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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.

18740+ 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 4 of 1250

Here, You Are Already Enough

Submitted to Contest #298

When the letter arrived, Ali nearly tossed it into the recycling bin. It was tucked between credit card offers and a takeout menu, and it bore the familiar handwriting of someone he hadn’t seen in twelve years. His uncle.Ali turned it over in his hands like a foreign object. He hadn’t spoken to anyone from that side of the family since he was eighteen—not since the funeral, not since the fights, not since everything fell apart.Ali, Your grandfather’s house is being sold. You’re listed on the deed, thanks to something your father arranged lo...

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No Atheists in Foxholes

Submitted to Contest #298

I always relate the breeze in Iraq to the feeling of heat on my face after opening the oven to a rack of freshly baked blueberry muffins on a Sunday morning. ‘Cept? There wasn’t that cooked blueberry scent in the air that warms the heart, reminding you of the better times you’d spent with your family. Because that is what we remember isn’t it? If we choose to, from the good scents that our brain bottles for another day; scents that literally take us back to another time, in a different kind of way.The sun blazed down on our vehicle like the ...

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To forgive a broken soul

Submitted to Contest #298

Every day, a man sits on a bench overlooking the city, never looking anywhere but the intersection far below. I’ve developed a deep interest for this man. There is nothing to see down there—I have checked multiple times.I can’t help myself but to wonder what he is doing there, I need to know why.I’ve been watching at this man for a while now, I am confident I memorized his routine. At the exact hour he looks at his watch and begins to ask for forgiveness. like a ritual. and without fail he—cries.It’s always so meaningful, I feel… so bad for ...

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The Hunter Bays For Spring

Submitted to Contest #298

For the raven, perched on his spot high up in the budding aspen tree, there was every indication that spring had arrived, which meant that something alien would trespass his forest now that life was in abundance again. The forest was alight with birdsong from his fellow avians, while the pond in the late evening was raucous with the high pitch trill of the frogspawn. Gracing the drab forest floor with splashes of color were various wildflowers, beckoning the bees to pollinate them. Rabbits, squirrels and an assortment of other rodents were n...

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Ashes in the Rain.

Submitted to Contest #298

It was too early for the city to be loud. The rain had washed the streets clean, but not quiet. Tires hissed over the wet asphalt. Distant sirens blinked red through mist. A 35 year old Peter walked without direction, aimlessly, hands deep in his coat pockets, collar turned up, the morning cold finding his skin anyway. He passed a bakery just opening. The woman inside caught his eye through the window and offered a soft smile. He didn’t return it. Not because he was rude, but because he didn’t know how anymore. Six months ago, there was a ve...

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The Reformed Thief

Submitted to Contest #298

Iara was a changed woman—and yes, that was what she considered herself at the ripe old age of eighteen, and yes, she was officially reformed because she no longer went into staff offices after hours to steal score sheets; and of course she would never swipe pocket change when someone wasn’t looking; and goodness, she would never steal from the most infamous family in the capitol city.At least, not anymore.She clutched tightly at the ancient text she’d stolen, although borrowed was more accurate a term now that she was planning to give it bac...

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In the Silence I Fall (And You Hold Me Anyway)

Submitted to Contest #298

Charlie had slept on the couch that night.Her back was aching, the pillows were too rough, the blanket fell too short. She kept tossing and turning, stretching and shrinking, straining her ears to hear footsteps, water… anything.But it was silent. The kind of silence that stole into the corners of her mind, festering and building into thoughts she wanted to strangle.By the time the sun started peeking up past the horizon and into the windows, she was spent. Tired and guilty, she drags her feet back to the shared bedroom, careful to maintain ...

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Guilty of Despicable Behaviors-A Lost Cause

Submitted to Contest #298

Prompt: Write a story abut someone seeking forgiveness for something. Guilty of Despicable Behaviors-A Lost Cause The clanking of my chains was loud as I entered the room. Menacing eyes looked me over as I scuffled across the floor to the front of the room. My body labored under the weight of my restraints. A chain around my waist stole my freedom. Both my hands and ankles were shackled by the heavy leg irons that were chained around my mid-section. I felt strong hands stop my motion going forward. Then those hands pushed my shoulder...

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Come Back

Submitted to Contest #298

I sat on the floor and stared at you lying on the bed. My back ached from leaning against the wall, arms tingling from resting on my legs. But I don’t want to move. I don’t want to leave. I can’t leave you again. Through your frozen smile you say “You have to leave eventually.” My stiff neck creaks as it lifts the boulder of my head. The skin of my cheeks is tight, crinkling from evaporated tears. There were none left to shed. “I don’t want to.” “It’s not about want.” You lay on your back, head turned to look at me. The slight smile that se...

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Confession to the Rain.

Submitted to Contest #298

I think it was Saturday. A beautiful woman was visiting the graveyard. It was a sad and gloomy day. Everything was covered in mist—as if the world itself had taken a bath in it. The kind of day where even animals hide... but for some reason, humans... they still loved it. Sometimes I wonder, are we twisted for that? Or blessed to be able to see beauty in something considered cursed and spiteful? I used to love the rain... it made me feel at peace... I looked at this lovely woman again—she left "forget-me nots" at the grave. I loved their sme...

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Lockdown

Submitted to Contest #298

“Is this actually in the curriculum?” The question shot across the room like a hockey puck.Chase—one of the hockey boys with the trademark hair: long at the sides and back, flipped out under a perpetually worn trucker cap—balanced his chair on its back legs. The rest of the hockey crew sprawled across the back row, inhaling oversized sandwiches, chomping protein bars, or sucking back smoothies. Marjory struggled to keep their names and faces straight: Chase, Hunter, Kratos, Rekles (pronounced reckless—a bit too on the nose, she thought). Cha...

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Callisto

Submitted to Contest #298

“Well now, that’s a bear,” Sukie says to herself. Black against the late November snow, it lumbers on all fours, sniffing and pulling at tree branches. “But there’s no bears here anymore. Not in this part of Vermont.” Sukie steps quietly behind a tree, peering through the pines. “But that’s a bear.” She squints. “A pregnant bear.” The bear sniffs the air and shambles closer. Sukie sniffs the air in return and steps out from behind the tree. The bear glances at her, sniffs again, and wanders off. Back in the house, Sukie puts on some tea and ...

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Let me Explain

Submitted to Contest #299

They say only the good die young. So, clearly, I must have been a saint! I mean, I am, or should I say was, a good person. I was a skilled nurse, a loving spouse, and an amazing mother. I obviously deserved to die young. But I’m not sure why I had to be murdered. I wonder what level of goodness you’d have to be to get murdered. Is it less good or more good than dying from cancer or let's say, a car accident? I guess I'll never know. So, there you go. You already know the end of the story. I am dead. In fact, you probably know the whole stor...

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An Oath to Forgive

Submitted to Contest #298

Sir Luke Morrow looks up at the sky and whisper’s to himself “God forgive me, for I am about to sin, again.” Some would say this is the perfect spring morning, with a clear blue sky, warm yellow sun and song birds chirping in the open meadow, but not Luke Morrow. His all black leather armor with silver trimmings a stark contrast to the vibrant colors surrounding him and his target, a small pale young man wearing a large green cloak and typical brown traveler’s clothes from the Kingdom of Weiss. Their two kingdoms are on the brink of war. All...

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The Architect of Bloom

Submitted to Contest #298

The Architect of Bloom, or A.B. for short, had 7 apprentices - all assigned to her by the Overseer of Botany. They were sent to her sporadically, at all times of the year, at odd points of her life. The apprentices were there to acquire from her the training needed to become junior Flower Makers; eventually the Overseer would remove them from her care and assign them to distant pastures. A.B. knew this, yet this understanding did not dull the fact that it was difficult for her to part with things, with people. Years in cultivation had not ye...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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