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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 9 of 10

A Sunset for Zebras

Submitted to Contest #313

The zebras are the ancestors of the zebras released from Hearst’s personal zoo. Katy explains this to me on the bus that takes us up the mountain to the castle. We’re doing a tour of the kitchen and the dining room and who knows what else? The museum at the bottom of the hill explains the life of the newspaper magnate in short bursts punctuated by black and white photos. I assume it will be hard to spot the zebras, because there are over a dozen grazing mere feet from the curved road. Katy gets excited the way that she did when we were child...

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Uncle Dave

Submitted to Contest #313

Uncle DaveIt was a call that Peter had been expecting. In a soft, quavering voice his mother said, “Peter, Uncle Dave is gone.” He hesitated a moment, then, “Oh, Mom, I’m so sorry. I know it’s not a surprise, but it still hurts to lose him.”“Dave wasn’t the easiest man to know but he was my big brother and I loved him every day of my life.” Peter gave her a little time to collect herself and then she said, “I guess it’s time to wrap things up for the funeral and the estate sale. Can you do it without me?”“Yeah, Mom, no problem. We have the f...

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Tiger Lady

Submitted to Contest #313

We’d only met the one time. After years of semi knowing each other in the way that the internet allows people to semi know each other. Like, you're not sure if you should call the people who live in the box or your phone your friend or not. Would they be there for you in real life? People who are only available with an emoji or a meme, who can silence you with a button or send you to voicemail. Who leave you on “seen.” We met the one time, at a coffee shop, and we were polite and Ms. Manners would have nodded from her perch above and said, "...

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kisses are kisses and coffee is coffee

Submitted to Contest #313

The kiss was like rose petals dappled with dew. Except it wasn’t. Because kisses aren’t like that. Kisses are like nothing you can describe with flowers. His kiss was dark-roasted coffee on a cold morning, a sensation that drives the bad dreams away and sets you up for a new day. Except kisses are kisses and coffee is coffee. His kiss was warm laundry fresh out of the dryer. The fleeting scent of a candle right when you blow it out. Sparklers on the Fourth of July. Frost on the windowsill. And all of that is wrong. Poets want the kiss to be ...

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Delaneigh Hylander and the Petersen Twin Brother (Only Question: Which One???)

Submitted to Contest #313

An excerpt from current WIP novel, "Confessions of a Church Girl" The Petersens and our family were the only ones who stayed behind after all our guests had left, including Gemma. I didn’t want to go back home because Gemma and I would pick up on a conversation about Jason and how my interaction with Hans Petersen was just an “easy distraction” to get over the break-up. The last thing I really wanted to do was have a discussion about Jason, or Gemma’s opinion on how any guy at all—especially Hans—could possibly be an “easy distraction” when ...

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A jug full of tears

Submitted to Contest #313

The scent was earthy, damp, and musky as I held the sticky wet clay in my hands. I threw the ball on the wooden block to begin the wedging to make the clay smooth and pliable. It felt hard and I pushed my arms against my body forcing the strength down to the heel of my hand to flatten and fold. Kneading and shaping the clay until the shape of a “ram’s head” appeared. I pushed my fist and folded repeatedly to remove any air bubbles. I waited for the elasticity to begin, and I knew it was ready now to be put on the wheel. But was I?Some days e...

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The Woman Who Drank The Sky

Submitted to Contest #313

The city had been dying for as long as anyone could remember. Now it just kept on dying.The sun loomed over the rooftops, its heat a relentless force, squeezing the life from the city. In the cracked canals, shallow water simmered, releasing lazy steam. Concrete walls, once sturdy, crumbled into chalky dust under the relentless sun. Roads, once smooth, lay fractured, their surfaces split like open wounds. The wind swept fine dust through the streets, moving it from one abandoned district to another. The desert, once a distant threat, had cre...

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What God Did For Me

Submitted to Contest #313

“Are you there, God? It’s me. Rain.” I pushed the door open wider than the 30-degree angle it was set at. The light from the room shone into the dark hallway where I stood. “Yeah, what up? What ya got fo’ me?” God looked up from the stacks of cash that he and Lincoln were counting. God ran our entire operation, and nothing could get past him without him finding out and delivering a consequence. No one on the team dared play him, which is why I needed my little scheme to work. So help my soul. Despite his street reputation, God was a fair an...

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Rent

Submitted to Contest #313

“Are you there, God? It’s me, Jeff”In the upstairs hallway, Jeff stands at the 2nd door on the left. He is dressed in khakis and a blue button-down shirt. A large “KEEP OUT” sign hangs over several speed metal band posters. He knocks and the sign rattles from the vibration.“It’s the 15th and you haven’t paid your rent yet.”From behind the door, there is a slight groan, then silence.Jeff pertly raises his fist, knuckles out, and gives seven more staccato raps, the universal signal that the person at the door is not going away.“Come on, God, ...

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Quicksand

Submitted to Contest #313

“Do you think giraffes feel pain?”“What?”“When they're born. They just hit the ground.”“Maybe?” Finn pauses. “I mean, it's how they're designed to give birth, right? So I'm sure they're fine.”“Yeah.”The room swells with silence. Then, “I think they've made a bigger deal out of quicksand than they needed to.”Finn smiles. “Where's your head today?”“I dunno. Just some random thoughts, I guess. I just, I wanna get them out before…”Finn licks his lips. “Quicksand?”Shay shifts in her bed. “Like, so many cartoons made quicksand to be this huge deal...

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Crash

Submitted to Contest #313

*** STRONG LANGUAGE *** “Johnny! Slow down! Slow down! You’re going to get us killed!” Kevin screamed. “We’re not going to make it if I slow down!”“We’re not going to make it because we’ll be dead!”Johnny slowed the car down, but only a little bit. His best friend, Kevin, clung to the grab handle. “Red light,” Kevin said.“It’s yellow.”“It’s going to be red by the time you…Johnny!”Johnny accelerated then turned left through the red light, swerving the oncoming traffic. He ignored the angry honks and middle fingers zipping past them. “We’re g...

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Finding God

Submitted to Contest #313

Are you there God, its me. As I kneel in the chapel of the school, I look up at the cross above the altar. Each time I come to find comfort, I ask the same question. I know what I have been taught. I know what I have read, but often times I feel distant from the truth. I am not by any stretch of the imagination in agony or physical suffering as someone might define it. I just need reassurance that I am on the right path. Days go by and run into weeks as school progresses. My studies seem to overlap one another. All the time I am still thinki...

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Winter is Coming

Submitted to Contest #313

Winter is Comingby John Britto Standing in his dusty closet, Corbin Beeson steadied himself on his cane with his right hand. With his free hand, he grabbed the hanger holding his wife’s red cashmere sweater and pressed its collar to his face. Mercifully, the faintest hint of her favorite perfume lingered. He swallowed hard as tears gathered in his eyes. That unmistakable fragrance — Chanel N° 5 — caused cherished images to surface from his collection of faded memories. A brilliant, momentary flash of light coming from behind him instantly i...

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My Heart Will Survive

Submitted to Contest #313

Are You there, God? It’s me, Rhia, and I’m in a bind. I thought if I talked it through with You I might gain some clarity, even though in my experience I haven’t had much success hearing Your voice. Also, since You are omnipresent, You’ll know all this, already. I just need to get it said for my own peace. I’ve been married to George for more than forty years. It hasn’t been a happily ever after experience, but it has been comfortable. Love, to me, is a choice. Sometimes I have a feeling of love for George, a warm fuzzy I call it, which is ...

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Sometimes You Just Gotta Make Your Own Rules

Submitted to Contest #313

{Language, implied sexual violence} “Alex, I'm so worried about this. You could be the one who ends up getting hurt.” “Yes, I know, but I have to do this. We just have to hope the plan on paper holds true for the plan in action.” I'm glad she can't see how hard I'm gripping the phone. “Believe me, I’ll be hoping that with all my heart until this mission is over.” "Just take care of yourself, Chrissy, so you can come home tomorrow." * * * Born and raised in this city, and yet in all my 26 years I’d never set foot in this part of town. Even l...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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