Write about someone who doesn’t remember their past — and doesn’t want to.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Jul 30, 2021

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✍️ 205 stories

“Bystander ” by Darsh Sharma

Submitted to Contest #75

5 There were five of us. When the night began there were five. We had wanted to take a walk at night. The harsh afternoon heat mellowed into a gentle warmth, and Cal had brought up the idea of taking a walk. Grace disagreed. Walking in the woods was scary enough, its large trees and hazardous floor making it easy to trip. I didn’t have an opinion on the matter. “C’mon Grace, live a little! We live in Utah. What's the worst that can happen?” Cal argued. After relentless convincing, Cal had persuaded us to take this walk. ...

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“I don't know why” by Linda Bakewell Bakewell

Submitted to Contest #75

When I woke up I was filthy. Not like a little dirty and some mud, I was absolutely covered in dirt, mud, blood and some things which I don’t care to mention. I was lying in a ditch, wearing what tattered, ill-fitting clothes. I was tired, scared, hungry and filthy. There were these weird scars and scrapes all over my body and my ankle was twisted badly. It was mid-afternoon, and as far as I could tell I was in the middle of nowhere. If it wasn’t for Chuck driving past and seeing me sitting there weeping in the grass I think I would have d...

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“Friendly Fire” by Addison Smits

Submitted to Contest #75

I’m standing at my post, gun slung across my back. Its a little past midnight, and the stars glow overhead. The other guard and I stand at the entrance of the base. We are waiting on a carriage to come. We were not told who was inside, how many of them there are, or what they are doing inside our walls, but we do not have the right to object orders. Snow begins to fall, but its normal for up in the North. It is considered unusual for us to not have snow in a twenty-four hour period, and concerning. The Emperor gets all his power from the col...

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“Snow & Ash” by Sarah Marchese

Submitted to Contest #75

There’s something about the darkness that is familiar. It’s not necessarily the look of it, more how it feels, warm and moving, humming with energy. This darkness is something alive, something swirling beneath closed eyes that won’t open just yet. He can swear there is someone calling his name, though the sound is muddled and far away, and it isn’t so much a name, but it’s something close enough. Soon. A voice tells him, though he’s not sure who the voice belongs to, whether it’s his own, or someone else’s that he’s long since forgot...

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“Howling ” by John McCool

Submitted to Contest #75

He slowly opened his eyes, his vision slowly breaking the blur. His head ached with a sharp pain making his stomach twist in knots. He was going to throw up, but he wasn’t sure if it was from the pain, or the horrendous smell that resonated from around him. He lifted his head and peered around at his surroundings. A singular lamp swung above him like a pendulum, illuminating a metal table adorned with leather straps and dirty rags. His gaze lowered to the floor where a thick pool of crimson liquid laid spread out around the table’s ...

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“Guardian Angel” by Michaela Askew

Submitted to Contest #75

“Claire Williams, to the main office please. Claire Williams.” I know it had nothing to do with school I made sure I was an average student below the radar. My grades, my behavior, my appearance all average to avoid further investigation into who Claire Williams is. &nbs...

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“The Alley in New York” by Caroline White

Submitted to Contest #75

I woke up with a throbbing headache in the middle of a gym floor underneath a flipped over buffet table. It appeared there had been a party there the night before. There were ripped streamers taped to the walls. There were puddles of spilt crimson red punch in various places and crumbled cupcakes sticking to the walls glued by blue frosting. Worst of all, I didn’t remember who I was. I tried to sit up and I hit my head on the table only making my headache worse. I army-crawled out from underneath the stained white table and stood up to look...

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“The Truth About Me and My Family” by MM Z

Submitted to Contest #75

Dahila stood still and waited nervously. It was almost her 18th birthday. In a few days, her house would be filled with joy and celebration, but she felt different. Something felt off, it felt like she was missing something - something she needed to know before she turned 18. Her mom was in the kitchen, cleaning the counters and cabinets, preparing for Dahila’s 18th birthday. She was wondering why she felt this way - it was her 18th birthday after all - the one special day you only get once in your life. Her fa...

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“Out of Sight, Out of Mind” by Sarah Linseed

Submitted to Contest #75

Helping myself means letting down those who care about me. Everyone wants me to remember. The people claiming to be my family and friends, the doctors, the police. I was the only one there, the only one who supposedly witnessed the death of young Misty Melville. I was the only one who survived the encounter, yet I came back bringing more bruises and mysteries than they had in the first place. If they could solve me, put together the scattered pieces in my brain, they could solve the puzzle and help future victims. But I’m a vic...

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“M&M Memories” by Jackie McKenzie

Submitted to Contest #75

Joe stood in front of the vending machine pondering his selection. The candy occupied the fourth and fifth rows, between the savory snacks and the Grandma’s Cookies. It struck him that, considering this was a hospital, there was a distinct lack of healthy options available. It also struck him that, despite not knowing who he was or where he was from, he knew how to operate a vending machine. And, although he didn't know his own name (Joe, a derivation of John Doe, was the name given to him by the nurses until he could remember his own),...

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“Never Forget” by Jonah Solheim

Submitted to Contest #75

About a year after my appointment, I woke up to a brick lying on the living room floor. Haloed by the shattered glass it had sailed through sometime earlier that morning, it looked like some kind of modern art. I picked up the biggest pieces with the tips of my fingers and laid them gently in the dustpan--it was too early to run the vacuum and risk waking the whole family just for some hipsterish commentary on privacy. Everything was tinted purplish-green, and I soon became discouraged with picking little bits out of the carpet lik...

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“When Kailani Wakes Up” by Alexus Adams

Submitted to Contest #75

Kailani was starting to become the love of my life but now I felt as if I was dealt a hand of cards I can’t place on the table. One night I found her in her apartment beaten badly with laceration marks covering parts of her body, her clothes had been ripped and in her own blood the word pain had been written on her stomach. Seeing my baby like this really tore me down to shreds, the doctors are saying she’ll be lucky if she wakes up but I know for a fact that Kailani will wake up. She is a strong fighter. Amber you know she had all t...

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“The Gardener ” by Zinobulali Goduka

Submitted to Contest #75

Thursday, 9 April 2020 It has been a week since I came back from the hospital. Madam has gone from utterly condescending to an excruciating silent treatment. The fear of being obsolete is slowly materialising into an unbearable reality as days go by. I know everyone is frustrated by the rising numbers of fatalities and anxious to do anything that might expose them. This anxiety is multiplied if one is living with a recovering patient. Madam has never been one to hide her feelings, and when she does, she is not very good at it. Hen...

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“Washed Away” by Katie Moyes

Submitted to Contest #75

Thick, fat raindrops assaulted the pavement. Dagny looked out his office window. He’d have to walk to the train station in this. He’d been expecting rain, but this was a downpour. Well, it’s not like he’d rather stay late just to avoid a little water. At 17:08 he joined the sea of black umbrellas, navigating the swirling currents of pedestrians trying to find the stream of traffic headed to the station. He let his mind soften into the rhythmic pounding of feet and rain, a meditative silence that was abruptly broken when, “Arne” The strange...

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“The blank notebook” by S B Chryslotte

Submitted to Contest #75

Kathy woke up when the sunlight from the hospital window fell on her face; she had to squint her eyes to look out the window from where the mid afternoon light was coming. Her eyes fell upon the clock on the wall in front of her, it was striking 13. She got herself up to sit up straight, she touched the dressing wrapped around her head and felt her aching arms and legs, just then a nurse entered the room and startled her and said, "Finally" and went outside in a rush. She saw the nurse go out, when the door closed behind her; Kathy was just ...

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Write about someone who doesn’t remember their past — and doesn’t want to.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 205 stories

“Bystander ” by Darsh Sharma

“I don't know why” by Linda Bakewell Bakewell

“Friendly Fire” by Addison Smits

“Snow & Ash” by Sarah Marchese

“Howling ” by John McCool

“Guardian Angel” by Michaela Askew

“The Alley in New York” by Caroline White

“The Truth About Me and My Family” by MM Z

“Out of Sight, Out of Mind” by Sarah Linseed

“M&M Memories” by Jackie McKenzie

“Never Forget” by Jonah Solheim

“When Kailani Wakes Up” by Alexus Adams

“The Gardener ” by Zinobulali Goduka

“Washed Away” by Katie Moyes

“The blank notebook” by S B Chryslotte

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who has finally managed to succeed at a long-standing New Year’s resolution.

Write about someone whose job is to help people leave their old lives behind.

Start your story with one character making a vow that they never would have made the year before.

Write about two characters who each want to change the same thing, but resolve to go about it in very different ways.

Contest #75

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

735

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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