’d received for their anniversary beckoned to her from the table. She picked it up and scrutinized it as she recounted the meeting of the previous night. The people there were welcoming and genuinely expressed their interest in getting to know her and George. Though she’d only met Gloria a couple nights ago, she felt she could trust this leader of these people. This was despite the strange and alarming things that had been shared with her. Ru...

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“The Burial” by Ramon De La Fuente

Submitted to Contest #268

I'm burying my friend today, one of the oldest friends I have. It's weird to realize that another human you've known for most of your adult life will no longer be around... Someone that has had the time to see the ugly parts of you, and yet accepted you because of some unknown reason. A reason that, now, you will never know. I'm burying my friend today, and it's a lot harder than I thought it would be. It probably has something to to with the fact that, as far as I know, she isn't dead. As I stand here with my shovel admiring my own ha...

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“A Hatchet for Hitler” by Khalid Hussein

Submitted to Contest #268

There are stretches of the American highway system that run through miles of desert. Sometimes, roads turn off into apparent nothingness. Uncultivated lands. One might assume that these disused paths once went somewhere, but have lost their purpose. Sometimes this is true. Other times they lead to fixtures power grids requiring only occasional maintenance. Or they take you to access points for water and oil pipelines. Then there are some—and these are easy to pass by unnoticed—that lead to a dead end. Unnamed roadways terminating at chain-li...

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“Time: A Tale of Two Brothers” by Abby Johnson

Submitted to Contest #268

They said that time heals all wounds. That’s what I’ve heard all my life. Now whether or not that's true, I have yet to find out. But last Thursday I decided to test the theory.  My brother, Charlie, and I had a falling out. To make a long story short, I’m a drunk and so is he. But Charlie, he’s been recovering for sometime now. He goes to AA meetings, therapy, he’s patched things up with his wife-the whole nine yards. And he’s made good progress. He only has two beers on Saturday nights compared to downing a twelve pack. As for me, I h...

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“Losing Joshua” by Elisabetta Panzica

Submitted to Contest #268

Today, I find myself on my knees, pleading for forgiveness and wondering how this could have happened to me and my precious little boy. I'm questioning what I did wrong. Our words, spoken out of desperation, ended up causing harm. We were blackmailed and forced to exaggerate the truth to secure a spot in a shelter and stay out of the cold.Should I have done it differently? Stayed quite? Refused to do their bidding? I beg forgiveness for the desperate choices I made that led us here. Forgiveness from the world, from my children.The first time...

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“Bluehour” by Erodite Papapostolou

Submitted to Contest #268

Regus Flynn adjusted his plaid jacket and glanced around the desolate playground. Though the air was filled with the distant laughter of children, the swings and slides stood empty. He ran a hand through his sparse hair and pushed his glasses back up his nose. A voice broke the silence, "Mr. Flynn." He turned to see a man with pale skin, piercing blue eyes, and a white hair. Dressed entirely in black, he extended a hand. "Damon HellWay," he introduced himself. "You wanted to see me." Regus swallowed hard and shook Damon's hand, a chill runni...

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“The Earl of Bournemouth” by Nate Farrell

Submitted to Contest #268

The Earl of Bournemouth London, 1072Within the castle walls there are sounds of songs, fiddles and feet stomping. Beyond its walls a mile away a lone figure approaches slowly on horseback. Raucous shouts rise again. William! William! The horseman arrives, dismounts and announces himself to the guards. Robert, son of Laurent of Rouen, he of recent fame in both Normandy and across the Channel in Hastings, has come to see the king. He is beckoned inside merrily, but he refuses, pleading for a quick word with the king in private.“Ah, the Earl of...

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“Final Hours” by Lorra Spitzer

Submitted to Contest #268

Shaking her head, Lucy hung up the phone. Per her mother’s instructions, her older sister, Patty, had just summoned her and her son to visit her in the hospital. “It’s urgent,” her sister said.‘Urgent, my butt,’ Lucy said to herself, slamming the kettle on the stove. She walked to the cabinet and pulled out her favorite chipped blue mug. She dropped a tea bag in it and settled at the kitchen table, waiting for the kettle to boil.The phone rang again. Looking at it in disgust, she paused before answering.“What do you want, Patty? Lucy snapped...

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“Making Amends” by Rebecca Paterson

Submitted to Contest #268

Trigger Warning: Substance Abuse, Child Neglect, Child Death, Mental HealthI could feel the heat intensify as the metaphorical speaking stick was passed around the circle. My fists tightly closed in the pockets of my hoodie. hands tensely rubbing together, moving, clasping, unclasping, moving my thumbs to each of my fingers. out of pocket, back in pocket. Like my hands weren't my own and were in attempted escape from my body. After this guy is finished it was my turn, let’s just hope he’s in the rambling mood. I hear the group leader " John,...

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Contest #268

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Ended on 23:59 - Sep 20, 2024 EST

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Title: An Apology to Mankind, Two Days After First Contact

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