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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.

18440+ 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 1224 of 1230

INFIDELITY

Submitted to Contest #29

 “It’s too late.” Susan slapped her hand on the table and pulled her hand through her short black hair leaving it spiked and unruly.“Come on Sue,” said Stu. He reached across the table trying to take her hand. “I do love you, you know. I made a stupid mistake. What more can I say?”“Don’t touch me. You’ve hurt me more than you will ever know. What about the kids? Didn’t you even think of them?”Stu looked down at his hands, weathered and dry. She’d touched a sore point; he loved his kids. He reached for the bunch of keys, jingling them on...

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My Life as a Would-be Hardy Heroine

Submitted to Contest #29

I fell in love with Thomas Hardy’s novel ‘Tess of the d’Urbervillles’ at the age of fifteen Written and set in 19th century England, it tells the story of a young and innocent country girl, Tess, who is romantically torn between two men: a moustachioed, upper-class villain, Alec d’Urberville, who rapes and impregnates her; and Angel Clare, a seemingly gentle and virtuous young man who marries Tess but then rejects her on their wedding night after she confesses to her past. My passion for Hardy’s novel later impacted my own love life so that ...

6 likes 0 comments 0
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What Wise Men Fear

Submitted to Contest #29

It isn't the impending murder that's grinding Danny's nerves, not really. It's the fact that the kid, baby-faced and just shy of adulthood, is doing it all wrong.He's got a wine bottle in his hand, of all things. It's broken, somehow, even though those expensive flasks are damn hard to shatter the way this one's been; all jagged edges and dark, dripping beads of Merlot, running red like the blood of the guy the kid's five seconds from stabbing.They're in a well-kept yard two feet from the sidewalk. It's dark. Only one streetlight, barely eno...

40 likes 7 comments 7
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Say Uncle

Submitted to Contest #28

In my mid-twenties, I dated a girl who nearly cost me my life. She came from a Filipino family that included her mum and two uncles that had stepped in when her dad left when she was little. They were fiercely protective of their niece and harboured an open resentment toward the local boys of their adopted suburb who lusted after the cute Asian girl at the Main Street café. Charlie could be confident, aggressive, impulsive, defiant, and downright manipulative but even at 22, she was still at the mercy of her mother and uncles when it came to...

8 likes 4 comments 4
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The Criminal Inside

Submitted to Contest #27

The whistle of the train pierced Jacob's ear and steam swirled about him as he pulled himself aboard. The Madeira-Mamoré Railroad was small and inelegant, but an achievement costing many lives to build and earning it the nickname “The Devil's Railroad.” The passing scenery included the Madiera and the Mamoré rivers and several smaller tributaries. Jacob took a seat by a dark-skinned man wearing a turban.~~~ "You sat on my hand!" "I did not!" "Did too--see the mark from your button?" There was no doubting the way this trip would go. "Children...

1 like 1 comment 1
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Power of the Tongue

Submitted to Contest #27

Wyatt put his plastic glass down and nodded to the bartender who opened a one-ounce bottle of gin, emptied it over the ice and topped it with a squirt of soda water.“You want a fresh slice of lime?”Wyatt shook his head. “I’m good.” He raised the glass and drank. “So, the key is to get in early before the flies gather. Like Palm Springs before Bob Hope bought land out there. Just desert. Buy low and sell high. Like I did for the California bullet-train right of way.” “I bet there were a lot of sweetheart deals there.”“Everyone wanted in on th...

14 likes 0 comments 0
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The Adventures of Malachi Norton: The Mystery of the Missing Memory

Submitted to Contest #27

My dear friend Malachi Norton and I received letters and callers at our London apartments seeking our detective services on a nearly daily basis, but even so, my friend refused to interest himself in any of the cases, claming they lacked novelty. Average, run-of-the-mill crime had always bored him; he craved a challenge worthy of his outstanding mental capabilities. The nearly catatonic appearance of my friend, sitting motionless in his armchair, remained unchanged for the major portion of the day. He was seated thus in perfect silence, his ...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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Track Therapy

Shortlisted for Contest #27 ⭐️

Audra needs a quiet train ride this morning so she is purposefully taking a later train than normal. The sunrise train cars full of business people bickering about work-induced anxieties will be pulling into the terminal station tunnels downtown when she boards the eight-nineteen.With the Loomis presentation on digitizing their warehouse only two days away, Audra will lead the rehearsal for the entire team this afternoon. As project manager, she will orchestrate a cohesive narrative – ensuring everyone understands how their piece o...

12 likes 4 comments 4
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Running

Submitted to Contest #27

A small group of people assembled at the side of a country road by a field on the outskirts of a village. A sign read RUNNING TRAINING MEET HERE. Most of the group were waiting for the road-train, but one lady with a shopper bicycle was waiting for the butcher, since she had misinterpreted the sign.The rest of the group were laughing at her. Silly Miss Terri! They all knew each other, since they all lived in the village of Little Running. They were waiting for the train to take them into the nearby town of Long Running. The members of the vi...

7 likes 3 comments 3
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Little Cruelties

Submitted to Contest #27

Tuesday, 4th of September 2018Even though I know you don’t care, I’ll tell you anyway: Since you left, I’ve been asleep most of the time. I still think about what happened with you and the kids, and how I ended up like this. I’ve written it all down here, between the pages of this notebook. Who knows, they might even use it against me one day. A motive. Yesterday, I got out of bed around one, it’s amazing how long you can sleep for if you simply lie there. The longer you lie, the more tired you become. Keeping the windows and vents sealed he...

62 likes 20 comments 20
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Family Tree

Submitted to Contest #27

My grandmother, the mother of my father, used to be the most beautiful girl in the village. Every boy was jealous when she chose my grandfather as her boyfriend. He was an outsider to them because he had gone to college in the city.There was even more envy when the young couple married. They bought themselves a Ford Mustang for the occasion —an American car that clashed with everything the British countryside stood for. The villagers frowned upon the newlyweds, but the couple didn’t care about what other people thought of them. They were hap...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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One-way Ticket

Submitted to Contest #27

The train is just about to leave as she arrives at the station. Breaking into a run, she manages to scramble aboard, knowing that this is a journey that will change her life. Jess sinks down into the first available seat, thankful that the train is not as tightly packed as the one she usually takes to work. If this were a normal day, she would have left hours ago; but instead, she has a day’s booked leave and an appointment at 11am. She checks her emails anxiously on her phone, just to make sure that she hasn’t remembered the wrong time or p...

3 likes 0 comments 0
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A Lose/Lose Situation

Submitted to Contest #27

My husband slams the table, surprising the doctor and I both. “You’re lying to us!” To her credit, the oncologist doesn’t flinch as he leans towards her. “I know this must come as a big shock.” “We came here to help her depression and now you’re telling me she’s got a tumor in her head? Her head doesn’t even hurt!” I’m the her, and I suppose I should be advocating for myself, but I’m so shocked that I don’t particularly want to speak. There can’t be a tumor in my head. I came to the doctor because my therapist said I should seek medication. ...

8 likes 0 comments 0
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Real Sick Of Myself

Submitted to Contest #26

“Nicholas Martin Hall, get down here right now!”Nicholas froze as his mother called out for him. His brother, Malcolm, just started laughing at him.“You’re in trouble!”“Shut up!”Trying his best to ignore his brother’s mocking, Nicholas left their room and quickly hopped down the stairs. Their mother sat in the kitchen, glaring at thick piece of paper. Nicholas could see the red marker bleeding through to the other side of the page. As he approached her, his mother lowered the paper onto the table, spinning it so that Nicholas could read it. ...

6 likes 3 comments 3
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Playing in the Key of German

Submitted to Contest #26

Pierre St. Lacouis squinted at the page shivering before him in the night air, the gentle wind rustling the tree leaves that shimmered in the moonlight. Even in the dim light, his sharp eyes caught every single note of Camille Saint-Saens’ piece, a piece he knew by heart. It was another one of those songs that instantly touched his heart—instantly made his fingers yearn with the eagerness to produce the sweet notes on his own instrument. The violin he held balanced under his chin waited, the bow held just so above the strings, and the audien...

8 likes 1 comment 1
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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