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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.

11100+ 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 662 of 741

Perfectly Almond

Submitted to Contest #77

I stepped into the cabin and unwrapped my scarf from my neck. I hung it up and reached for my hat but paused and looked back at where I had hung my scarf. There were already clothes there. It looked like the snow clothes belonged to a petite woman or maybe a teenage girl. I couldn't understand why they would be here though. This was my cabin. It was also in a remote place in the woods so you'd have to be looking for it to find it.  Here's the thing. About a month ago, I was pushed into quitting my job as a teacher and I was taken to a...

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Never Too Old

Submitted to Contest #77

  Never Too Old Jack looked out of the window as the snow began to fall, it’s large flakes suddenly covering the garden in a cold, white carpet.  'Hey Julia, look out of the window. It’s like a scene from a Christmas card out there.’ He was standing in the lounge, still wearing his dressing gown and slippers even though he had been up for hours. He held this morning’s third mug of coffee in his hand. ‘Not sure if the paperboy will deliver this morning though, the snow seems to be settling pretty fast.’ There was no answer from the ...

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Snow Angels

Submitted to Contest #77

It doesn’t snow back home. Looking out at the window from my small apartment, with nothing but thick clothes and a choice to make, I see that it snows. I’ve been in the city long enough to know the odds living in the outskirts, but apparently not long enough to get used to the sadness when you’re alone. The chill in the apartment is a lot crisper than it’s supposed to be, and I reckon it’s the broken heater that my landlord doesn’t seem to consider a problem, no matter how many times I’ve asked. It’s partly why I drown myself with coffee. ...

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Home sweet home.

Submitted to Contest #77

CW: covid related death Lindiwe hurriedly closed the front door of her lodging, in anticipation of her sister's call. It had been snowing all night and would probably continue all day. Heading for her attic bedsit, she passed through the communal kitchen, waded through an overflowing kitchen sink before retrieving her mug which someone had unceremoniously left unwashed among the mess from the night before. This was becoming a recurring problem; her housemates using her stuff and leaving it discarded in the communal space. There was...

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The Queen of the Snow Encounters the World

Submitted to Contest #77

Roxana sat by the bedroom window and watched snowflakes as big and fluffy as cotton balls melt into the sidewalk. She pulled the blanket her mother had knit up around her shoulders like a cape, then dragged the ends behind her as she padded down the ground-floor apartment's hallway.  "I want to go outside," she announced to her mother, who sat at the little table in the living room with a stack of bills.  "It's too cold to go out right now," her mother said without looking up. "Besides, the steps are probably iced over, and I d...

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Blanket of Snow

Submitted to Contest #77

(TW: passive suicidal ideation) Lucy sat on the windowsill, staring out at the late March snowfall. Wintery weather at this time of year was not at all unheard of in Cooke City, Montana. Especially up in the mountains. Lucy absentmindedly wondered if the lake a few yards away from her parent’s vacation house was still completely frozen over.   No, the date that the calendar happened to show had nothing to do with the way Lucy felt captivated by...

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The Recruit

Submitted to Contest #77

It was officially seven seconds past the hour. I knew that not because I was counting or watching the clock, but the room was so silent that I felt the tick of the paper-thin clock hand as it began its journey for the 19th time that frozen January day. One of the worst parts about winter is the sun being around for no more than a cold, visible breath, if at all. At what had then become 7 p.m. and 21 seconds, I sat in my dark cubicle alone, staring at the spreadsheet on the screen as the numbers began to form a dark gray blur, much like the...

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The Bee Teller

Submitted to Contest #77

Natalia looked out into the grey-Dr.-Zhivago dawn and squinted through the angry snow, trying to find that invisible white circle formerly known as the sun. She scanned the horizon above the frozen lake, but the frenetic flakes assaulted her eyes so furiously that she was barely able to open them. She quickly wiped them on the sleeve of the itchiest Irish fisherman sweater known to man, and ran back into the cabin, slamming the door behind her.“That good, huh?” Dean asked as he watched her stomp the snow off her boots, an involuntary sh...

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Plastic Runners

Submitted to Contest #77

    Mark leaned against the windowsill and looked out at the snow.    “Remember when we used to like the snow?” he asked, thinking about how he was going to have to shovel the driveway, and half turning around to look at Sara, who was knitting in the cushioned rocking chair.    “I remember,” she said, smiling with only her eyes, “but what I remember is that you liked the snow, and I spent a lot of cold afternoons with snow down my coat wondering why anyone had invented sledding, or skiing, or snowball fights, or...

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A letter for Katherine

Submitted to Contest #77

Far in the distance, close to the forest, stood a deer, chewing on the icy leaves. I could see through the window how the snow fell on her thick brown fur coat. Her eyes were wide open, she was on high alert. I wondered if she could see me from where she stood. She took off. Something must have happened. Shame. For a brief six minutes she was the only friend I had. The only other living creature. My thoughts were turning as cold as the snow falling outside. My head hurt and I could not understand why at first but then I saw my own reflection...

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Pirouette

Submitted to Contest #77

It takes a discerning eye to see the difference between ground and sky, to make out the thin horizon, to distinguish between the shades of white and off white and pale grey, to locate the subtle break where the frozen lake meets the snowy banks and then bleeds into the featureless, uninterrupted clouds. The eye of someone who has grown up in northern Minnesota or some similar place where winter descends in late-September and holds tight until early-May, if you’re lucky. I used to be that person with that eye. Now I stand on the brink, disori...

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Two Sleds, Two Geezers

Submitted to Contest #77

 Two Sleds, Two Geezers Gene and I have lived above Lake George for over fifty years. We have a nice piece of property that actually stretches to the lake. We bought the land shortly after we were married. There was no house then. We built that as we could afford it. We started with two rooms. Now we have two stories, four bedrooms, five baths, living room, dining room, den, kitchen and utility rooms. We raised three children in this house. And every spring and summer they would play in the lake. Every winter they skated on the lake. ...

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Up There In The Snow

Submitted to Contest #77

Satoru fought against the wind and heaved the door shut. Outside, the snow covered everything under it, hiding away every secret beneath every inch of white. The wind howled on, rattling the windows in the dark. And even inside, he could still sense its terrifying strength as it lashed across his cabin in the hills into the unknown. His body felt like it was burning. So much so it hurt like hell in every literal sense of the word. It seemed to eat away at his skin, slicing him, bit by bit, into sashimi. He groaned, grunting out in the dark ...

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Memories in the Snow

Submitted to Contest #77

You know, from the moment you’re born, that you’re meant to be a Memory-Keeper.  As your eyes open for the first time, looking around at the wonders of the world you’ve been born in, you can see the semi-transparent “shadows” behind people, looking on with expressions of wonder or sorrow or joy. They all have a blue glow, and are younger versions of the people they follow.  When you leave the hospital (you’re always born in a hospital) you can see hardly-there people standing around, clear like glass and mostly nervous. A man talki...

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Summertime, and the Living Is Easy

Submitted to Contest #77

“You should buy it.” “I don’t know. $15.00 dollars, seems like a lot.” “What, you taking it with you? Live a little.” I know when I should listen and when it’s best to pretend. Dennis always has the answers, most times, to the wrong questions. He means well, at least I hope he does, for his sake. Reputation around here means everything. Sometimes I have to wonder though, why our experiences, although similar, seem to leave us different messages. It was like that, the day at the beach. I guess that is why I agree...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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