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Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

18900+ Drama Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Being one of the most popular genres among the submissions to our weekly contest, the drama short stories collected below include riveting works you won’t want to miss.

Drama Short Stories – Page 1138 of 1261

WHITE WIPES!

Submitted to Contest #58

 “What did they say?” my mom asked as soon as dad showed up in the corridor. He turned off his flashlight and replied with a sigh, “They are not answering. Many other people are trying to contact but the signals are out of coverage.”Our city, North Dakota, had just hit with a blizzard. They recorded to be one of the strongest of all time in four decades. Many lives were lost. The infrastructure was highly dented. Water pipelines had frozen. Power pipelines had cracked that had caused a blackout throughout the whole city. We had been stu...

14 likes 2 comments 2
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The Tank

Submitted to Contest #58

Bubbles felt refreshed. The water was cool and clear; Mr. Ronald had taken to emptying it that very afternoon. Cleaning day was never the most comfortable – Bubbles really hated that bag – but it was worth it. Not a speck of dirt in the tank, no sir.The tank was small. Just some purple and green rocks, a couple pieces of seagrass and a tiny stone castle. Bubbles had nibbled on the seagrass first-thing when Mr. Ronald dumped him in the tank. He was furious to discover it was plastic and proceeded to spend the next few minutes giving Mr. Ronal...

27 likes 7 comments 7
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Lipstick, Lies, and Legacies

Submitted to Contest #58

She says one day you’ll be famous.  More lies bubble to her lips as Sheila leads you onto the smooth sidewalks of Hollywood. It’s scorching hot and you imagine yourself as a popsicle. Drip by drip, melting.  Inhaling, you smell cigarettes and selfish dreams. This isn’t where you want to be, but she pulls you along. Using your free hand to whip tears of sweat off your forehead, you finally notice the people. They appear different, but they are all the same.  Stumbling along the neon streets, your head starts to spin. She sho...

48 likes 20 comments 20
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Enigmas of the Shadow Sea

Submitted to Contest #58

The undulating motion in the ceaseless shadows was beginning to take its toll on William. Already on the run, the exiled son of the crown had already been thrown for several loops, but what made it all undoubtedly worse was the fact that he was exhausted. It had been months since he had been stripped of his magic, but the hollow cavity left in its wake was still crippling. No matter how long he slept, it was never enough, and 150,000 leagues under the sea with nothing to do, and nowhere to go, William often found himself staring into the ope...

15 likes 10 comments 10
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Migraine

Submitted to Contest #58

In the beginning, it was easy to pretend that this was only temporary that my life had not changed in some huge ultimatum. The conditions of which to this day I am unclear of. We live our lives not knowing with the faith that there is a reason and that it will do us good. That is what I think on a good day on a bad one I think that this is hell and I must have committed a hideous crime.  I willed the pain and disabling symptoms away. I told myself many people had it worse than I did. As true as that statement w...

6 likes 0 comments 0
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Power On

Submitted to Contest #58

Warning: Mature themes. Discretion advised.Her name was D0T-3000. Master called her Dot.He had bought her one year ago, and the first night was the worst. He had seen the ads and heard the ravings from his friends – but he’d never had one for himself before. So, he tested.“Power on,” he said. Dot blinked, and Master smiled. There was no light in his eyes.Dot was the latest model. The makers were good, but they did not know everything. For instance, Dot could not feel. Not yet. Her sensors registered when something brushed against her arm, ye...

28 likes 13 comments 13
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Vegetables

Submitted to Contest #58

The 41st floor. I have always hated the 41st floor.  Even all those years ago, on that first trip up there, even then I hated it. It was all I could do back then to not let my anxiety get the best of me. Several times I thought of just turning around, of going back to my superiors and telling them I’d done it without ever having to set foot on the actual floor. I never got the time to work up the nerve.  In the midst of my moment of doubt, there was a groan in the cables and a ding as the elevator arrived at my destination. A sh...

10 likes 3 comments 3
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Stardust

Submitted to Contest #58

She has many names. She is the Goddess of Galaxies, the Painter of Light, the Ruler of an abyss nobody with wits would explore. Sometimes, they change. Usually, they hold the same meaning.  But mostly, she’s the Mother of Stars. They are her children and she cares for them as such, keeping them bright when the sky turns dark.  She is the Mother of Stars, and she would do anything for her children.  -  It’s not sudden, but it isn’t exactly slow either. It’s like falling asleep on a quick ride to the store and wakin...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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Fall

Submitted to Contest #58

I was always told fears are nothing but a tiny black bug crawling in the corner of your brain trying to scare you so you'll fear life. I guess I never understood what that meant. After all, when you're in a situation where you have to face that fear, you panic. You can't stop from feeling fear, or at least in my case. Mother and father always told me my fear of elevators was stupidly humorous. When I was young, I'd search up videos of incidents that happened because of the elevator, which scared young little me. I gulped. I knew today was go...

8 likes 0 comments 0
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Some Parents Just Hate Each Other More Than They Love Their Kids and You Can't Do Anything About It

Submitted to Contest #58

The Spring Concert. What happens is once a year my mean music teacher, Mr. Bradford, buys himself a new suit and tie for it. It’s some weird way to convince himself he’s not a loser when his job’s end goal is making children sing slightly less off key for their parents. Spoiler alert, Mr. Bradford, if the highlight of your day is making my friends cry because they can’t hit the high notes (since they’re twelve and just trying to survive the second period) you’re already a loser. With a capital L. No suit bought on clearance at Macy’s can co...

23 likes 7 comments 7
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Damn, the Power Went Out? Okay.

Submitted to Contest #58

Trigger warning: abusive parent and suicide attempt (not graphic)***The electricity just went out.Shit.I look over at Draven. He's staring at the phone in his hand, completely unaware that the elevator just stopped. Because of the chat bubbles reflected on his glasses, I can see he's texting someone. I wonder if he has a girlfriend or something.Not that I care, of course.After sending a message or two, he glances up and looks around, seemingly perplexed at the lack of light or movement."Did the power go out?" Draven asks."No, the elevator st...

7 likes 0 comments 0
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CLAUSTROPHOBIC CRUELTY

Submitted to Contest #58

The darkest corner of her worst nightmares couldn’t have prepared her for this moment. Ivy stood alone trapped in a box with her demons, even the large, normally intrusive mirror couldn’t find her reflection. She took a deep inhale reminding herself to breathe, she would live through this she told herself. With no one else to save her she knew she had to save herself. The complete silence was disturbing her, she longed for a noise, a sign that she was not alone, forgotten. Already dead. Before she had lost the power in her phone, she had ...

7 likes 0 comments 0
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I'm Hangin' In There

Submitted to Contest #58

Write a story about a character who’s stuck in an elevator when the power goes out.  Dorothy Scott I'm Hangin' In There August 6, 2018 – Monday – 3 p.m. “Let's get those hearing aids in your ears so you can hear the doctor.” I hated putting in Bob's hearing aids. I couldn't get them in deep enough and usually, when I turned my back, he would take them out. “And please leave them in,” I pleaded. “They won't do you much good if they're not in your ears.”  “Okey-dokey!” Bob exclaimed with a smile.  Okey-dokey was hi...

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Closed Curtains

Submitted to Contest #58

Closed Curtains By: Mackenzie M. Hebner It’s a little too much light that slips through her heavily drooping curtains at midday. She’s spent several minutes attempting to adjust them, hoping with the perfect alignment a sense of darkness will be created in her room. A sense of safety. You see, it’s in the dark that she can sleep. And if not sleep, it’s in the dark she can write, scribble down her imagination, express herself on paper to control her outbursts in person. She cannot have outbursts, lest she be reminded she does not have cont...

6 likes 1 comment 1
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I Wish

Submitted to Contest #58

“Remind me mother, why are we camping in the back yard?” Sevi complained for about the millionth time, he sat beside his mother in the tent, with his arms crossed across his chest, his face a frown. “It is a great way to bond without the excuses of you guys being buried in your phone screens. And I am also sure you mother would so much love this. It’s only eight pm, we cannot sleep this early, I am sure the lights will be back soon” “Fine.” Sevi rolled his eyes and proceeded to straighten the woollen blanked he sat on. Soon his sisters Kali ...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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