Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story that ends in the past.

Posted in Teens on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 68 stories

“A Broken Past” by M.Zubair Alam

Submitted to Contest #42

Tired, fed-up, and depressed, Sarah is sitting head down between her knees, on the couch. She is imagining deeply a way out of the current bleak situation. It has now been almost two months without a job, sitting idle, watching seasons, and working on her novelette. Sometimes, in the evenings she make her way in a park or checks in a rustic-style coffee shop located at a highland with a small stream of water flowing by its side. She is immensely broken from inside. Nothing ever preceding it had let her succumb to this extent in her...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Fabric of Family” by Emma Knights

Submitted to Contest #42

Our families had been friends for generations. Our mothers were friends and their mothers were friends and their mothers were friends. If there was such a thing as a friend tree, like a family tree but for friends, then our family’s branches would be intertwined. Perhaps even down to the roots. The Majors and the Castles. The women have always kept their maiden name and passed it onto their daughters.My name is Alwyn Major, and I am about to turn fifteen in the year 1995. I used to play with Jasmine Castle all the time when we lived in the s...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Shadow of the Maiden” by Kathryn Gabrielle

Submitted to Contest #42

It is 1789 and the French Reign of Terror is at the peak of its indifferent cruelty. A young and unworldly aristocrat is seized and she has only one brief dawn in THE SHADOW OF THE MAIDEN to wrestle with her conscience and discover why she must die. In fast-paced present tense, Kathryn Gabrielle rushes us through in little more than 1000 words from a sudden raid by revolutionary police to swift death by guillotine and the dawning of understanding in one victim's heart. It is 1789. The Reign of Terror. In France, a radical political group...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Scars” by Sarah Demary

Submitted to Contest #42

"Miss Rachel, you ready to get your stitches out?" The nurse walks in and asks. My mom runs her hands through my curls and turns to face the nurse and answers for me. "She most definitely is." I've been in the hospital for a week, because of what happened to me last Friday, after my volleyball practice. I learned a lot after last week, especially when it comes to trust.How to start? Oh, well for starters, let's talk about scars. Now they run deep and are a sign of incomplete healing, either physically or emotionally. I got three that day: on...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Clock watch & death” by Linh J

Submitted to Contest #42

Clock watch & deathBy: Milani JamesTo find more stories by me, go here: https://sites.google.com/unionsd.org/shortstoriesbymilanijames/homeMarie was walking down the street, head bowed, rain splattering, car lights blurred. She looked at her watch, the hands taking small steps on every tick. She tried not to think about the person who had given it to her. Her soft brown hair was getting drenched. I forgot my umbrella at home, she told herself. Home, what an unwarming word. She had no home. Just as she had no umbrella. 'Home is where the ...

3 comments 3
Read story

“HEARTS ON THE RUNWAY. ” by Samuel Edward

Submitted to Contest #42

HEARTS ON THE RUNWAY“You got to be released today you know?” says the warden on duty“I’d hold a party just immediately I’m out of here” Mason replies with an aura of obvious excitement. The wardens on duty are busy frequenting each cell room holding segmented discussions with inmates. Ordinarily, the wardens are always tacit and formal in their relationships with the prisoners. Today is quite different because some prisoners are about to be released.Activity at the lupillian correctional facility is in full swing. There is even a new case th...

0 comments 0
Read story

“With love, Adina” by Sathvika Sitaraman

Submitted to Contest #42

Summer is my favorite. The brackish air, the warm nights, the sticky smell of melting ice cream. Everything about it is perfect. The dry wind caressed my hair, gently unravelling my carefully done bun which sat comfortably atop my head. My sundress wrapped around my sunburned legs, the lacy fabric giving me comfort. My toes wiggled in the hot sand, my hands digging into the soft earth. I was happy, peaceful, and so free. August 10th, my special day. The day I turn twelve. And the day that was celebrated perfectly. ----------------------...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Goddess of the moon” by Lea Vida DEL MORO

Submitted to Contest #42

The man is sitting on his chair while doing his masterpiece that night. Soft, mellow, classical music drifts through his room. A woman sings passionately, pouring her soul into the song. “ Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words  Killing me softly with his song.” It’s breathtaking while he glances up and smiles as he finished the image of a beautiful maiden. The main attraction of the painting was made by Antonio Vergara, rich idealistic and passionate painter. ...

23 comments 23
Read story

“Escapism” by Emma Spence

Submitted to Contest #42

Unscathed The ground smolders; everything is charred and covered in ash, the remnant embers of a dying fire peek through through the snowy layer, and the air swirls with the smell of destruction and tendrils of black smoke still float upwards. The once lush forest is blackened, razed a mile in every direction. In the center of the circle of charred earth, a mountain of rubble and crumbled brick lies glowing red, a beacon of destruction and death. And then, the debris begins to move. Bits of green become visible, as if bits of the lush forest...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Chasing Moonlight” by LeighAnne Ferreol

Submitted to Contest #42

The pebbles pattered lightly against the glass. Rose couldn’t help but smiles as she heard them. She made her face blank before going to the window, she didn’t want him to know how happy his visits made her. Jackson stood beneath the tree by her bedroom window. She opened the shutters and looked down at him. “You’re here again?” She asked, feigning boredom. He smiled up at her and nodded. His honest, eager face made her heart flutter. She was glad the dark helped to hide her blush. She cleared her throat. “Well, what do you want this time?” ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Off Track” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #42

           It was cool on the afternoon of October 9, 2019 as Lawrence Robinson arrived at Pekoe Train Station. His train was expected to arrive at 2:25 pm, but something felt wrong. He had a churning in his stomach that he had taken as a premonition to peril and he was second-guessing his decision about making the trip. It was a necessity however, because if he didn’t make this journey now, then his company may lose a very important client. Lawrence was a sales representative for a very...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Karma is a Bitch” by Bruno Lowagie

Submitted to Contest #42

Yesterday“I see that your name is Karma,” the old nurse said. “That’s an odd name.”“That’s the name my mother gave me, nurse Fletcher,” the young woman answered.“Your mother, eh? Didn’t your father have a say when it came to choose your name?”“My father wasn’t around anymore when I was born, nurse Fletcher. He left my mother the moment he knew she was expecting.”The old nurse looked up from Karma’s resume.“That’s a shame,” she said. “One wonders what type of man would make a woman pregnant, and then refuse to take responsibility.” “I gr...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Finding Yourself” by Rethabile Ntsane

Submitted to Contest #42

“Hello Mr Maseko!” The new security guard said with a bright smile, Mr Maseko offered a distracted wave as he spoke on his mobile device. He entered into his car and drove off, heading home. The following day, the situation was similar, the new security guard offered greeting, but with a pause ,making way for conversation. “How are you Mr Maseko?” He asked as he made his way towards him. Mr Maseko slowed his pace as he offered a glance at the security guard, only now noticing how old he actually was. Probably three years older than his mothe...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The boy in my dreams” by Lauren Tobin

Submitted to Contest #42

I dream of a boy frequently.At least once a week, I see his light brown skin, the chocolate pools of his eyes, the loose curls of his hair, hanging down near his face. I see his hands, big and strong, the hands of a boy who will soon be a man.He is a teenager with the build and bone structure of a grown man, but the mischievous spark of a child in his eyes.I see a slideshow of pictures from the time he was a little boy to a teenager. There he is in front of a birthday cake with candles illuminating his face, or clothed in a camouflage hoodie...

5 comments 5
Read story

“Day One” by Unconventional Perfection

Submitted to Contest #42

I don’t know if I slept last night.  I know I tossed and turned.  I know I laid there dreaming of sleep, praying for sleep – but I’m almost positive it never came.  You know how your mind can play tricks on you, like shadows in the dark looking like people or a dream so vivid you wake in a sweat.  There is a blurry line between the reality of sleeping and actual sleep for me.  It’s constant this whole “trying to sleep” thing.  Some nights I do not even bother, watching the sun rise....

0 comments 0
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that ends with the narrator revealing a secret.

Mystery – 162 stories

Write a story that ends with a character asking a question.

Narrative – 260 stories

Write a story that ends by circling back to the beginning.

Short Story – 214 stories

Write a story that ends with one character waiting for the arrival of another.

Kids – 199 stories

Contest #42

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: End of Story

$50

Prize money

903

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 22, 2020 EST

Won by Phoebe Barr 🏆

Title: The Firebird's Answer

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢