Write a story about someone who starts noticing the same object or phrase wherever they go.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 106 stories

“Tabs” by Alexander Kozdra

Submitted to Contest #103

I’ve always been lucky. Never a speeding ticket not reversed, finding money, I even stumbled into my job when I didn’t apply. With the peering eyes over my shoulder, I withdrew the last 500$ from my bank account. Insufficient funds. Oh the fee. I type in $490. Withdraw. Had to be a multiple of 10. “Why don’t you just steal the atm itself? It’s got all the money you need.” “Hah! That’d be like stealing from myself.” Perplexed I handed him the $490. He pointed at the branding. Property of Onako. “That’s me.” “So why do you need...

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“wake” by Joohee Yoon

Submitted to Contest #103

Honestly, I'm not really sure when it started. Only that even now as I write this, something nags at me to wake up.But the thing is, I am already awake. Wide awake. Because every time I sleep, I dream of myself in a hospital bed, my mother gripping my hand as she begs and prays that I wake up. I see my father pacing the room, eyes tightly shut as he mumbles under his breath. I see my little sister sobbing as she asks me, why won't you wake up? I miss you. I see my older brother searching possible cures on his phone, and him whispering to me,...

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“Visitor's Pass” by Danaé Morriah

Submitted to Contest #103

Under any other circumstances, Evie would have found the repeat appearance of visitor’s passes to be just a coincidence. However, days before they began to appear she discovered a book. Something her mother kept hidden on the top shelf of her closet. It contained mementos from all the places her mother had been. In the very last page laid a visitor’s pass to an army base dated a year before Evie was born. That was the very first pass Evie came across, she kept the page open on her kitchen counter piecing together what it could’ve meant. Her ...

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“AI or OI or is OA the newflex story forgot to mention.. laughter from the zombie worlds” by Clinton Siegle

Submitted to Contest #103

People forget. I forgot. To be honest. I was dead, a lot longer than anyone realizes. You see that question. Who was the president in 2016? Laughter.. If I tell you who would have won if Katrina the hurricane struck in 2003, not 2005 like here, you would laugh. Should I? OA or AI or Alice should have said Bobby Jindal. Not Obama for President in 2016. Meaning? So few reality shows talk about the alternative worlds we travel. And AO or AI or Alice are checking people’s perceptions and memories. Laughter. You see, not all realities are the sam...

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“1139” by Francis Kessler

Submitted to Contest #103

"Hey Baby? Can you check the time?" Steve yelled down the steps. He felt like he was running behind and anxiety was starting to build. I was feeling like he had to rush. A sweet mellow voice announced from the living room downstairs, "It's 11:39. You have 20 minutes." Steve chuckled to himself. 1139. There it is again. That number keeps popping up. Whenever he would see 1139 it brought back fond memories of his childhood. As a child, Steve's family grew up in the middle-class neighborhood of Lower Leeds, PA. An area stuffed with identic...

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“The story he never tells” by Donatello S

Submitted to Contest #103

He heavily sighed and looked around him. The dancing tangled web of humans, the smell of sweat overpowering the stench of alcohol from the mouth of the classmate who blabbered onto his ears made him somewhat dizzy. Spending even another 5 minutes in such condition was making him feel he’d better be dead, but he had to wait. He was designated ride for the group of people he came with. He wanted, but cannot be irresponsible; however much he hated being in such a loud party. He could have spent a night wrapped up in warm duvet, reading a book w...

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“To a Brighter Future Dawn” by Isaac Luthe

Submitted to Contest #103

A blanket of grey clouds beckoned rain over the smog filled city of Yanville. The streets were barren save for the occasional cab going here and there, or wherever their passenger might beckon them on their way to a lifeless miserable job. As the cars drove their wipers would be persistently flowing, wiping away the sand and soot that permeated the air. The grayish light of the muted sun filtered through the filthy window of a fifth story apartment. The rays of cluttered brilliance landed lightly upon the face of Dana Kenith as she tossed an...

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“The White Sheet ” by Trisha Ganan

Submitted to Contest #103

I am in my garden sitting in my old spot. The spot that’s perfect when I need to take a breath. A real breath; one that’s free of all the anxiety and drama that comes with being in university. There’s always one person in the group assignment not pulling their weight and currently, I can’t guarantee a hold on my homicidal tendencies if I see this person. So, I left my dorm at the crack of down to drive down to my childhood home where I am greeted by silence and solitude. They are out of town and my sister less than half my age was in school....

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“Normal” by Alan Tong

Submitted to Contest #103

There was a bench in Sam’s neighborhood park. It was old and worn from decades of rain, wind, and the bottoms of the suburban children and parents who frequented the place. The bench overlooked a large field of unkempt grass and wildflowers that would become illuminated in a golden light when the sun would set. A beautiful thing, that bench was. The evening after he, and everyone else in the world, received the news, Sam went and sat on that bench. The world was changing, but still, he knew he could count on that bench to be there. Sam wat...

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“Ward” by Jess A. Smith

Submitted to Contest #103

My name is Ward. Or is it Warren? Sometimes I forget things. I forget that my tongue can make the words in my head real, and that if I use it, sometimes people will understand me. Other times I just use it as fishing pole. Today I forgot that it’s important to push the buttons on the phone. Or maybe I learned that you don’t push the buttons on the phone. I don’t remember now. I woke up at 6:42. I wake up every day at 6:42. The alarm clock on my table got into my head and now it’s always with me. After I wake up I always remember to brush my ...

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“Culpability” by Kayley Dickins

Submitted to Contest #103

“It was not your fault” It was morning and the sky was the kind of pale grey that verged on being yellow if you caught it at the right moment. The kind of weather where it doesn’t really do anything at all for months on end, becomes cold and damp and grey one day and decides it is quite happy there. Inside the office was murky with old cigarette smoke and the large wooden clock hung on the wall was either ticking louder than usual, or he simply had not paid enough attention to it before. This was not the first time he had heard that senten...

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“Ten O Nine” by Debbie Teague

Submitted to Contest #103

“That will be $10.09 please miss.” Sam gave an almost imperceptible gasp, not because of the shocking cost of the sandwich and shake, but because she had seen that number last night. Sam had fallen asleep reading her library book and woke at 10:09 PM. Strange, she thought but shrugged it off. Her coworkers had all tried food at the Burger Barn and said it “was to die for” but she would wait for a coupon before returning. After lunch she took a brief walk through the park and dropped a few coins in the guitar c...

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“How the Turn Tables” by Austin Fuller

Submitted to Contest #103

Mike got into his car, and could see the sun beginning to rise. He had a ton of meetings today, and had to get to the office by 7:00 A.M. He checked his watch. 6:45. He had time to grab coffee and a quick bite. He pulled into the small local coffee shop, "Topped Off", and headed inside. As he got his order, a hot coffee with a blueberry muffin, he eyed the muffin. "Huh, it's so small, i remember it being bigger. Thank you." The barista, a young college kid, looked up quickly, a smirk on his face. "I'm sorry, what was that?" "Oh nothing, i ju...

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“Potential” by Eva Aggarwal

Submitted to Contest #103

"You're very talented, sweetheart." "You're not like other kids." "You're special." Ever since I was born, I've been told I was extraordinary. That I was smart, that I was creative, that I was bright and clever. And I believed it. I pushed myself to every limit and went through life floating on the appreciation, the admiration. I could draw, I could write, I could sing, I could speak, I could do math problems in my head. It was all perfect until ninth grade, when I 'grew up'. Ninth grade was supposed...

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“My Covert Cupid” by Kaitlyn Funk

Submitted to Contest #103

Fate is said to be a fickle, sometimes cruel, entity that can either make or break us. Fortunately, it was on my side when it counted most. This is the unorthodox story of how I fell in love. My name is Yulia Wilson, and I’m 25 years old. You might be wondering if I’m Russian. I can say with a certainty that I am not. I’m predominately Swedish with a pinch of German. My parents have an inexplicable affinity for the Russian culture, however, so they named me and my two sisters, Anastasia and Viktoria, accordingly. Growing up...

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Write a story about someone who starts noticing the same object or phrase wherever they go.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 106 stories

“Tabs” by Alexander Kozdra

“wake” by Joohee Yoon

“Visitor's Pass” by Danaé Morriah

“AI or OI or is OA the newflex story forgot to mention.. laughter from the zombie worlds” by Clinton Siegle

“1139” by Francis Kessler

“The story he never tells” by Donatello S

“To a Brighter Future Dawn” by Isaac Luthe

“The White Sheet ” by Trisha Ganan

“Normal” by Alan Tong

“Ward” by Jess A. Smith

“Culpability” by Kayley Dickins

“Ten O Nine” by Debbie Teague

“How the Turn Tables” by Austin Fuller

“Potential” by Eva Aggarwal

“My Covert Cupid” by Kaitlyn Funk

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character looking for a sign.

An apparent coincidence occurs. Write a story about a character who suspects paranormal, spiritual, or criminal causes.

Write a story where a character runs into someone they’ve seen in their dreams, or enters a building they’ve dreamt about before.

Start your story with someone discovering a photograph that has something written on the back.

Contest #103

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

814

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: