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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.

37680+ 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 2510 of 2512

Leftovers

Submitted to Contest #31

I turn down the flame on the burner. The foaming hot pasta water has begun to run down the sides of the pot. I love the sizzling sounds of the water hitting the stove grates, but hate the white residue mess I will have to clean up later. Tonight’s tubular mostaccioli noodles need more time to cook than my usual angel hair strands.I hear the crew moving about the house. I could complain that my house is thirty years old and needs a remodel, but I do not want to change the rhythm of the house. Definitely not today or in the...

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The 6 W's of Doing Laundry

Submitted to Contest #31

It’s midnight, and I really need to find my favorite shirt. I fumble my way through all the potential places in my living quarters where my shirt could hide. The drawers full of once neatly-folded clothes? Nope. The pile of clothes thrown on top of my dresser after being worn once? Not there either. The mess of clean clothes on the couch that I hadn’t gotten to folding yet? Sadly no. The stack of seemingly unrelated clothes in my hanging clothes organizer I bought from IKEA? Unsurprisingly no. Oh, I almost forgot - the assortment of clothes ...

9 likes 6 comments 6
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Want Ads

Submitted to Contest #30

Mia’s room was pretty much bare. She lay on a mattress on the floor, flanked by a few cans of Arizona iced tea. And she waited. It was what felt like the hottest summer in New York, although it feels like that every summer in New York. She was about to muster up the energy to get up and fill a tin can with water when the phone rang. An unknown number with a 2-1-2 area code. Mia answered the call. Immediately an automated message played. “How would you like to earn one hundred dollars a night? With Bay and Temple’s Cleaning Service, you ...

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Mrs. Goodwin's House

Submitted to Contest #30

She lived at the top of Toucan Hill in a mini mansion. The front entrance was designed with bushes in intricate swirls and a small fountain made of fish spouting curls of water. Quinn walked up the porch and rang the bell. Mrs. Goodwin answered in a long black silk robe which reached the floor. She hugged Quinn, purring Quinn’s name into her neck, sooo good to see you. The house was freezing. Mrs. Goodwin walked ahead of Quinn, her robe traipsing the floor, floating behind her. They passed the curved staircase adorned in a long red carpet, a...

13 likes 1 comment 1
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Fidus Achates

Submitted to Contest #29

It was a trite scenario. Something so overdone that it managed to be both boring and ostentatious at the same time.  The middle of a road leading to two opposite places—the forest or the hills. What’ll it be? High sun over the hills or shadows dancing in the forest? Whistle of sharp wind grazing the peaks of the hills or two-bit chainsaw echoes within the forest? What’ll it be? Elevation or seclusion? A higher grace or a darker enigma? What path will lead you to your best self, your best life? What'll it be? What a crock. It wasn’t a m...

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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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Holding

Shortlisted for Contest #26 ⭐️

He wakes up in an empty bed. A pang of hollowness stabs him. It will take a long time before he’s used to this, the raw ache of missing. It’s a familiar feeling. It feels like losing a limb. For a minute he lies there, crushed by the weight of a thousand empty mornings stretching out before him. He doesn’t want to get out of bed, to face the loneliness of the future that yawns like a gaping mouth. How can he bring himself to move forward into a world without her? He will not think of the future. Not yet. Today is for remembering. He forces h...

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Haunting in E

Submitted to Contest #26

Iris stepped in shoulder-first, a cardboard box digging into her palms and a new silver key hanging from her finger. “Let me know if your mail key doesn’t work,” called the landlord, already retreating. “My number’s taped to the fridge.”“Okay—” called Iris, as the landlord vanished down the stairs. She carried her box through the dusty little entry and turned the corner to greet her empty, new, sunlit, blissfully-hers apartment—and stopped dead at the edge of the living room. When the landlord had emailed her two weeks ago to let h...

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Dead Name Alicia

Submitted to Contest #26

My birth parents named me Joy. They always said it was because they were so happy and excited about becoming parents for the first time. That excitement apparently wasn’t enough. At seven years old I was in my first foster home, unable to sleep in a strange bed, wishing that my parents had named me “Crystal” because I heard them talk about her a lot. I cried for hours because I figured they loved her more than they loved me.I didn’t talk much in that first home. I missed my family and my stuffed animals and my friend next door. The second ho...

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The Mind of a Master

Submitted to Contest #26

Could you imagine living in a world without colors? It would be like eating food without any flavor: sure, you can get by on it, but why would you want to? It’s a bland, boring, purposeless existence, suitable for animals but not for humans. Humans need something more. Humans need spice in their lives.That, my friend, is why we turn to art!Before I found art, my life was utterly unbearable. I was an animal in human form, seeing in monochrome and eating grass; no point to any of it except prolonging my meaningless existenc...

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The Old Ennui: Or, The Refusal to Enjoy Anything

Shortlisted for Contest #25 ⭐️

Cole is pleased to admit that he’s never before found himself in the self-help section. Never needed it. Would hate to stoop so low, he thinks, dragging a superior eye over those brushing their fingers over all those bright-coloured titles. He’s not here for self-help. He’s here for help. Because just being in a bookstore will help. The culture of it all. The majesty of the written word, finely curated. He’s lucky he reads. Unlike all those sheeple out there who’ve forgotten how. Poetry, Cole thinks. Surely. This is his regula...

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Shallow Diving

Submitted to Contest #25

My wife, Amy and I sit in the car outside the book store at five minutes to ten holding hands and poised ready for a successful assignment. Capable adults, we both feel confident that today will be a big step in our marriage journey.We started seeing our marriage counselor, Sharon, about ten weeks ago. Amy and I both knew without some intervention the derailment of our eight-year marriage would continue. Both of us too passionate and stubborn to sort out our emotions without a referee. Sharon called our couple’s cocktail ...

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The Ghostwriter

Winner of Contest #24 🏆

“I can’t believe you live here.” “I know,” Sylvia says. She smiles and steps aside for me to drag my suitcase through the entrance hall.  “There’s ivy trellises for chrissakes. Ivy trellises.” “I’m glad you like it.” We sit on her loveseat in the foyer. It is afternoon, and the sun is starting to wane and drip shade on the room. I take a sip of the earl grey tea she delivers on a worn gold platter. Her tea set is pretty, scalloped and covered in tiny, blood-red flowers. I rub my sweating hands on the velvet fabric of the sofa, hoping it...

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Ludvig

Submitted to Contest #24

I remember the case distinctly, because it was unlike one I’d ever worked on before. My partner Roger and I had mostly looked for cats in trees, or recovered someone’s missing money. But one day, I got an interesting call."Hector and Roger, Private Investigators, no case too small. How can I help you?""This is Dr. Paley in the morgue. I need your help.""No problem, with what can we help you?""A body has disappeared.""What?""I think you better come down here and I can explain."So I drove the few blocks to the morgue, and met with Dr. Paley. "...

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Tips

Submitted to Contest #23

December sixteenth and Broadmore Street bustled with people. Lunchtime meant midday holiday office parties and Christmas shopping on the fly. With limited street parking, most people walked, scurrying to get to their destinations. The December chill had begun to settle in across the city. Two of the three local television stations were predicting snow at today. One predicted up to twelve inches. Reggie Moore could predict snow better than most. When. How much. Yes, he had watched the weather forecasters and...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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