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

11170+ 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 689 of 745

Never Plucked Apple in the Garden of Eden

Submitted to Contest #74

The beauty she holds yet she does not realize. The spell she has over me that she will never recognize. Her smile that freezes my world—that makes me realize that the luckiest man on Earth would be the man that will capture her heart. In this small space, in a ferris wheel carriage, has been the best moment of my life. It is ending soon but I will lavish the last ten seconds of this ride where she and I are alone—where I can pretend we’re a couple and not simply friends. Where I can pretend that I have captured her heart, and we feel the s...

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The Top 10 Times I Thought About Dying

Shortlisted for Contest #74 ⭐️

Trigger warning: Suicidal ideation and attempt"Wash me away," I begged the sea.I remember the waves crashing onto me with a force that was mighty enough to wreck ships. Yet I did not struggle. I merely floated on my back as one enjoying a swim in a reflection pool on a mild summer day. I gazed at the thundering skies and wondered what would happen if a bolt of lightning were to strike the water. Would it be enough to kill me? Would it be that bad, dying?I waited for fear to take hold of me; for any remnant of survival instinct to awaken my s...

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Ten Seconds of Confusion

Submitted to Contest #74

All I heard was a steady beeping. The steady beeping of what though? I wondered. It wasn’t a bird, that was for certain, though if it were it would likely be a new species. It wasn’t a person either as far as I could tell, it was too rhythmic, too.. machine-like. Machine. Machine. It was the beeping of a machine. But what machine? One second has passed. Nine seconds remaining. One second has passed? Surely that was longer than a second. Surely. “Umm… I think there’s been a mistake. That was much longer than a second. Oh, and where am...

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Rapture in a Parking Lot

Submitted to Contest #74

At precisely six o’clock in the afternoon on May 21, 2011, Walter "Walt" Barston Jr., fifty-two-years-old and of no fixed address, stood in the crowded parking lot of KQRZ 89.7 FM in Oakland, California, his arms aloft in the shape of a ‘V’, palms skyward, head tilted back, eyes closed.He wore loose-fitting, pleated and cuffed blue jeans held up with a worn black leather belt. His white tee shirt was stretched tight over his distended belly and imprinted with large, block letters with the question, “Have You Heard the Awesome News?” On his f...

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Why Is This Happening?

Submitted to Contest #74

Ten seconds. I can’t breathe. I really can’t breathe. This is going to be the moment I die. Have I accomplished anything important in my life? I don’t think so. How has it come to this? I thought I was better than this. Apparently not. Nine seconds. I can feel my heart coming out of my chest. Will anyone miss me when I’m gone? Why wasn’t I nicer to my sister? Does she know I love her? So many questions. So many things I could have accomplished. How did I get here? Eight seconds. You could say I’m getting what I deserve. It definitely feels ...

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First Day of University

Submitted to Contest #74

Here it is. Room 204.Just breathe.As I step through the corridor and into my future, I clutch the straps of my backpack for dear life. This knapsack has piggybacked since, high school. Sophomore year to be exact. My grasp on it, a hiraeth. It seems to return my embrace. Its tattered arms have been stitched to its body, after detaching, more than once. More than twice. Yet, it hangs on to me. Steady. Its hug, intense. I can't tell whether its nostalgia is comforting or hindering. Is this what love feels like?-It brings my mind to wander, if t...

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Thank You

Submitted to Contest #74

`She combed her fingers through her wild curls, tugging them straight and letting them bounce back into the wild jungle that was the hair on her head. She stared at the opposite wall, spinning slightly in her computer chair. She’d requested this room in the apartment because it already had the chalkboard wall installed. It had been a last attempt to feed her muse and rescue the creativity inside of her that had been waning for a while now. Instead, the wall was lined with tally marks. Her running count was 2,983. It’s possible she’d counted ...

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Time Served

Submitted to Contest #74

“How many commandments do we have?” “Ten, last I checked.” “How many amendments to our Constitution are there?” “I don’t rightly know; twenty, thirty…why?” There are times when we find ourselves entrenched in a physical or mental activity, when we become so overwhelmed by repetitiveness, that we become essentially comatose. Incapable of mental and or physical function. Jail will do that to you.  “How come we have only Ten commandments, and twenty-seven Amendments to our Constitution.” “Hey man, you is asking the wrong Dude.&...

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Operation Ten Days

Submitted to Contest #74

Submitted by Mary LaForge To Reedsy Staff OPERATION 10 Days. Hie there, we are sorry for the extended delay in meeting with you today, due in part to circumstances beyond our control. Luckily, force majeure applies. The following report illuminates the information we received about Agent X's last assignment with the Corps. It was a complicated mission! Seated-BlackmaskWhitehair was instrumental in providing the necessary research, as well as all expert tactical guidance required to bring closure to this very, very important scenario. We ...

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The Man Who Gave His Heart to a Stranger

Submitted to Contest #74

The coolness of the night air wasn’t helping with his insomnia.It was chilling. Made goosebumps prickle against his skin. If anything, it shocked him awake, rather than making him drowsy.He needed one of those hot, sticky summer nights where the air was sluggish and lethargic.He rubbed at his eyes. They were stinging and bloodshot.Every fibre and muscle within him wanted to collapse and take him to the blissful realm of sleep.But his mind was buzzing with energy. Too much. Too many thoughts running through his head.Running wild.Banged agains...

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Out With A Bang

Submitted to Contest #74

Trigger warning: suicidal thoughts   December 22, 2020: Life is a meaningless chaos. It’s the second day of winter, a Tuesday, the randomest day of the week. I can’t take it anymore; I’m going to end it. I suppose the easiest way is to do an internet search for the over the counter medication that is most sure to kill me if I wash a handful down my throat with a fifth of vodka and go to a few pharmacies to get a stash. It would have to be an over the counter med: I have no prescriptions. I haven’t been to a doctor in years. As to street...

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Ten Is the Busiest Number I'll Ever Do

Submitted to Contest #74

I can't believe it's almost the end of the year! I made a list of things to do this year and I doubt if I've completed any of them. The first thing I need to do is find the list... Ah! Here it is! Right underneath this pile of stuff I've been meaning to throw out. I wonder if that's on my list? Let me see here: 1. Throw out all the things I haven't used in over a year. That would include a lot more than this pile. It would include most of my clothes. Which is fine, because I don't fit in most of them anymore, anyway. About the only thing...

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Always and Forever

Submitted to Contest #74

“Maggie?” “Magdalena?” “I’m coming, give me a second,” I yell at Mom, pulling up the world map to its original position to hide the marks behind it. I guess I have to cut it off after lunch. You always knew that Mom meant business when she called me Magdalena. Rarely anyone called me that anymore, being the mouthful that it is. Except for him, who always said that it was beautiful. I hear footsteps coming towards my room, and I try to fix the map quicker, but my fingers fumble and it doesn’t loop around perfectly. Mom comes in t...

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Peach Pit

Submitted to Contest #74

I have a peach pit in my belly. Momma told me it’ll grow into a tree and sprout out of my mouth, she said it serves me right. She said I shouldn’t go around swallowing peach pits, but she said I shouldn’t spit ‘em out either. I don't argue with Momma. I can feel it in my stomach; out of the pit, itty bitty roots have wriggled their way out. Whatever I eat it takes a little bit too. I ate extra chocolate pudding at lunch when Momma wasn’t looking so it’ll grow big and strong. When I’m in bed all alone and my room looks the same with my eyes...

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Heartstrings

Submitted to Contest #74

Isn't it lovely when you can finally reap the rewards of hard work? Isn't it lovely when, after a period of perseverance, discipline, and doing of something mentally or physically exhausting, you can appreciate your efforts as well as yourself? Isn't it lovely to be able to think, "I did this. I am amazing."? They're rhetorical questions, really; of course, it's great to feel proud of yourself. People are so often consumed by self-doubt and loss of sense of purpose that they forget that a passion, a project, or even a person can bring them b...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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