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10910+ Contemporary Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. All the newest modern day stories to thrill and inspire, all in one place.

Contemporary Short Stories – Page 3 of 728

Course of Time

Submitted to Contest #297

I spent my entire life with my head peeking above the water, with too many dry days taken for granted. An ordered myriad of timid moments when my voice should have mattered flashes before my eyes. I jolt at a chill skipping down my back. I focus on the sky instead, how much better it looks after the storm—the blue peeling off a gray coat. The sea air dries my sinuses, and the salt burns my eyes. My nose crinkles with discomfort—the fishy aromas drowning me in a distinct stench. There is a dryness glued to the insides of my cheeks, and it sta...

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Aren't cats supposed to be boring?

Submitted to Contest #297

For something more than a decade I’ve been trying to convince my cats they’re supposed to be boring. So far I’m not making any progress. For a long time, a friend of mine tried to convince me that dogs were better than cats. According to her, cats were just boring. They didn’t do anything other than sitting around being cold and aloof. Dogs, on the other hand, were very attentive. They’d go for walks, chase toys, protect the home, and be ever-faithful companions. I had a dog for a while, a laid-back Shetland Sheepdog with an incredibly sweet...

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The Orb

Submitted to Contest #297

They were such majestic creations. Their slim limbs extended so gracefully, while their movements made almost no sound. They did not walk, they floated. She was in awe of these creatures and how they all acted in harmony and synchrony. They never uttered a word, yet — they all perfectly understood each other. She wondered what connected them all. One of the creatures suddenly approached her – extending its arm towards her. The creature opened the three fingers that made a fist and revealed a small purple orb that emitted i...

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The Eternal Beep

Submitted to Contest #297

The fluorescent tubes hummed their migraine frequency, spitting relentless, shadowless light. Offensively cheerful Muzak ricocheted off linoleum scuffed by the drag and sigh of countless weary soles. Gary propelled himself and his basket towards the checkout sector by sheer inertia.The basket’s weight seemed less physical than existential: a bottle of cheap Merlot, its glass cool and unforgiving; a microwave meal labelled ‘Homestyle Comfort’, suspiciously beige under the harsh lights; generic painkillers. Each step grated. An overpowering ur...

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Golden Hour

Submitted to Contest #297

Golden rays of warm light bathed the bedroom, washed over her soft skin where it was exposed above the tangle of sheets that wrapped us together. She breathed in, and out, eyelashes fluttering against a still-rosy cheek, lips parted and puffy from when I kissed every inch of her. I watched from beside her, breathing in the smell of her, her shampoo on the pillow and the scent that lingered with the sweat on her skin from the night before that was uniquely hers.I counted the rise and fall of her breast with every breath, I would touch her if ...

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Six hours

Submitted to Contest #297

TW: substance abuseThese days Ashu recounts his life to himself like a countdown. But the closer it gets to one, the ombre of his memories fade to white. Six hours ago, he went for a quick walk to get some fresh air. Five… he ended up at the liquor store in between Wang Noodles and Charcoal Kabob, picking up four airplane bottles of Smirnoff by the register after avoiding the larger gleaming bottles. Four…while he was still sitting on the curb outside, the cashier joined him for a smoke break and shared a bottle of rum. Three…he walked anoth...

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Out of time

Submitted to Contest #297

The operation was complete at 11.07, on Monday 7th April, however that was not when the clock stopped. No regrets they say, and I understand that sentiment as it is indeed pointless. We do not know the future, we only know the past, and the present, and the reasons we did or did not do these actions. All we can do is do different, and for that requires learning, and choice. I will get two weeks. It is a holiday in time, or out of time I should say, and one that is seen to me as the solution to all my current problems. Time will tell if it is...

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Brush Your Teeth

Submitted to Contest #297

He says, "Baby, don't listen to what they sayThere comes a time when you have to break away."He says, "Baby, there are things we all cling to all our lifeIt's time to let them go and become my wife."Cowboy Junkies Brush Your TeethBy Wendy O’Connell Mama says to brush your teeth for at least one minute. Daddy said, “Don’t worry about it, Pooh.” And then he would pull out his set of false teeth and give me a gummy grin. I listen to Mama. I wet my toothbrush and put a glob of Crest Bacteria Plus on my medium-bristled brush. Mama says You don’...

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Driving

Submitted to Contest #297

Where are we going? Cool wind from cloudy skies blows against my face.Anywhere, you reply. Just somewhere far away from here. Here’s not so bad. I say, a little joke hidden in my voice. I glance over at him, driving one handed and the other laying across the middle compartment between our seats. His fingers are long and you can see the veins on the back of his hand.Well, anywhere with you is good, but we’re trying to go anywhere that’s away. You reply, your philosophical tone telling me that you’re writing something up in your head.You sound...

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On Second Thought ...

Submitted to Contest #297

ON SECOND THOUGHT…Steve McCluer Some might argue that beer drinking and skydiving should not be associated with each other. But they usually are . . . although usually not at the same time.The guys at the front table had obviously started their beer-drinking game well before the sunset jump. I gave them a wide berth and looked for my group in a tavern filled with skydivers. I found them in the back.Beer in hand, I took a seat at the table and joined one of several conversations going on at once. Minutes passed before I notice Jim Porter s...

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The Unwanted Kittens

Submitted to Contest #297

The Unwanted KittensIt was just before midnight, and I was walking home from my friend Tonya's party. I lived ten blocks from her house and thought walking home would be no big deal. It would only take a short time to walk to my house.I was fine for the first two blocks. The streetlights led me down the sidewalk, but when I turned on Moonlight Avenue, there were very few lights, and it was so quiet. All I could hear was my heavy breathing. As I walked in the darkness, my imagination started playing tricks.While I was walking down the street,...

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My Brother's Book

Submitted to Contest #297

Clara sat upright in her bed. She leaned heavily on the pillows, wistfully penning a poem about her brother.‘Oh holier than thouYou leave your markA snail trail across my years of growthConvinced and convictedWe stare across the voidOf natureUniverseThrough lives spent in recoveryHave we, though?Recovered?Each of us choosing a salve of different colorsA collection of beliefs that forgeOur way forwardWe wonderWe reach acrossAnd yet, and yetPlease…do not pray for me.I've never shared my beliefs orWants, or desires. No. Not with youThe judge, ...

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Sat. 11 am: Willow Point Park- SINGLE DADS CLUB

Submitted to Contest #297

Sat. 11 am- Willow Point ParkSINGLE DADS CLUB4:26 amHe cleaned the dishes. If I were to be kind about it, it only took him a year. I’m too drained to be petty. Hell, I’m too tired to continue even thinking about it. The throbbing hum quieted once I stepped into our apartment, kicking off the orthopedics that fused to my soles within the past 20 hours (but who’s counting? My paystub better be). I wind up my good shoulder, and chunk my trusty-Tired.Excuse me? I look past the kitchen and squint, hissing, try beloved-A cough seemed to come from ...

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Killing Time

Submitted to Contest #297

I tap my screen twice. Selecting the order and opening it. Donk. Cold air. The sliding window’s door hits the ends with a noise seared like a brand into my mind. “Hi!” My voice is the best simulacrum of enthusiasm that I can muster. It’s hollow, I know my smile doesn’t meet my eyes, and as time has gone on I’ve started to pitch my voice up too high to be welcoming, it’s edging on accusatory now. Unfair to the entirely placid woman sitting in her car across from me. To her, this is her first time having this interaction in at least a day, pro...

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What Do You Have Available?

Submitted to Contest #297

I never really thought about destiny until I met Kate.Destiny. Fate. Those were things they talked about in the movies.It wasn’t real life.Twenty years ago, I was twenty-five years old.And if you ask me how I was, there wouldn’t be much to say.I was living my life like it didn’t matter.I got up. Watched T.V. Ate. Went to bed.I drove for Uber when I needed to pay the rent and that was all.Most people would think there had to be a reason for this sort of behavior.There wasn’t.I just didn’t care.About anything.At 11pm on June 25th 2023, I was s...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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