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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.

18430+ 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 1227 of 1229

Pinky Promise

Submitted to Contest #8

“If you break a pinky promise, you’ll die within a year.”That’s what my neighbour, Geoffrey Collins used to say when we were kids. I’m looking at his old bedroom window from the base of the gum where his tyre swing used to be; where I’d call 'cooee!' to get him to come out and join me.There’s only the frayed top of the rope tied to the branch now. There was a persistent rumour it’s where Mr Collins hanged himself, but that’s bullshit. It was just Geoffrey’s swing.It was the shed where Geoffrey found his dad dangling.No one’s lived here ...

15 likes 4 comments 4
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From a Balloon

Submitted to Contest #7

Greta watched the world go by. And yet there it remained. In her ninety years, she couldn’t understand how the human race continued to exist. Everyone lived through chance encounters, like molecules of air bouncing off each other. Yet somehow, things got built. Babies were born. Civilizations rose and fell and were replaced by newer, better, shinier civilizations. How did all this happen?Greta spent most of her life alone. Even when married, she had felt alone. Was that her fault? Or is that just how things are? The demands made upon her out...

14 likes 0 comments 0
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Star Warrior

Submitted to Contest #7

Dear, Harry (Little Bro).I’m about to head out on what might be my last mission. So the Commanders say, anyway. Not because my job is nearly done, but this one, they reckon, is more dangerous than all the previous missions combined.Too many unknowns: Unusually long hypersleep, an uncharted sector, limited intel on the enemy.They’ve suggested I should write my story down before I go. Something for you to read when you’re old enough.I haven’t got long, so I’ll keep it brief. Here goes:My name is Jack (Big Bro). 12 years old. Star Warrior.Mum j...

10 likes 6 comments 6
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Pills

Submitted to Contest #7

The bottle of pills is brown, with a yellow label on it covered in tiny black writing, probably all warning me against the thing I am preparing myself to do. My hand is steady as I tip the round white pills out into my palm. My heart shudders at the sight of them. They are enormousI think. Look at the size of them! I can just see them blocking up my whole windpipe, top to bottom!It’s a bit of an exaggeration I suppose, but if anything suffocation would probably be faster. Still, it’s going to be a struggle.    &...

26 likes 6 comments 6
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A Decade to Destination

Submitted to Contest #6

Richard knew it was time but self-denial is powerful. The last six months the signs have been everywhere. The gentle hum of the motorhome engine was soothing and familiar, focus on that. His eyes darted at all the signs telling motorists what exits were coming up for what destination. That used to be exciting but now they were like a social media feed, overwhelming and familiar. The excitement was gone. They’d taken this road before. He glanced at Karen next to him, beautiful as always but she’s been silent for an hour now, another sign. A q...

11 likes 0 comments 0
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Road Trip To Fingoli

Submitted to Contest #6

I stare out the window, the tall buildings blurring before my tear-streaked face. My anger bubbles inside me, boiling flames licking at my broken heart. The frowning face of my younger sister mimics the discontent within me.The government had promised. We deliver the mutated DNA samples, we earn our freedom. Yet again, we find ourselves moving to a distant, unknown city. Yet again, my heart aches for the comfort of my old home. In my entire life, I have never before loved a place so much as Hawaine.I nervously bounce my robotic leg, as we le...

28 likes 8 comments 8
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Forever Young

Submitted to Contest #3

The golden light from the sun beamed through the treetops while a gentle breeze caused the branches to dance in response. The shadows played along, following the light’s embrace step for step, gliding about in sync with the leaves. A single drop of dew remained, hidden underneath one of the greener leaves. Jeremy reached out the tip of his finger, gently collecting the single droplet and delicately dripping into a small, glass test tube.“Ah, yes. This will do,” he muttered, stifling a smile behind his monotonous tone. “Really? You only ...

3 likes 0 comments 0
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The Incident

Submitted to Contest #3

I never thought I’d see my home again after the incident. I’ve been away for almost two years—running, screaming, and fighting. There is probably nothing left there. Nothing. Nothing at all. Even the word nothing carries no emotional charge. No worry or regret … it is what it is, and we all have to do deal with it. Well, everyone who is still alive has to do deal with it. The underground tube barely makes it to a halt, screeching and scraping to the platform.‘We’re here,’ I shout, pushing myself up from a tube seat and brushing off dust … or...

3 likes 0 comments 0
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Centralia

Submitted to Contest #3

We stared at the highway, adorned with colorful graffiti, marred with cracks. The old section of Route 61 had been shut down for over a decade, and neither one of us had been back since when we’d left, forsaking the place of our youth, our home. Now, we stood upon deceiving colorful pictures and words, the silence surrounding us suffocating. Eerie. As if in just one more moment, the world would warp, or the ground would give out and we’d plummet into the darkness, our screams growing fainter until they went silent altogether. Or perhaps, we ...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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Relived

Submitted to Contest #3

Haunting truths are never prepared for. They may affect the way we reflected at childhood or even at the lies our minds have convinced our soul to believe in. But Peter has always been prepared for lies that seeped into him just like the storm seeping into his clothes. Just like the anger of memories had seeped through his mind.The obstinate doorknob doesn't show any signals of life, but perhaps it may have been the man's slippery grip. Sighing against the storms of rain and the gales of cold that encompass him, Peter fishes around his pocke...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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You Can't Go Home Again

Submitted to Contest #3

I exhale. The cigarette smoke swirls with the fog of my breath and billows in the wind  toward what used to be my home.  “Home,” I whisper bitterly as I grind the butt of my last Marlboro under my mud-caked boot. You know what they say: A house doesn’t make a home. Too bad, too, because this is one hell of a house. A real Barbie Dream House. Three stories, not including a finished attic that served as a Mother’s office, a pool complete with a diving board and water slide, and even a pool house. And not just a regular old pool house...

6 likes 0 comments 0
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Teenage Mis-dreams

Submitted to Contest #3

The car pulled up alongside the curb just as her phone went off. Down at the waterfront for lunch. Come join me when you get in. Mum x The woman driving the groaned and thudded her head against the headrest. “Great. Down at the stupid waterfront. And you don’t need to sign texts- it comes through with your number.” No matter how many times she told her mum that though it never made a difference. Just another backwards little quirk from her stupid home town. Making sure her hair was perfect in the mirror the woman got out the car and adopted ...

7 likes 1 comment 1
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The magic of rain

Submitted to Contest #3

As she got out of the train station, the raindrops hit her face and the wind made her hair stick to her red lips. “My bad,” she thought, “to believe the weather would be on my side this time.” She ran across the street to reach the bus stop for cover, but the five seconds were merciless. Her feet were wet inside of her ankle boots, and her carefully chosen top was stuck to her skin. She sunk onto the bench in the stall and quickly glanced to the screen announcing the next bus. Even after six years, she still could find her way blindfolded ar...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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The Smiles We Left Behind

Submitted to Contest #3

I felt like time was running out. I wasn’t a kid anymore and my last year of high school was upon me. Strange that I should be feeling so nostalgic about my past, or maybe it wasn’t. I’ve never been this old before. I looked through some old pictures hoping the feeling would fade but looking through the good times at my old house only amplified things. I missed the huge tree in our front yard. It was the largest tree for at least three blocks and the trunk split into a V shape as it grew to create a window for pretending to be a bank teller ...

3 likes 0 comments 0
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The Things That Do Not Float

Winner of Contest #3 🏆

Shaun jumped from the cliff’s edge. With each passing second, he felt the temperature drop and the pressure rise. The sensation of the movement was faint; if he closed his eyes, it felt as if he weren’t moving at all. Down and down he went, falling forever. “Do you have to?” his mum had asked. He dropped, he was dropping, he would continue to drop, always, always. “Would you like me to come with you?” his dad had asked. Further and further he coasted away from the world above and behind him. “I don’t know why you’re bothering, it’s all gone ...

98 likes 22 comments 22
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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