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Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

36940+ Fiction Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. If you’re looking for the best fiction short stories to read online, we’ve got you covered. Wide-ranging and ever-curious, these free short stories will meet your reading needs.

Fiction Short Stories – Page 2247 of 2463

Parakeet In A Pear Tree

Submitted to Contest #73

He’s absolutely the most thoughtful boyfriend I’ve ever had. On the day before Christmas, he gave me his version of ‘A Partridge In A Pear Tree.’ It was a darling little Parakeet in a rounded top cage decorated to look like a tiny tree. It hung from a floor stand that was a single pole, bent in a half-circle at the top, suspending the cage at eye level. “Now, Marcie, all you have to do to take care of him is put some of this birdseed in his food cup each day and keep fresh water in the other cup.” That certainly seemed easy enough, th...

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Chatty

Submitted to Contest #73

Fran? Fran, it’s Cyn. CYN! No, not your sister. Your cousin. You don’t have a sister. Are you drinking that grass drink I bought you at the store near my house? Drink it, it’s good for you. CYN! Am I bothering you? Well, I know it’s 4am, but I had a feeling you’d be up. Especially if I called you a few times. What was it--six?  Six times?  You should really answer your phone as soon as you hear it. It could be an emergency. I could be dead. Imagine if your cousin was dead and you didn’t even know it, because you were ...

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Emu-tional Attachment

Submitted to Contest #73

Danielle walked blindly out her back door, one hand clasped tightly over her eyes and the other grasping the shoulder of her husband Andy as he led her through their scraggly back yard. “This better be a car,” she said, although why he would lead her into the back yard rather than the driveway to reenact one of those cheesy Christmas car commercials, she didn’t know. She’d rather be back inside with the tree, sipping cocoa and unwrapping something sparkly and overpriced. “It’s not a car,” Andy said. “You’ll like this way better.” “I don’t kn...

6 likes 2 comments 2
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For The Night

Submitted to Contest #73

For the Night It was a warm night. James peeled his eyes away from the bathroom window where he could see the night sky donned with flickering little stars and a huge moon that reminded him the night was still young. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and saw the indecision in his eyes. He felt too old to go out and socialize with millenials tonight, yet he can already taste the whiskey in his mouth. He needed a drink. He closed his eyes and imagined what a bar of young people would be like now. It has been ages since he’s been to ...

10 likes 1 comment 1
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My Friend Banjo

Submitted to Contest #73

The snow falls onto my nose as I wait in line for one of the biggest events of the season. The Orange Crest. Ever since I could remember, my mom has always been a fan of The Orange Crest book series, a series consisting of eight books, in which this year, the eighth one is coming out. My mom would read these books constantly, and every year that the new sequel would come out, she just had to buy it. Unfortunately, this year, my mom has been stuck at our grandma's house because she has gotten very ill and needed someone to take care of her. T...

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I'm Just a "backup"

Submitted to Contest #73

Title: I'm Just a "backup"Author: HaripriyaAuthor's Note: Hello everyone! This story wasn't one of my best ones because I included the prompt at the end of the story, so it might be a little disappointing to many of you. But either way, I just wanted to post this story to get some feedback and suggestions for this story. Other than those quick words, I hope you kind of enjoy what I've written, and please feel free to comment down below on what you think about this entire story! I hope you have a great, lovely Saturday and happy holidays!!My ...

54 likes 42 comments 42
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THE PROPOSAL

Submitted to Contest #73

THE PROPOSALThe hall was beautifully decorated. All the guests wished Sally and Vincent , ' Happy Anniversary' . After the dance , they all came to the table for the cake cutting ceremony .Amidst clapping and cheering , the couple blew the candles together . As they pulled up the pictures from the three layered Chocolate picture pull up cake . Their eyes were moist . The pictures told their journey through all these years.    They had first met at an inter college fest where they had represented t...

4 likes 4 comments 4
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Pierre

Submitted to Contest #73

Recently Bill has been hinting about a very special Christmas present. After three years of dating, our relationship has reached the stage where I’m ready to get married and start a family.  I put my favorite Christmas CD in the player, pull back the sheer curtains and watch the big, fluffy snowflakes descend on the grass and slowly accumulate. We’re goin to have a white Christmas! I smile as I recall white Christmases from my childhood...making a snowman with my brother...snowball fights with friends...sliding down the hill on a plas...

14 likes 10 comments 10
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The bird swap

Submitted to Contest #73

A bird? Seriously? Among all of my sister’s relatives, she lets me take care of her bird for the holiday. “Please Jade! It’ll be just for a week. I’ll pick her right up as soon as I get home.” my sister begged “Just give her 2 teaspoons of the seeds I gave you every day” she said as she walked out carrying 2 suitcases. Great, now I’m stuck with this bird I don’t even know what to do with, while she’s going to some posh hotels in London to spend Christmas. I placed the bird's cage on our kitchen table. Jackie, my sister, didn’t even tell me w...

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The Final Red Light

Submitted to Contest #73

The Final Red Light - I Gerardo, motionless in the quiet darkness of the amphitheatre, waiting for the signaling beam which would diminish the identical faces of the crowd into a blur of blinding red light, announcing the symbolic death and rebirth of the unnamed dancer/warrior. The final act was the most startling for Gerardo, and a thousand more performances wouldn't fade the anxiety which it provoked. He was certainly not the most inexperienced amongst the cast (a few years had rendered him competent in his act) but compared to those wh...

12 likes 2 comments 2
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Adagietto: Bolero

Submitted to Contest #73

The day had arrived faster than I thought. Although Mother had this night planned for ages, probably since my birth, I was secretly hoping it would never come. Prospects Night. Which, this year, also lands on the 24th night of the 12th month. I've read about people who used to live before the kingdoms. They called this night Christmas Eve. Apparently Christmas was an occasion where people would bring their loved ones gifts. Why they assigned a specific day out of the year was never recorded clearly. Prospect's Night is the most regal...

5 likes 0 comments 0
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The Unconditional Love of Vineet and Megha

Submitted to Contest #73

 "The Unconditional Love of Vineet and Megha".       SHORT STORYIt was a lovely morning. A strong breezy wind just crossed like a hell on her face, she was Megha a young charming girl walking beside the footpath. She was a mixed portion of innocence and more sensitive girl. Her father was a lovable and the caring person, but he never shows his immense love on her daughter. Her mother was not just like an ordinary mother but she was more than that like a good partner as wel...

23 likes 3 comments 3
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The Christmas of love.

Submitted to Contest #73

Age- Rebbeca Wilson-18 years Nathaniel William-19 years Nathaniel stepped on his bike, watching the people flew behind as he raced his bike through various luxury cars. It had been a year since he last saw her. Unlike all the previous years, they haven't spent Christmas together. She had been busy with her college and learning about piano while she refused to see him. But the truth was her absence had made him realize how much he loved her. It was wrong of her, but he knew she wanted nothing but to help him grow up even after his words...

8 likes 0 comments 0
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Interrupt

Submitted to Contest #72

Sadie flipped her dark ponytail over her shoulder as she tipped an open bag of whole coffee beans over a paper filter on a scale. She tilted the bag back up intuitively, without watching, as the number on the scale ticked upward until the display read precisely 0.220. Her fingers flitted to the white tags to mark the date of the prepped beans. She wrote the date, placed the tag, then grabbed one of the filters, pouring it into the grinder. Sadie raised her voice over the hollow ting-and-shir of the beans hitting the burrs, “You know what the...

9 likes 4 comments 4
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algorithm

Submitted to Contest #72

Somewhere behind a screen, someone is deciding what choices I make every day. Simple things, like what type of bread I’ll buy from the market, or what clothes I wear. It’s supposed to keep us in line, my mother tells me. I guess it does.  But there will always be rebels. There will always be crime. The government can’t do anything to stop that. I’ve heard stories about a rebel family who raised their children outside the border, without all the laws and restrictions closing in on them. These children were free of the algorithm. The pol...

44 likes 132 comments 132
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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