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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about somebody down on their luck who unexpectedly comes into a large amount of money.

Posted in Teens on Nov 1, 2022

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✍️ 49 stories

“A Burden Lifted” by Angel Whelan

Submitted to Contest #159

It was a slow evening, even for a Tuesday. I packed up my guitar early, slinging it over my shoulder as I rummaged through the tip jar for the price of a hotdog. I was ten cents short, but Joe let me slide for it. He filled a napkin with some scraps for Bonnie, and we headed over to our bench to watch the moon rise over the river.Someone was already sitting there, hunched shoulders and an air of dejection. Bonnie trotted over to him, her ears pricked up, tail awagging as he patted her muzzle.“Sorry, I don’t have any spare change,” he told me...

9 comments 9
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“Thirty Nine Floors Down” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #159

For one glorious month, the world looked better to me from the side that the other half lived. A fantasy of many and a dream of some, the five-star bed in the four-star hotel was a world away from the harsh reality of the cold, unfriendly, and sometimes tragic streets of the Big Apple – New York City. I wasn’t the typical downtrodden homeless denizen of Hell’s Kitchen. My parents raised me in a strict Baptist environment where change is often hard to accept. Whatever I wanted to do, was secondary to my father’s idea of what I should be doing...

31 comments 31
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“Firstborn” by Jason Fozzie Nelson

Submitted to Contest #159

My first encounter with him was September 11th, 2003. A friend at the time lost her mother in the attack on the World Trade Center two years prior and our friend group took her out on the anniversary to cheer her up by imbibing alcohol, often for free thanks to a well-placed flirtatious glance with gentlemen at the bar.  Shortly after arriving I felt the urge for a cigarette so I excused myself from the table. The smoking ban had just been enacted in New York City relegating smokers such as myself to partake in our addictions outside. ...

0 comments 0
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“The Shady Hand” by Mary Louise Sammut

Submitted to Contest #159

The Shady Hand  “I’ll bet all my winnings on the next hand,” announced Francis Calleja, a big time wheeler and dealer that had stolen many a poor man’s pocket of wealth. “If I lose whoever accepts the deal will win all my land but if I win then I take over their property.” Calleja was on a role this afternoon and it was too early to quit playing and go home. Sitting around the card table with Francis were another four men from prominent families around the little village. These men knew trouble was brewing but th...

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“What Price Judas Pays for His Silver” by 𝔊𝔲𝔞𝔡𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔭𝔢 𝔗𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔯

Submitted to Contest #159

Xavier tried not to stare as he followed his cousin through the building; Jona was obviously used to this, and unaffected. On the outside, this looked like a typical warehouse, with a few security guards patrolling. On the inside, it was an illegal dinosaur fighting haven. Xavier wondered how his cousin had gotten admittance, and almost regretted having come himself. Then he pushed the feeling down. Just this once, it was necessary, and he didn’t ever have to come back. Jona headed for a chain link fence enclosure anchored to the c...

7 comments 7
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“Happenstance” by Gina Burke

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #159

The water raced along, ignorant of the brilliant sunshine gleaming off its surface. As I watch its seemingly endless progression, I feel it mocking my own life, forging ahead with no end goal in sight. Unlike me, the water doesn’t seem to have a problem with its race to nowhere. Also, unlike me, nature’s ‘race to nowhere’ usually has a purpose. That’s the flow of life. The creek, filled with rainfall, nourishes all life it touches. That is where the water and I metaphorically part ways. The ‘flow of life’ clearly forgot to carry me along in ...

7 comments 7
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“A Rainbow In The Storm” by Beulah Jamali

Submitted to Contest #159

She wiped the tears silently flowing down her cheeks using the corner of her pyjama top. She could not stop the tap of tears. Morning had arrived and if sleep could be all 24 hours, she would have signed up for it, to escape her miseries. "Thank you," she mumbled to herself as she got out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom. Looking at herself in the large mirrors that lined her bathroom walls, she picked up her toothbrush. The toothpaste was running out, she had to slowly squeeze from the bottom to get what remained to the top."I will get so...

3 comments 3
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“Proof of Purchase” by C.M. Teller

Submitted to Contest #159

There was a certain irony with the situation that Alexander found himself in, he had always found a way to stay ahead of the game to the point that he was able to tell others how to do the same, but now he didn’t have a single Cra-i with how much he had.  “Welp,” he said in finality “this sucks.” he said looking over at the.  ‘Ok don’t freak out, you’ve been here before, you can crawl your way back up.  Although, having ten Branchs to your name was great… when it lasted.’  Alexander thought to himself, ‘You know how to le...

2 comments 2
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“For Louis” by Brynne Nelson

Submitted to Contest #159

The notebook is small, the ink and cover both faded from what must have originally been a licorice color. The whole thing is speckled with dust and the spine is completely wonky, bent to a near-ninety-degree angle except where it’s belted shut with a dingy old shoelace. I shouldn’t have picked it up; there are real books in the yard sale, books that aren’t tucked, half-smashed, into a cardboard box with a mouse-chewed hole in the corner. But I’m curious. Who bothered to keep such a junky collection of scraps, and why? I throw the thing on ...

2 comments 2
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“Stop, Drop, and Roll” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #159

Stop, Drop, and Roll Gloria did a drive-by again. It’s the opposite of a smash-and-grab.  What she does is more of a “stop, drop, and roll”. She stops long enough to do a drop-off, then — on she rolls. We even have a name for it; we call it “getting Gloria’d”. We never know what’s going to be in the stash when she strikes. Usually there’s food. She helps the food bank clear out the week’s surplus before the next allocation arrives. “Just take everything!” they tell her, happy to be rid of it. She distributes her haul accor...

6 comments 6
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“Tooth Faerie” by Sheri Dusseault

Submitted to Contest #159

 It is a hot day in this dusty grey city. Abe and the rest of the demolition team created much of the dust by tearing down this derelict old building. Long ago, it was considered a trendy boutique hotel. This area of the city was once a favoured place of bohemian artists, writers, intellectuals, and their hangers-on. It was a kind of Soho wannabe. In the forties and fifties, you would see the fashionably shabby elite taking coffee or wine at the sidewalk cafes and bars, discussing weighty subjects with self-serious smugness, talking a l...

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“The Stranger” by Gigi Gibson

Submitted to Contest #159

Anna slipped into the leather banquette for the twentieth time this month. “Good Morning,” said Trudy as she poured a steaming cup from the pot. “What’ll it be today?” “Just coffee thanks. I’m waiting for someone.” Anna pressed the warm mug to her lips and breathed in the sensuous aroma of freshly ground beans. Trudy picked up another order as the stranger shifted onto the seat across from Anna. Dressed in a black trench coat, hat, and sunglasses, he asked, “So, you’ve found someone?” “Yes,” whispered Anna. “Her name is Trudy. She’s ...

6 comments 6
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“A Taste of Milk & Honey” by Sean Sorce

Submitted to Contest #159

WRITER'S NOTE: This is a retrospective of Esther when she first meets King Reuben Grealth of the Northern Kingdom of Rissindell. This short story will be added to one of my future books; one of them being a prequel to The Blacksmith's Nephew. Please enjoy the reading.It's a busy and hot day at the marketplace here in the Capital of Rissindell. The streets were full of people, either vendors or buyers or tourists, that left little to no elbow room. I cautiously pulled a wooden wagon full of milk cartons. As I have done so, I was trying t...

2 comments 2
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“Salt, Fried Potatoes, and a New Start in Life” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #159

Angela huddled against a brick wall.  There was just enough overhang from the roof above her to keep her head dry from the pouring rain above.  Her feet were just small enough.  If her feet had been any longer, she would have needed to slant her body.  The alleyway smelled like human waste and garbage, but Angela could ignore the smell as long as she was dry.  She would get used to it, she told herself. Two days before, she had been under the roof of new foster parents, Sarah and Robert Earl.  Upon arrival, An...

3 comments 3
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“Saving Grace” by Penny Whiting

Submitted to Contest #159

“Is there really nothing you can do?” Gale placed a gentle hand on Lexi’s arm and gave a small squeeze. He was always so kind to her, even when giving the worst news. He was kind to her nan as well, and that was the most important thing. “I’m so sorry. It pains me to have this conversation. But we are a private facility and government assistance simply will not cover our fees.” A tear slipped from Lexi’s eye, but she couldn’t cry, not now. She had to stay strong, because if she didn’t fight for her nan, then who would? Clenching her fists br...

2 comments 2
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Contest #159

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