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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about a character who buys a secondhand coat and then discovers something in the pocket.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 99 stories

“The Letter” by Brennah Abernathy

Submitted to Contest #18

Cecilia inhaled the scent of the second-hand store as she tugged on her new coat. Well, it was sort of a new coat. She bought it last week at a thrift shop. Her friends were laughing, joking around, and forcing each other to try on the ugliest thing they could find. The coat was indeed the ugliest thing Cecilia had ever seen, which usually meant she loved it. It was a bright green faux-suede. It had tassels, and feathers and enough pink sequins to make it look like a colored disco ball. The light caught it every time she moved in the mi...

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“The Coat” by Maria Zhuravleva

Submitted to Contest #18

"Watch where you are going, imbecile!" he hisses, infuriated.I am so focused on glaring at the paved stones beneath my feet that I am not paying attention to where I am stumbling. I trip over a stone that juts out of sidewalk like the bastard it is, and fall smack into a man wearing a black trench coat. The haughty man steps over me, with a look of total disgust plastered on his face and continues walking to god knows where. I don't disagree with him, I don't look particularly well off at the moment. If I were to look into a mirror, I would ...

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“A Turn of Fate” by Annony Mous

Submitted to Contest #18

"Thomas, darling, we have to get going!"Thomas Howard was a middle-aged man who lived in a run-down, shabby hut with his exasperating (but loving) wife and seven children. He was the son of a street beggar and had had no proper schooling. He worked at an office, keeping fires, cleaning messes, and delivering messages. He was paid enough to provide his enormous family with the smallest, puniest chicken in the market for dinner. One meal a day. So it was not very common when Thomas Howard and his wife were invited to a party, however small it ...

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“Never too late for love” by Arina Kozlova

Submitted to Contest #18

Mr Brown was a miserable man. He would spend whole days sitting in his office, looking through the papers, signing and reading them. Mr Brown never occurred to have a family. He just never had time for that pointing out to his remaining friends that "relationship is just a waste of time and money"... Uhm... "as well as children". Now that he turned 55 years old, he found himself sitting alone in his office on Sunday with no postcards being sent to him. It was the 24th of December, Christmas was coming, and no one was going to give him e...

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“The Khaki Coat ” by Michelle Hewett

Submitted to Contest #18

I walked along the cobbled street, no particular destination in mind, just ambling along glancing in the odd shop window or two. I stopped as something caught my eye, a small box with a shiny medal was tucked in the corner besides a rather garish looking vase and a doll with a haunted look on its face.The medal appeared to be a George cross the type issued to soldiers during the War. My mind cast me back to my youth when I had been a carefree young girl, skipping through meadows on a summers evening making daisy chains and lying in the long ...

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“The Sign” by Alton Rooi

Submitted to Contest #18

Counting thirty six steps after the last person greeted him; it was a quiet part of the town Anthony realized. The cold was convincing. He never considered packing anything warm. Like an excited bird for wings. And now he regretted being in a hurry not taking a coat at all, he was trembling.He had only an hour to report on duty, luckily the people in this town seemed to take their businesses quite serious. They were open early and people were increasing as he walked further into town.Some were selling fruits and veggies; others were making f...

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“The Cheating Jacket” by Karen Haggard

Submitted to Contest #18

The frayed denim jacket made its way to the "Donate" pile. She couldn't bear to have it around anymore. Not since the accident. Besides, it came from the Goodwill anyway. It fit his skinny five-foot-eight frame like a glove when he tried it on. He'd found that little green toy truck in the side pocket and said it looked like his green pickup. So, he got the jacket and kept the dumb toy. She hated his stupid old green pickup; it was a piece of junk. It was the truck's fault he died. Patting the pockets, she felt a lump. Reaching in, she pulle...

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“A Flavour of Kintsugi ” by Megan Rosevear

Submitted to Contest #18

"Ew, put that back."Shay opened her mouth, an argument at the tip of her tongue: You haven't even looked! But it died in her throat as she locked eyes with Iris in the mirror she hadn't before noticed. So she resigned to pout instead."Hey!" she said. "It's cute!""Yeah, if you're a hobo, maybe."Shay draped the leopard-print coat over her arm and admitted defeat. "You're rude.""I'm trying to make sure you don't look like a rug.""You look like a rug," Shay muttered, hanging the coat back up on the rack with a rueful sigh. "I knew I shouldn't h...

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“Serendipity” by Dianne Bramble

Submitted to Contest #18

Anna was in her third year of physics and astronomy studies at university and money was tight. She had enough to pay for tuition, food and rent, but not much else. If she truly got into trouble her parents were always there to help out, but she liked to do things on her own if she could. That’s how she found herself at the thrift shop near the campus looking for a warm coat, as her current one was starting to fall apart.The thrift shop had been a gold mine for Anna in the past couple of years. She had found designer jeans, an amazing cocktai...

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“First steps back” by Anie Doe

Submitted to Contest #18

Her face fell in her hands and she could feel the dry skin of her cheeks and forehead. It hasn't always been so dry. The local weather, her lifestyle or maybe the state of her soul have changed it. Her hands smelled of soap and her eyes rested for a little while finding some comfort hidden from the rest of the world and she became strangely aware of how the eyelid muscles relaxed. A couple of seconds of not thinking, of not feeling the awful loneliness that has been tearing her heart apart.Kathe was on the way for more than a year. Her savin...

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“Love, Mom” by Julia Miller

Submitted to Contest #18

Love, MomBy: Julia MillerThe bell dings as I pull the door and take my first step in. The warmth of the shop radiates off my freshly wind burnt face. I can feel my body recovering after the long walk from my apartment.  The store smells of cleaner that is trying to mask the scent of must. The first look inside the store is overwhelming. There are dresses, handbags, and clothing everywhere. Nothing seems to fit just right in this store. Each item is taken from its home and dropped off here to find a new place to go. I take a deep br...

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“The First Secret” by Mercy Duke

Submitted to Contest #18

“You look good in that coat Henry,” complements Joseph his friend pouring hot water in his coffee cup. “Thanks for the complement. I got it for less than half of it’s actual value at the auction, it is as good as new. I have fallen in love with it myself” responds Henry making up the coat.It is a fine morning, the sun is already shinning high but the time is just 7:30am, the two are taking their usual breakfast, which is just bread and tea or coffee before leaving each for his work. Henry is a salesperson at the local car sales, while Joseph...

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“The World in a Pocket” by Ina Layton

Submitted to Contest #18

The sun was unbearable on the back of his neck and Quinn wished that he hadn’t let his friend convince him to wear his hair up that day. “Man-buns are in style again. You have to wear one,” she’d told him as she gave him the style of her choice, and he only allowed her to do so because he hated the look she wore whenever he told her no.  Sighing, he quickly walked into the small thrift store, the little bell ringing above his head and surprising him. His friend, Ainna, followed behind him while mumbling under her breath about how he did...

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“The Coat” by Jose Adams

Submitted to Contest #18

I don't always buy clothes, but the winter was coming and I wanted a good coat as soon as possible, no matter if it was second-hand. In town, there is a big grocery store, which sells all kinds of items, from hardware, food to clothing, even second hand. Fung and Chang's business.Evergreen is a small town and as you know the saying, small town, big hell. However, Evergreen is a friendly place, full of nice people and not so nice people too. One of the best establishments is Joe's butcher shop, where they give you the best steaks, attended by...

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““HER STORY LIVES ON”” by William Webster

Submitted to Contest #18

“Michael! Why are you pulling me in here!” “You said we needed outfits for the custom party, so . . . Jessica interrupted. “It’s not a custom party. It’s a masquerade event, it’s a fund raiser for the . . .” “Masquerade, costume - whatever you want to call it. This is a great place to find something. Trust me.”  “Here?” “Yep. What better place than in a vintage clothing store.” “I don’t know.” She began to give in to his suggestion when Michael dragged her through the doorway.&...

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🌟 Similar prompts

Your fingers tensed around the object in your pocket, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice.

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Write a story about someone cleaning out their attic. They find an old piece of clothing, and inside of its pocket is an old keepsake.

Adults – 52 stories

"It was just here!" you shout, frantically searching your pockets for the missing thing.

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Write a story about a very skilled pickpocket. 

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Contest #18

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This week's theme: Pocketful of Sunshine

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Ended on 23:59 - Dec 06, 2019 EST

Won by Sam Lauren 🏆

Title: The Price of a Nice Guy

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