Your character wants something very badly — will they get it?

Posted in Short Story on Sep 6, 2024

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✍️ 60 stories

“Too-Cute Family” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #267

Too-Cute Family Back and forth, back and forth. Russell paced the OBED hospital waiting area awaiting news on his wife, Chrissy. She doubled over in pain at breakfast so was rushed here by ambulance. Doctors were working on her now.“You might as well sit down and try to relax, Son. Wearing out the tiles and your shoe leather won't bring answers any faster.” Chrissy's nana, Anna, sat at a nearby table making phone calls canceling their plans for what started out as a perfect end of summer holiday. Plans were for an annual block party at which...

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“The Chase” by Max Wightwick

Submitted to Contest #267

The ChaseSadness had always aspired to be as content as his brother - Happiness - so much so, in fact, that he envied the brutal severance rifting them apart. Alas, as with most aspirations, Sadness befell the usual disappointment of our meandering pursuit for something grander than what we have abreast. From when dawn first scintillated across the grassy verdure, Sadness awoke to a rheum encrusted around his whole aurora. When the sun guttered its candlelit flames atop the horizon, Sadness slumbered in turmoil of his irreversible reality. H...

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“Dig Deep” by Helen A Smith

Submitted to Contest #267

Other than a faint glow coming from one of the back rooms, the town’s charity shop was in darkness, its front door firmly closed. Although it had opened in 1985, the building had been used commercially since the 1800’s when it had variously been a pharmacy, a bank, and a tavern.The shop was close to the river in Marpleton, a pleasant English market town which had once been home to a nearby priory. In ancient times, monks had wandered back and forth to sell their wares at a market which still existed in diminished form across the road. Regula...

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“Countdown” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #267

TEN!NINE!EIGHT!SEVEN!SIX!***The crowd chanted along, the excitement building as the second hand ticked away to a new year.She desperately wanted to be part of the merriment, the celebration, the “this is our year, babe” sentiment that Joe was brimming with. He was still in the blissful state of “it’s finally happening” but she knew better.“Ready? Remember, no champagne for you!” He had teased her before leaving the house, smiling at her from his bubble of one. She would be more than happy to do without the alcoholic midni...

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“Jack Flynn's Brillant Plan” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #267

The week before the annual county fair, I’m in me favorite pub, The Big Potata. I’m with me very best friend, Liam Skehan, a fellow farmer. I lift me empty glass to the bartender Mick O’Day to show him I need another. When he doesn’t respond, I lift it higher and shake it a little. “I see ya empty glass there, Jack, and I’ve got to tell ya your glass is as empty as your credit.” Me mouth drops open, and me eyes grow wide. “What are ya tryin’ to say? That I’ve got bad credit, and after all the years I givin’ ya go...

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“Detour” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #267

Feeling free, Winston jumped into his new Ferrari and barely pausing at the guard gate, revved out of the studio lot. He’d always been free. But today, the first time ever, he had no responsibilities, no restrictions, and no demands on his time. He could go anywhere, answering to no one. ‘From now on, only doing what I want to do…’Many said he was ‘movie star handsome,’ but Winston didn’t see it. Dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and with minimal bling, he could be any young man. Except for his driving this bright yellow Ferrari, no one would thi...

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“THE PRICE OF FREEDOM” by Darvico Ulmeli

Submitted to Contest #267

Ah, another glorious day in my cozy little brass prison. No windows, no air, and no company—just the suffocating quiet and the occasional spider. Even they don't stay long. Guess it's hard to make friends when you're an ancient being trapped in a cursed lamp for a few millennia.Honestly, I stopped counting the years. Occasionally, some poor fool rubs the lamp, and poof! I'm free for about five minutes. Grant some wishes, watch them waste their chance at greatness, and then it's back into the lamp. And every time, there's that one thought: Ma...

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“The Glade” by Kate Simkins

Submitted to Contest #267

Meg wept. There was no sighing, or gentle tears sliding down her face in a picturesque way. Not this time. Meg sobbed and wailed until her eyes were raw and her throat was hoarse.People skirted around where she had collapsed onto the edge of the street. The busy bustle of a workday lunch all around her, Meg was oblivious to everything but her sorrow. Feeling as though her heart would burst, she eventually ran out of tears.There was one person who had sat near Meg during the hours of her sustained anguish. This was a small boy, barely tall en...

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“Getting Siobhán Back” by Susan O'REILLY

Submitted to Contest #267

This retirement lark is killing me. Boredom has settled in big time. Looking up at the sky I decide it’s a day for a picnic basket for one and a good book. This would have been a big thrill back in the day; just to have the time to do it would have been wonderful. Now it is a common occurrence, weather permitting. Go to the fridge cannot wait to see what delights are waiting, I jest, the usual array of cheese and beetroot, ah hidden in the back, a slice of turkey, a veritable feast. I have asked her I don’t kno...

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“The Beekeeper – Herzliya, 2044” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #267

Do you remember what it felt like the first time you were stung by a bee? The sharp, searing pain, a jolt of panic, and then, a few seconds later, a sense of relief when you realize it still hurts, but the pain isn’t that bad, and you can handle it. That’s what being in Israel in 2044 felt like.Meira didn’t talk about it for a long time, but these days, since passing 80, she talks her memories with close friends. When Meira was a child, her parents had told her that Israel was the chosen land. Her dad was a beekeeper in New Jersey. The ...

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“big heart, little world ” by CoCo Lee

Submitted to Contest #267

***"So what you're saying Sawyer is that aliens are real?!" Scout murmured, her soft child voice pitifully attempted to be quiet, of course that's never possible to achieve as a child. We were seven then, and we had bonded by going to a summer camp together in Park City. That particular day, we made a pillow fort in her basement in July, a severely hot month.The AC blared, and I almost begged the Utah sun to roast me it was so cold and frigid in her basement. A strange juxtaposition of how I usually felt about the Utah summer temperatur...

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“In Search of a Shell” by Polly Bochkariov

Submitted to Contest #267

The Muses had struck Aldora as she meandered along the coast. Her feet left footprints in the sand, and the waves soon washed them away. The wind cut capers around her shoulders, lifting her hair from her lowered head. A camera bounced around on her neck. In the sky the sun was at its pinnacle, partially covered by clouds. Seagulls screeched merrily, their voices causing dissonance with the waves. Kicking up sand, Aldora wondered if she would ever be able to find a rare shell. She was experienced in beachcombing and diving, but a...

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“Metaphoric Fixation ” by Anne Perry

Submitted to Contest #267

Every day since he turned 16 Dalton tried to create a metaphor that was particularly lucid and fraught with meaning. On such occurrences, he became ecstatic and couldn’t concentrate on anything else. He had read that Aristotle wrote, “To be a master of metaphor . . . is a sign of genius.” But he could never tell if he was on the path to becoming a genius or if that path, metaphorically speaking, was beyond his reach. Dalton included similes in his classification of metaphors, not distinguishing between the two. Some of h...

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“The Manager” by Tiffany Smith

Submitted to Contest #267

What does she want? For things to go smoothly, for once. For a chunk of time. Forget always, that’s not real, but just for a chunk of time. Life is a roller coaster, full of ups and downs, but she remembers riding those roller coasters, so many years ago. She remembers those slow, torturous ups, and seemingly vast stretches of level ground before the drops or before the end of the ride. When she was a kid, they took forever and were the most disappointing part. But adulthood is opposite land – she wants those up and level periods now, for go...

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“The Fork” by Michael Lewis

Submitted to Contest #267

IntroductionI am surprised, there is no doubt in my mind that things are not moving along as usual. I’m not sure why this is, but I do know one thing. The atmosphere in this kitchen is sudden and strangely tense. They, of course, are unaware that I know what is happening in my surroundings. First, though, let me introduce myself. The ForkLook at me clean and sparkling. And so another morning begins as it has done for more ...

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Your character wants something very badly — will they get it?

Submissions are closed

✍️ 60 stories

“Too-Cute Family” by Mary Bendickson

“The Chase” by Max Wightwick

“Dig Deep” by Helen A Smith

“Countdown” by Hannah Lynn

“Jack Flynn's Brillant Plan” by Ralph Aldrich

“Detour” by John K Adams

“THE PRICE OF FREEDOM” by Darvico Ulmeli

“The Glade” by Kate Simkins

“Getting Siobhán Back” by Susan O'REILLY

“The Beekeeper – Herzliya, 2044” by Scott Christenson

“big heart, little world ” by CoCo Lee

“In Search of a Shell” by Polly Bochkariov

“Metaphoric Fixation ” by Anne Perry

“The Manager” by Tiffany Smith

“The Fork” by Michael Lewis

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story with two characters who meet for the first time — and one of them has a secret.

Your character overhears something that changes their path.

There’s been an accident — what happens next?

Write a story set against the backdrop of a storm.

Contest #267

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

359

Contest entries

127

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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