Write a story with a huge surprise, either in the middle or the end.

Posted in Short Story on Feb 21, 2025

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✍️ 82 stories

“Eggshells and Sea Glass” by Aubrey Nickerson

🏆 Winner of Contest #291

Dear Raven, What’s your name? My mama doesn’t know, and I asked her to ask your mama, but she said she doesn’t want to go anywhere near your house. I told her that’s mean because she doesn’t know you. None of us do. I’ve only seen you from across the street. You have black hair, and it’s very dark, which is why I call you Raven. If you tell me your real name I will use it. Is black your favorite color? You wear it a lot. I’ve never seen you wear anything but that black dress with the poofy sleeves and lacy collar. Or are you sad because some...

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“You Can't Read in a Dream” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #291

We only have about ten minutes to get him to Everett. Awake, the ride takes forty-five minutes, but we don’t need that long if he’s asleep. I once trained a guy who quit on the third night, because he didn’t like the pliability of it all. The way time wasn’t the only flat circle, but everything. Nothing but circles. Speech, behavior, and emotion--all could bend if you knew which way to pull and how hard. I can get anybody to Everett in twenty, but sometimes you have less than twenty, and that’s when it gets complicated. I showed up at around...

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“To Kill a Line Cook” by Brandon McWeeney

Submitted to Contest #291

Alex held his jacket over Leila as the thunderhead above rained down a firing squad. His hands were busy, so Leila rang the doorbell. Lightning flashed. Thunder clapped. Icy beads hit them at an angle, outflanking the protection of the eaves, their only line of defence. While they waited, his fingers went fishbelly white with cold; he felt his kneecaps freezing over like two small ponds, and when the door finally opened, he was swept by a chilling horripilation. “Come in, come in!” cried Mrs. Amin. “It must be awfully cold out there.” ...

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“My Friend, Matilda” by Chris Cancilla

Submitted to Contest #291

She did it!But I’m getting ahead of myself. This all started when Sadie moved into a new home. 25 years old, a nice car, a new house, and a cat. She liked cats. They are self-sufficient but, at the same time, loving balls of fluff and affection. Her cat was always with her and followed her from room to room. Her cat, Matilda, was also her best friend. Not just words, they really were friends. They talked to each other and slept together.Moving into the house and setting it up was seriously the first adult thing she ever did. She got the hous...

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“Big Easy Rain” by Kim Olson

Submitted to Contest #291

New Orleans in the rain suits Cal and his ever changing moods. The city is at times brash and festive, and at others, tawdry and shameful, like a perpetual partier who overindulges and wakes up with sharp stabs of pain in his head – a hangover that lasts all day. The thought of sunshine, really any kind of bright light, causes Cal to wince. The rain and darkness allows him to wallow in well deserved misery. Laissez les bons temps rouler has run its course. The good times aren’t rolling at the moment, either for him or for New Orlea...

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“In the Dark” by Sandra Moore

Submitted to Contest #291

In the Dark She can feel the darkness enclosing her like a heavy cloak. The night is chilly, and she is sure she can see her breath, but the dark room provides no confirmation. She begins feeling along the walls, slowly moving herself around the room, feeling for a door, a latch, anything that could free her from the crypt-like space she is in. Only minutes before, she woke up, teeth chattering, muscles tight and atrophied from the damp cement floor. It took her a second to realize that she wasn’t at home. Like trying to wake up from a bad ...

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“Hong Kong” by James V

Submitted to Contest #291

Terry had crossed a city he barely understood, among people whose language he could not speak. And yet, with her, none of it felt foreign. They had only just met, but it was as if they had lived a lifetime together in these few hours. The tangled streets, the neon lights shimmering in puddles, the weight of something unspoken between them—it wrapped around him like a spell. He followed blindly, mesmerized, as she led him deeper into the labyrinth of Hong Kong’s backstreets.Then she stopped.The stench of rot hung in the damp air. Weeks-old ga...

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“The Invitation” by Jill K

Submitted to Contest #291

I snatched the grinning skull out of my mailbox. Even before reading the scroll wedged tightly in the plastic mandible, I knew it was an invitation to LA’s pre-eminent Halloween party. It had red wax tears dripping out of the eye sockets and a jaunty gold ring clipped to the nasal cavity. With shaking hands, I pulled out the scroll and read: Have a blast at our Monster MashOctober 31, Ten o’clockThe Orlock HouseCome dressed as your favorite monster(You, too, Jeremy!)Prizes for best costumes I suspected that my invitat...

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“Ink Against Oblivion” by Teacher Mom

Submitted to Contest #291

The journal lay open on Leah's desk, pristine pages gleaming under the lamp's harsh glow. No coffee stains. No grocery lists. No half-formed story ideas. Only emptiness stretched across page after page, as if something had devoured the words she knew should be there.Her hands trembled as she traced the leather binding, remembering how she'd written in it just yesterday–hadn't she? The memory felt soggy, dissolving at the edges like wet paper.She slammed the journal shut and reached for her coffee, fingers brushing empty air. In the kitchen, ...

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“~Betrayal~” by Jim Parker

Submitted to Contest #291

~Betrayal~It was called Hollow Earth in Upworld literature and considered complete and total fantasy by modern civilization. But like most aliens and its own inhabitants; Jimmy’s Hybrid kin, the Callan Clan of Deep Creek, called it the Bloworld. The Callans were a hybrid race. Humans fused with extraterrestrial DNA by the Grey Aliens and bred as Holy Warriors for the Catholic Church of old. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Callans went their own way. First to Scotland and later to the new British Colony called America. There they sett...

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“Kushan, The Eskimo, Dead.” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #291

T/W. This is based on a true and gruesome story reported in the New York Times in 1898. I could barely keep up with Gustafsson. He handed me his hat and cane, and his heavy portmanteau for safekeeping. “I will need you to do the paperwork when all is said and done,” said Gustafsson, absent-mindedly. When we entered the dimly lit basement, it was like walking into a steam room, and I was struck by the irony and the stench. Gustafsson didn’t miss a beat. He was kneeling beside the body before my eyes had properl...

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“Gotcha: The Cat” by Jan Keifer

Submitted to Contest #291

Write a story with a huge surprise, either in the middle or the end. It had been an extremely bad year for any stray animal living in the streets, but for a certain cat, it was getting worse in small increments. He was not just a cat; he was a cat on a mission. He had just completed his third round of the block that he called home and had found very little to stave off his hunger. Earlier, he had picked up the scent from the building across the street and had made a beeline to the back of the building to the refuse that was being tos...

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“Too Many Stars” by Rider Viv

Submitted to Contest #291

Too Many StarsbyVivian Doolittle “Oh my god, there’s another one!” Vicki shouted into the phone. “I must be seeing them everywhere because I just noticed one the other day, and now that I’m thinking about them, I keep seeing them. Is this a thing? I mean, do people really think that enhances the appearance of their homes?” She was speaking to her sister as she drove home from work. Her green Subaru Outback was pristine and not polluted with anything so vulgar as a bumper sticker. Nor was Vicki speaking into her cell phone. No, that would b...

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“On the Bridge of Time” by Summer Austin

Submitted to Contest #291

"Gordy, can you please come help us with this?" I hear from the back room. They are calling for me to help them with the huge pumpkin that sits on the table in the rec room, too big for these weaklings.I grumble, and grudgingly get up, and trudge over with my too big overalls trailing on the floor and scuffling every time I took a step."Boy, look who finally got up," the recreation therapist teased, and pointed to the huge pumpkin, gnarled and not far from beginning to rot."Ok, where do you want it?" I picked it up and it slipped out of my f...

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“The Waiter” by Charles P. Sciorra

Submitted to Contest #291

The WaiterByCharles P. Sciorra “I’m hungry,” Laura said as they stepped down from the bus. Jonathan nodded, checking his watch. “Me too. Let’s find a place quickly. We’re already behind schedule.” Laura sighed. “Does everything have to be on a schedule? Can’t we just… wander a bit?” Jonathan frowned. “Wandering wastes time. I’d rather have a plan.” Across the street, a small café caught Laura’s eye. Its windows streaked with grime, offered a glimpse of a dimly lit interior, a lone candle flickering on a window table. A faint aroma, a curious...

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Ended on 23:59 - Feb 28, 2025 EST

Won by Aubrey Nickerson 🏆

Title: Eggshells and Sea Glass

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Write a story with a huge surprise, either in the middle or the end.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 82 stories

“Eggshells and Sea Glass” by Aubrey Nickerson

“You Can't Read in a Dream” by Story Time

“To Kill a Line Cook” by Brandon McWeeney

“My Friend, Matilda” by Chris Cancilla

“Big Easy Rain” by Kim Olson

“In the Dark” by Sandra Moore

“Hong Kong” by James V

“The Invitation” by Jill K

“Ink Against Oblivion” by Teacher Mom

“~Betrayal~” by Jim Parker

“Kushan, The Eskimo, Dead.” by Luca King Greek

“Gotcha: The Cat” by Jan Keifer

“Too Many Stars” by Rider Viv

“On the Bridge of Time” by Summer Austin

“The Waiter” by Charles P. Sciorra

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story inspired by the ultimate clichéd twist: it was all just a dream.

Center your story around a character’s addiction or obsession.

Write a story that keeps a key detail hidden from the reader until the very end.

Center your story around a character who successfully — or unsuccessfully — escapes their fate.

Contest #291

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

415

Contest entries

210

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: