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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.

37600+ 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 4 of 2507

Friend

Submitted to Contest #304

Ashwater was what the troll called the place beneath the glacier, where the snowmelt turned gray with soot, where the birds never flew, where the rocks wept black tears no one could explain. He said it was older than language, deeper than death, and that only children could find it.Brynja was nine the first time she heard the name.She had wandered past the schoolhouse fence on a Wednesday afternoon, chasing a dog that wasn’t really there. Past the sulfur springs, past the collapsed turf church where moss grew over gravestones and the wind ma...

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Worth The Registration Fee

Submitted to Contest #304

Ben picked at a piece of icing with his fingernail. The doughnut on the styrofoam plate was obviously a couple days old, and he couldn’t bring himself to take a bite of it. This was the “breakfast provided”, as advertised on the workshop’s flyer; stale doughnuts, various chunks of cantaloupe, pineapple, and honeydew from a plastic platter bought at the closest supermarket, and weak Maxwell House coffee.Twenty minutes in, and the workshop was exactly what Ben had expected it to be. A Days Inn ballroom with a scattering of round 6-top tables w...

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Calliope

Submitted to Contest #304

The night is alive all around me. It's always been that way. Something dark, mysterious, and inviting. Always luring me deeper and deeper into its hidden secrets. I love walking the city streets, the later the better when everything is closed up and most sane people are sleeping. My footsteps echo and ring in the encompassing silence. It’s exciting, anything might happen. New vistas might appear and unique ideas emerge.Even as a strange little kid, I would sometimes sneak into our backyard when my parents and siblings were asleep and stare u...

22 likes 9 comments 9
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Burgundy Regret

Submitted to Contest #304

"Towards doing unto others."Frank had this notion moments before he recognized the burgundy equestrian cap.Before he saw Rhea's face.It sat perched on the corner of the cubicle. It glowed like a lone ember in the call center's ash-gray hum, whispering her name across the cubicle's edge.A dull ache gnawed behind his ribs. Old as the cracked asphalt on Aurora Avenue. Guilt that clung like damp Levis. Beneath it, a flicker of something else, something he hadn't expected—a longing that his gut tried to quash.He labored a casual "Hey."The word la...

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Friends in Strange Places

Submitted to Contest #304

Friends in Strange PlacesRunning was one of the few really good ways for Rose to let out the pressure that sometimes built inside of her, the pressure that so often wanted to break free in angry yells and kicking the nearest likely target. She was focused on this endeavor, her brown skin beginning to gleam with the exertion. So focused that she nearly missed the movement from the corner of her eye, but once she tracked it, her footsteps abruptly slowed, then stopped. A ball rolled out into the sidewalk and came to a halt directly in front of...

5 likes 1 comment 1
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Writing with One Eye Open

Submitted to Contest #304

Demarco had no beef with artificial intelligence. He just didn’t trust anything that didn’t eat, sleep, or panic before deadlines.So when Professor Rhee wheeled a high-tech monitor into their Writing 214 class and said, “Meet your new writing partner—PENumbra,” Demarco blinked twice, then raised a hand.“Question,” he said. “Did PENumbra pay tuition? Because this is looking like unpaid group work.”The class laughed. Even Professor Rhee cracked a smile. “PENumbra is here to help us push our creative limits. Think of it as a collaborator.”Demar...

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Mosaic

Submitted to Contest #304

Humanity had not collapsed into chaos as many had feared; instead, it had morphed into something far more insidious—an ironclad version of order. Centuries after the Collapse, the remnants of the world reorganized themselves not along the traditional lines of geography or culture, but based on belief systems, sharper and more rigid than any border that had ever divided nations. These ideological constructs came to be known as Orders. Each Order was governed like a sovereign state, complete with laws, institutions, and borders, yet beneath th...

6 likes 1 comment 1
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Petrouchka's Fatiguing Dream

Submitted to Contest #304

November 18, 20232:17 AMSubject: Fatiguing Dream Sis,I had the dream again last night.The Charlatan’s hot and bitter breath was moist on my fuzzy face; his hands were firm on my sawdust shoulders, holding me in place. The Moor, scimitar in hand, led the Ballerina away. I tried to protest; pathetic, high-pitched sounds emerging from my levering felt mouth. My oversize head was hanging to my chest; my arms and legs were waving under a force beyond my own. The gathered people laughed. Dad stood off to the side, watching.I needed to piss, but I ...

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Deeper into velvet night

Submitted to Contest #304

Much is hidden beneath the velvet cloak of night. The dark manifestations as earth spins away from the sun and the quiet truths to which many close their eyes. But what of the dark? When all we regard with our daytime gaze becomes unfamiliar and strange, shrouded in a cloak of deepest hues, lit only by the celestial beings of the night. Those old friends and foe.I lift my head skywards. High above the old church tower, Orion takes his place. A constant nighttime companion through the turning of the calendar, retreating only when hidden benea...

8 likes 6 comments 6
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Caught in the Dark

Submitted to Contest #304

Begrudgingly, Lilith woke up. She pulled herself out of bed like an animal clawing at its prey, as she pulled herself slowly up, she dressed into her uniform sloppily, the lights still out; not that her dim lightbulb would do much either. She looked at her clock, the dusty red letters read 7:00, she stumbled down the stairs drawing her blazer on as she grabbed her bag and walked out the door, she dragged her feet on the cold frosty pavement down her road as the evergreen trees swayed slightly in the cold breeze. She let out a small shiver; ...

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The Pressure of Time: Leon's Urgent Deadline

Submitted to Contest #304

Once upon a time, a diligent man named Leon lived in a bustling city where the streets never slept. He was known for his meticulous work ethic and ability to gracefully manage even the most challenging tasks. However, Leon's usual composed demeanour leads to the ultimate test on one fateful day. It was a typical Monday morning when Leon's inbox was filled with a new email. As he opened it, his eyes widened in horror. The subject line read: "URGENT: Report Due in 12 Hours." His heart sank. He had completely forgotten about the report hanging ...

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Crystal Lake Inspirational Writing Workshop

Submitted to Contest #304

The flickering fluorescent lights of the old Camp Crystal Lake recreation hall hummed a mournful tune, casting long, distorted shadows across the mismatched folding tables.Dust motes, thick as snowflakes in a blizzard, danced in the anemic glow, giving the whole scene a rather… stale aroma.This was the "Crysyal Lake Inspirational Writing Workshop," an exclusive retreat promising to unlock one's inner literary genius.The current session, however, seemed more likely to unlock one's inner scream.At the head of the room stood Jason Voorhees, unm...

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Life Sentence

Submitted to Contest #304

Life Sentence by Jaricia Griess“Life sentence,” the last words I heard from the judge. Now I am a just a number. Trapped in a silent space. Walls as clear as glass, yet they might as well be bars of steel. The days, or was it weeks, seemed endlessly brutal. Tremors, raw pain as drugs left my system. Curled up on the hard floor. No one checked on me. No one spoke to me. No one cared if I lived or died. I dreamt over and over of the threat, the fight, the blood. I squeezed the trigger. Threat gone, not gone. Replaced.When I was finally free of...

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A Writer's Schedule

Submitted to Contest #304

Okay, so I’m a night owl. So what. I can still have friends, go to church, eat breakfast on time, and write my heart out before I have to go to work in the morning. I’ve been doing this for five years now and so far I haven’t had any bad side effects. I think. Well, I’ve run through three boyfriends and lost contact with my cousin in Alaska, but, hey – who needs to know what’s happening in Alaska, right? I’ve traveled the world (in my mind anyway) and enjoyed learning about people everywhere. What a species we are! We communicate in meaningf...

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The Lady of the Night

Submitted to Contest #304

The Lady of the Night I am the lady of the nightThere are times I am niceThere are times I am notThere are even times I may give you a frightBut I am here to sayI'm more inspirational than my husband dayI have no influence on anyone's opinionHowever I do believe that I will win you overThere’s just no intrigue in the hours of daylightDays are all so monotonously mundanePeople working hard, attending their appointments Possibly fitting in school runs Or doing some kind of chore Be that at home or outdoorsAlarms disturbing sleep patternsDictat...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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