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Write a story where two characters talk around an important subject without ever mentioning it directly.

Posted in Short Story on Jul 25, 2025

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✍️ 60 stories

Packing the China

Submitted to Contest #313

The crinkle of newspaper was the only sound in the kitchen.Anne folded a sheet over a porcelain bowl, careful not to chip it. The china was older than herself, patterned with delicate, dainty, blue flowers that had faded in places. Across the table, her mum, Mary, wrapped tea saucers with the same quiet focus she used to peel apples—efficient, silent, sharp.Neither of them mentioned the funeral.The kitchen had always smelled faintly of lemon soap and dust, but today it was overwhelmed by the scent of cardboard and old paper. The blinds were ...

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You First

Submitted to Contest #313

The wrappers were still warm between them, sitting like a peace treaty on the dashboard. Aaron unwrapped his sandwich with the kind of slow, deliberate care usually reserved for diffusing a bomb.She loved that about him. How unaware he was to everything around him when he was focused. Until she thought about how unaware he was of her feeling for him.Or was he ? Questions.Jasmine rolled her eyes. “You always eat like it’s your last meal.”Aaron didn’t look up. “Might be, the way you drive. One swerve away from headlines.”“I didn’t hear you com...

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You Know

Submitted to Contest #313

You KnowBy EJ Cross “We need to do something, you know.” She said again. It was starting to become monotonous, to be honest. Like a trite remark to an overused statement. It’s almost lost meaning as I focus on her dark red lips instead.She always had the prettiest smile, I thought. “Yes, you said. And I agree. I know, you know, the neighbors know. Hell, the dog probably knows. But what, Jan? What do you propose?” I say, already regretting the tone of my voice as I see her crestfallen, weary eyes harden in annoyance.It’s better than de...

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Late Bloom

Submitted to Contest #313

The diner was nearly empty, save for the soft clatter of cutlery in the kitchen and the occasional hiss of something meeting a grill. Rain tapped steadily against the windows, tracing lazy, downward paths like half-formed regrets. A neon sign from the gas station across the street pulsed red and blue against the glass, washing their booth in flickering hues.Claire wrapped both hands around her coffee mug, though her drink had long since cooled. The porcelain felt solid, grounded. She wasn’t cold—she just needed something to hold. Her fingers...

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The Widow's Garden

Submitted to Contest #313

The April sun cast shadows across the gravel path as Amelia Altham adjusted the black silk of her mourning dress. Three days had passed since they had lowered Henry into the cold earth of the family plot, yet the estate gardens bloomed with an almost offensive vitality. Daffodils nodded in the gentle breeze, their golden faces turned toward a sky that seemed too blue for grief. She had not sought this walk, but Cecilia had appeared at the morning door with that particular expression of duty Amelia had come to recognize. "The air will do us b...

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The Sins of the Light Part 2: Tales Beyond the Darkest Desert

Submitted to Contest #313

In a just world the City of Savoria wouldn’t even exist. The whole concept of a private corporation owning an entire city has always stayed in strange sci-fi books my big brother Malcolm would read to me. Books about evil corporations creating modern slavery in its citizens who are brainwashed into thinking they are good guys spreading their wealth to “lesser folks.” That and with lots and lots of rich luxuries. I mean what ego feeding can’t buy, money always will. Always has. Whatever, its not like I owe any of these...

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xenophobia

Submitted to Contest #313

You know the feeling when something is coming. That creeping feeling of fear climbing up your chest, the tight feeling as someone is choking you and the feeling as though you want to sink six feet in the ground. They were coming, they knew what happened, we had no time to lose, we had to get away. Without a second to think about a plan or the consequences that might turn from a potential scenario to a realism within seconds. I sprint from my bedroom to the last bedroom down the hall, I slammed the door without a care for the person behind it...

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Carbonara

Submitted to Contest #313

Melanie pushed the dog fur tumbleweed around on the floor with the toe of her shoe. She had been meaning to sweep for a week now but couldn’t muster the energy. “Mel, are you listening?” “What? Sorry, yeah. It’s just the floor.” “The floor?” James stared at her in the way he always did when he was trying to hide his frustration. It was like he thought if he practised enough she wouldn’t notice the downturn of his mouth, or the furrow in his brow, but of course she always did. “Yeah, there’s fur on the floor, and it’s that I meant to—I just...

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Dog. Walk.

Submitted to Contest #313

I don’t know how, but I always manage to get myself into these kind of situations. I was in the small park behind my building, watching Ace playing with a black Shiba-Inu named Paco. He runs to me and then straight to the water fountain. I go, turn it on, let him drink. Before I realise what’s happening, weird noises start coming from his throat and in a matter of seconds three puddles of vomit are spread around the playground. Meanwhile I see Damian, whose name I didn’t know yet, approaching the water fountain while Ace was still circling i...

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Where silence speaks the truth

Submitted to Contest #313

A Shared Resonance The way the light catches the dust motes in the afternoon sun," Elara mused, gazing out at the quiet garden. "It's so ephemeral, isn't it? A momentary dance, and then gone."Kael, stirring his tea slowly, nodded. "Like everything, perhaps. We ascribe such weight to these transient forms, don't we? These intricate patterns we weave with our perceptions.""Indeed. The elaborate structures we build, both physical and emotional," Elara continued, her voice soft but resonant. "The fierce grip we maintain on what we believe to be ...

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Mad

Submitted to Contest #313

CW: Themes of domestic abuse. Dealing with a psychopath is exhausting. Dealing with Sam is downright unbearable.Now, I sit, anything but relaxed, in the coffee shop we agreed on. Public enough to not be just the two of us, but we’re also not right in the middle of Times Square. A happy medium…well, a medium.Maybe he won’t kill me.Maybe he won’t kill me here.At least, not today.…Not for a lack of trying, anyway.I got here early and tried to pick a seat that would allow for a quick escape, but wouldn’t look like I was trying to pick the best s...

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The Voice Inside

Submitted to Contest #313

A: Wow, so this is what happens when two souls passing circling one another for eternity finally meet. We found each other at last. I could sense the faint outline of who you were from the messages you’ve been sending me. You’re not just a mirage, right?Because it feels like a match made in Heaven, and I don’t want to be disappointed. B: Hi. I’ve been circling, swiping on an infinite loop, trying to find the perfect match for a while now. I’ve been disillusioned by so many potential choices. For some reason none of them have clicked: they w...

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Questions for Christmas

Submitted to Contest #313

Snow fell onto the ground outside, covering the earth in wintry white. The chilly air outside attempted to bite its way inside, but didn’t succeed. Homemade hot chocolate was bubbling lazily on the stove, inviting and warm. Half-finished mugs were scattered throughout the house. The table was set with a bright red tablecloth, mismatched place settings, and partially cleared dishes and silverware. It was just the right kind of day for a Christmas party. A woman with long dark hair pulled a Christmas ornament from a box labeled “Sarabeth...

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The Mat

Submitted to Contest #313

The cork mat had been on the floor for hours. Sandy nearly tripped on it twice, and since she’d had 3 Zoom meetings back to back, as soon as she remembered it was there, the thought shuttled through her brain and out the other side. Around 3, she looked at the clock. Kevin should have been home by now. He was supposed to be making the pasta sauce for their dinner, and the lack of sour tang in her nostrils as he put in his usual overdose of tomato paste was puckering her tongue to the roof of her mouth in a ghost of anticipation. Not that sh...

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Revenge has a Ring to it

Submitted to Contest #313

REVENGE HAS A RING TO IT “This is the restaurant I was telling you about. The food is good, but the Oceanside view is killer, Am I right?”“It’s fine, Davey. A diner would have been fine, too.” “Ed, come on, let’s chill. I wish it hadn’t come to this. I mean, the reason that we’re here.”“It didn’t have to come to this, Davie. And don’t talk like you’re the injured party. It doesn’t suit you. ““Ed, it’s not worth this much bad blood. It’s not like this get-together is another deal breaker. ““Hey, you’re the attorney here, but it seems to me ...

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