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Write a story inspired by the phrase, “A [wo]man’s worth is no greater than [their] ambitions.” — Marcus Aurelius

Posted in Short Story on Sep 26, 2025

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✍️ 29 stories

Achieving Great Heights

Submitted to Contest #322

Prompt: Write a story inspired by the phrase, “A person’s worth is no greater than one’s ambitions.” (M. Aurelius) Achieving Great Heights I loved climbing trees when I was the ripe old age of six.My mom was aghast by the heights I would ascend especially when the limbs seemed flimsy at best. Nonetheless, I continued my ascent into the skies through various trees. My dad, on the other hand, saw an opportunity to use my skills to his advantage. He said to my mom climbing was in my blood. Privately, he detested getting any higher than grou...

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Golden Diadem

Submitted to Contest #322

I have successfully deceived a god. Now I can relax on top of the food chain with my fabricated dream and reap the benefits of my burning ambitions. Well, I could, technically, but that’s not why I played the part for all this time, have I? Standing at the edge of the rooftop, I slip my hands into the pockets of my coat and pull it tighter around me, cold wind slashing my face and sinking into my bones. The glow behind every window paints the picture of a prosperous, lively land. Partially it’s true, for people like me, “blessed” with the go...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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Greater Than Gold

Submitted to Contest #322

CW: Emotional abuse, controlling behaviour Celeste Monroe used to believe that ambition was everything. That if she worked hard enough, dreamed big enough and loved deeply enough, life would reward her. She had graduated high school at twenty-seven — late, yes, but triumphant. She had plans college, a career, maybe even a little apartment with plants in the windowsill and books stacked on every surface.Then came him.He was her father’s friend — older, charming, familiar. He knew her story, her struggles, her soft spots. He said all the right...

7 likes 5 comments 5
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The Hieroglyphs of Ambition

Submitted to Contest #322

“Excuse me, mister?” a small voice asked.I gazed up from my lectern, but saw nothing there. Too bored and jaded to care, I returned to grading essays. "Professor Cazador, please," the voice echoed once more. I stood to find a young girl, 12 or 13. Her tan cloak suggested she was a student at the local school. She would probably attend this community college when she graduated. She’d probably even take my class on The Collapse. Currently 2232, next year would mark the 200-year anniversary of the catastrophe. I taught this mandatory course abo...

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The Beast, The Bull, The Man and The Minotaur

Submitted to Contest #322

Part One – The Beast Beneath the beast's large head was there scrawled a litany of dashes, some he’d carved with teeth, some with claws, and others with the sharpened bones of those who had challenged him. The markings did not indicate days, nor lives taken, skulls crushed, fibulas decimated, no – they spoke of a different sum; the weight of a dream. To any other beast, they were lines, but to that monster, they were grass. The beast had a thought, a stupid, naïve thought – the type only children ought to have; that if he covered the entire ...

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Clown School

Submitted to Contest #322

“A woman’s worth is no greater than her ambitions,” said Benjamin Farlays. “I hope we can come to an equitable agreement, miss…”“Pape,” said Julia. “Yes, miss Pape. Here at the International Clown School for Women, we have a very particular way of doing things, and I would appreciate it if you could acclimate to the program instead of attempting to adjust us to your…oeuvre.”“Why are all the teachers here male?”“What? You were asking a question? What did you ask?”“I said, why are all the teachers here men, if this is a clown school for ‘women...

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ABOUT MY AMBITIO-METER

Submitted to Contest #322

“A man’s worth is no greater than his ambition.” Marcus Aurelius said that. Marcus Aurelius, of course, was a dick. That is, he was a pretty smart dick, but he was emperor of Rome, and none of those guys were all that great. Being emperor means you say a thing and bingo! it’s the truth. What about us poor sods who have no ambition? No ambition that an emperor would call ambition, anyway. My main ambition today is to wake up tomorrow still alive. I’ll have the same ambition tomorrow, unless I die tonight, which I probably won’t. When the onco...

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Plus None

Submitted to Contest #322

“You’ll find him when you’re not looking,” she said, squeezing my arm before floating off in her pastel chiffon to join the other bridesmaids.It was the third time that night someone had asked me the same question: “So, when’s your turn?”Fair, I suppose. This was my third wedding of the summer. At this point, my college friend group had officially been paired off and shipped away like carefully wrapped packages - addressed to “Forever After,” postage paid, fragile but insured. And I was the lone box left behind at the post office, battered a...

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Yellow-Bellied: This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us

Submitted to Contest #322

The springing heifer started up around supper time. She dug at the ground and paced the corral, looking for a quiet spot away from the herd. Daddy moved her to the quarantine barn and told me he had learned to do this the hard way. Some years back, he explained, coyotes did something to a cow after she gave birth; something too terrible to say. I begged him to spill the beans, but he stood his ground. With a firm shake of the head, he placed his plate on the cast iron drainboard. “Ope! Dirty ones go right in the sink, Dear!” Mama moved the p...

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Dream On, Suzanne

Submitted to Contest #322

I’ve always wanted to be a star. Always. That’s what I’ve wanted since I was a child. Why? Well… I suppose it would solve all my problems, wouldn’t it? I can sing well enough – people tell me that often – and when I was small my teachers always said I had a lovely, sweet voice that was better than all the others. Just imagine it. Up there with the true stars, like Doris Day or Vera Lynn. That’s who I want to be like. My mother says it’s a fantastical dream, while my father just smiles to himself, whistling away as I sit with my head in my ha...

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Eric Cantona

Submitted to Contest #322

Note: This story is meant as a fictional depiction of one man's perspective, regardless of their height or size and is not meant as derogatory or discriminatory in any way, rather more as a celebration of a human life and what it means to be a human and part of human society as a whole, for good or bad. The story begins.I am a short guy, I’m no dwarf, but am short enough for it to make a difference. Sometimes I see a ‘real’ dwarf walking down the busy main high street in the city downtown, carrying a sleeping bag and I wonder ‘where do you g...

3 likes 2 comments 2
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SMOKE AND GLASS

Submitted to Contest #322

CW: Stalking Ophelia always said she loved Milo’s smile—the white, straight teeth, the way laughter rolled out of him, like sunlight through a dirty window. She’d watch from across the café, cigarette balanced between two fingers, eyes narrowed and calculating. His sandy hair always fell perfectly, no matter how he raked nicotine-stained fingers through it.He looked healthy, like a promise. Ophelia knew how easily promises broke. You see what others miss. That’s why you’re always three steps ahead. When they were together, she was attentive,...

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Means to an End

Submitted to Contest #322

Content Warning: This story contains descriptions of domestic abuse, toxic relationships, emotional distress, and mention of intimate partner violence and femicide. Means to an End Near the end of the winter of 2021, I was finishing my second year of college. I had finished my first year with a GPA of 4.0. I was smart. Almost brilliant. I managed to work over forty hours every week, get my work done in an exceptional manner, and still tend to everything else going on in life. Almost a year had passed, and my ‘almost-brilliance’ had vanishe...

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Ambition Across Centuries

Submitted to Contest #322

“Every man is worth just so much as the things are worth about which he busies himself.”— Marcus Aurelius (often presented today as: A [wo]man’s worth is no greater than their ambitions.)Form: Dialogue between centuries. Two internal monologues that find one another: Marcus (Rome, 2nd century, 161 CE) and Melissa (Alaska, 21st century, 2025). MARCUS: Rome is having challenges. The people need me to be strong. I stepped up in a time of trouble. But I know my direction in life and I am committed to getting there. I measure myself in this dir...

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