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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of contemporary short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

150+ 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 4 of 10

How to Reappear

Submitted to Contest #321

Tomoe Shingun holds the power of invisibility. It isn’t from the use of a cloak or some practiced ability. It’s a gift that lives inside her. One day she woke up in the middle of the forest and it was just there. That’s actually how the game starts. Her waking up and being pursued by a group of ronin. Not powerful people, but still she’s outnumbered. So what does she do? She hides behind a tree and closes her eyes. One of the pursuers circles the tree just as Tomoe opens her eyes. If you know what you’re doing, then the ronin won’t see her. ...

13 likes 3 comments 3
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Figure on a Grassy Common at Twilight: A Tale of the Arts Department

Submitted to Contest #321

CW: Contains references to abuse, psychological trauma, and suicide attempts. “University install a new time rift no one bothered to text Faculty about?” Anand Deshpande murmured as he studied the formation just beyond Wrightson Hall. “Given our current sociopolitical trajectory, it somehow seems imminently plausible.”“You’re not entirely off-base,” Saanvi cut brightly through her husband’s sardonic bleakness. Dusk was settling in, with a bruised pink aura to the west, and the late afternoon Main Street rush two blocks over was transitioning...

18 likes 10 comments 10
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10,000 Butlers

Submitted to Contest #321

Norbert and Bobbin and Reginald and Frisky were all standing with their white gloves on, wringing their hands, bowing and shuffling. They had been taught what to do if the mistress tinkled her little bell or the master bellowed. But not one of the classes had explained how to deal with this type of disaster. Sure, Gilbert and Filbert and Wilson and Narwhal had learned how to press the lord’s boxers and puff the lady’s niblets, and they were well schooled in how to pretend not to see indiscretions of any type occurring directly in their line ...

10 likes 1 comment 1
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Catch of the Day

Submitted to Contest #321

Mister Whiskers walked into the bedroom and jumped on Louise’s bed. Louise absent-mindedly reached out and stroked him, without opening her eyes. There is no hurry to wake up on a Saturday morning. Mister Whiskers rubbed his face against her hand, purring loudly. Slowly, she opened her eyes, smiling at the big orange cat. Then she froze as she saw the present he had placed beside her on the bed. Screaming, she jumped up, ran into the bathroom, and slammed the door closed. A few minutes later, Louise emerged in her housecoat and slippers, rea...

4 likes 4 comments 4
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The Four of Us Are Dying

Submitted to Contest #321

It was another Friday and the four of us hopped on GTA at 4. Always 4. Had to get situated by 4:20 and smoke together in one of our respective penthouses. Been that way since college. It’s our tradition: A bottle of cheap vodka and a chaser next to a fluffy bowl of ganja packed in our respective bongs while we virtually clinked glasses and drank them in reality. We got on the party chat at exactly 4pm and Gloria was the first to break the silence. “You guys I can’t even.” “You always say that.” I said. “Yea but doesn’t change the fact t...

3 likes 0 comments 0
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Fighting Fires

Submitted to Contest #321

Until I met Brian I prided myself on being someone who would never cheat on their mate. But Brian and I had such chemistry it was like fireworks, impossible to ignore.But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, some background. I’m a soccer mom. I have two children, a girl thirteen, Shailey, and a boy, Jared, almost fifteen. They are close; they get along really well.When the thing started with Brian it was of the utmost importance to me that the kids not find out. If their father cheated they would be disappointed in him but wouldn’t consider h...

3 likes 0 comments 0
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Killer on the Loose

Submitted to Contest #321

The police of Clearwater had never quite known what kind of crime was in their town. Usually, they just handled lost hikers in the nearby woods, and property disputes turned violent. Every so often though, something big would happen. This was one of those times. Captain Walter Johnson sighed as he read through the case file again rubbing his temple. This one was going to give him a headache, he just knew it. They hadn't seen a murder this gruesome in years, and that one made the news. Why did it have to be him… Henri. Walter hardened his fac...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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Time was too brief.

Submitted to Contest #322

Shelby finally sat down, after saying good night to her babysitter for nine year old, Ariana. The taxi and fee for her reliable neighbour meant Shelby now had specks of dust remaining in her purse. It was only the day after she had taken her earnings from her steady job as an assistant manager in the best restaurant in town. Due to her obligations, Shelby mostly worked lunchtimes and the early evenings, long hours on her feet, pleasing her customers and ordering supplies of food and liquor. She had to keep the chefs happy too, most importan...

7 likes 2 comments 2
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Platonic Soulmates

Submitted to Contest #321

“Well this is entirely untraditional,” Luna turned over in the crisp hotel bed sheets to face Cam. Morning sun cascaded into the room and sounds of the city below forced their way through the walls. Her head pounded from the five - or was it six? - dirty martinis that she’d sipped during the rehearsal dinner and welcome reception the night before and her fake eyelashes still clung to the corners of her hazel eyes. Cam smiled the most familiar smile in the world to Luna. They’d met in undergrad; Luna a serious student on the pre-law track de...

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The love of two people hiding a fascinating story

Submitted to Contest #321

A love of two people hiding a fascinating story.I was sitting at home slightly stressed out as I was waiting for my Sats results. I just heard on the radio it was going to be a hot day In Phoenix. I sat here thinking about what I was going to do on a hot day. It was the end of the school year and most of my friends had left for a holiday in a cooler climate. A holiday in France was planned for me and my dad but I had to wait a couple of days as he had something to finish at the office. In a lethargic and bored way I looked around the room. I...

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Discovering the hidden significance of the Bloom

Submitted to Contest #321

Another day at the beach for his usual seaside coffee at a well known Adelaide coffee shop. It was well into spring now after a bleak and miserable winter. In past years he had especially loved the seaside starting with onset of spring with its blue skies, sunshine, warmth, blossom, and the promise of glorious summer to come. It normally lifted his spirits tremendously. But this year the miserable winter had lingered on into the early spring dragging his spirits down with it. For some weeks now he had been finding it depressing, menacing - ...

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95876

Submitted to Contest #321

95876 A young voice, “You have reached 95876. I’m Beth.”“I’m Karen, Ms. Exbeth’s medical coordinator. May I speak to her?”“What a wonderful name. It’s like a pirate that can’t read, he signs his name with an X, but he can read. Can you imagine a lower case cursive e that keeps going all the way up to the top of the line, then a slash like a sword stroke to make it into an X. It could be his nick name, Mr. Ex.”“That is nice may I speak to your mother.”In a raised voice, “Mom, a Karen wants to speak to you. I think she has a wrong number.” Bet...

7 likes 3 comments 3
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Unfinished Business

Submitted to Contest #321

Being a ghost sucked.Yuki watched the morning traffic speed by from her perch on the back of a park bench. She sighed, crossing her legs and tapping her other foot on the seat. The office workers, grocery store checkers, and delivery drivers had no idea how lucky they were. They had places to be, business to be about, deadlines. And Yuki had flat-lined.She'd been a ghost for about two months now and was bored out of her mind. Being a ghost hadn't always been boring. At first, it had been terrifying. She'd been shocked when she sat up in the ...

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See Through

Submitted to Contest #321

Sasha woke up with a start. Her alarm clock was blaring the local radio station; the DJ talking about the Hallowe’en Festival of Fun that was happening in Pyres Park all weekend.Sasha groaned. She had another appointment with her therapist this afternoon and she was not looking forward to it. The therapist was meant to be one of the best in the city with a waiting list that was over a year. Sasha had been to see him eight times now and it just seemed like they were talking in circles. She had been to therapy before after her dad died suddenl...

4 likes 0 comments 0
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FAMILY SECRETS

Submitted to Contest #321

FAMILY SECRET “Don’t rush me, Damien. Give me a minute... Just finish your soup. How is it ? “It should be the bomb. It’s New Orleans Chicken Creole.” “ The soup sucks, Steve. Too spicy, and where’s the chicken? And don’t change the subject. I don’t understand why you can’t just come out with it. Give me a clue while you’re warming up to it. Do you realize we haven’t seen each other in 3 years? What an example of brotherly love, huh?” “Yeah, imagine three long brother-free years. But let's not shit each other. It was three long year...

5 likes 2 comments 2
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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