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Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

2950+ Happy Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. A good story doesn’t need a devastating twist. Nor does it have to plumb the darkest depths of the human conditions. These happy short stories might be exactly what you’re looking for in these uncertain times.

Happy Short Stories – Page 12 of 197

Groupchat from the past

Submitted to Contest #285

Group Chat From The Past“Hey Sarah, Sophie, Liam, come I need help grabbing these boxes.”“Coming! Lucas” all the siblings shouted. “Ouch what the…” Sarah said as she bumped into a strange box, its contents falling on the floor, on her way to Lucas.“What happened?” Liam asked“What is it?” Lucas yelled from the other side of the attic.“I think it's all our old toys and stuff.” Sarah said“Let's look.” Sophie said eagerly. “Ooh look it's our old phones!” Liam squealed in a very high pitched voice.“OMG it's an iphone 11 pro, these look ancient.” ...

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Thanks for Taking Me Along

Submitted to Contest #285

I wanted to thank you for taking me along on that trip. After sitting alone for so long, I never imagined I’d get out to the lake one more time. I was just going through my photos, and I still cannot get over how “picture perfect”  the entire trip was. Do you know what my favorite day was? The one when you caught that musky with your dad and Tommy.  It had been a day full of sun, fun, and unfortunately, not a lot of fish thus far. No matter though. As the sun rose over the lake that day, I felt your familiar grip once again, steady...

7 likes 11 comments 11
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A Journey Through Time: Jane’s Unforgettable Adventure

Submitted to Contest #285

“A Journey Through Time: Jane’s Unforgettable Adventure” By Edward J. McCoul “I remember a day I was so excited because I was going to the Clark Gable Museum in Cadiz, Ohio! What would take place was the furthest thing from my wildest imagination that would happen!”Jane had always been a fan of classic Hollywood films, and visiting the Clark Gable Museum was a dream come true. As she wandered through the exhibits, admiring the memorabilia and photographs, she felt a sense of nostalgia and wonder. On the second floor, she noticed a small, inc...

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The Lead Letter.

Submitted to Contest #284

My grandad never talked much. Not because he didn’t love us. I never got that impression at all. He just didn’t like speaking. Quiet as a mouse, he was like a ghost, sometimes seen but rarely heard. He always came to every function. He’d sit down with us all, break bread and chow down. He loved collared greens probably more than us all. He’d make the cornbread every Christmas. I made mashed potatoes just for him, his favorite thing. That and the pie. He’d pile his plates up high. At least the food did make him smile. He would always stay for...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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Cassette Tape

Submitted to Contest #285

I wasn’t always stuck on this shelf gathering dust. I wasn’t always waiting for some jive turkey to take me home. Nah, back in the good days, I was the hottest thing since Freddie Mercury’s sequined jumpsuit. I can still remember the rage when I first entered the shelf fifty years ago, all sleek and shiny. I had an orange label back then. “A Night at the Opera” in bold. Some cool cat with flared jeans and a “Keep on Truckin’” patch on his denim jacket picked me up at the record store. He grinned ear to ear—I was about to become the soundtra...

17 likes 4 comments 4
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The Spirit of Baking

Submitted to Contest #284

I was born here.I remember how the sun felt, shining through the window in the nursery as my mother rocked with me in her mother’s old rocking chair. She had been gifted the chair before I was born, and my fondest memories of my infancy are of sitting in that chair with her as we rocked and she sang to me. I don’t remember the song, but if I ever heard the tune again I would fly back there in an instant. I grew up here.My parents owned a small bakery that was situated on the first floor of our two-story home, and I grew up amidst the smells ...

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The Solitude of Grace

Submitted to Contest #284

Grace adjusted the strap of her suitcase as the train pulled into the small seaside town of Whitlock. The journey had been quiet, save for the rustle of newspapers and murmured conversations. The whistle blew, sharp and final, as she stepped onto the platform. She hadn’t told anyone she was coming. No friends, no family. After long thirty-eight years, finally she was spending Christmas alone.The air smelled of salt and cold. Whitlock was as she remembered it – stoic cliffs, worn cobblestones, and the sea, its waves rolling like distant thund...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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Emerald's Santa

Submitted to Contest #284

Emerald Bittrel did not die yesterday. Or the morning before when the sun was low and dense clouds scattered across the musty blue sky. Emerald was sure her heart was beating soundly and her lungs were functioning smoothly. Emerald Bittrel was the epitome of living at the bare minimum. A clean heart, and an active body that took her from work and home and then to her worn-out, chipped, desk once more. The banality of her life was never forgotten and Emerald Bittrel never experienced the flavourful moments of living that one ought to have. At...

16 likes 14 comments 14
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Back to the Start

Submitted to Contest #284

“Mom!” I called into the vacant house, “I’m home!”  I must’ve called it a thousand times, but this time as the word left my lips it didn’t feel quite as right. Home was a foreign concept, so lost within my mind that even as my mother embraced me, warm and loving as ever, it didn’t sit right in the air. Some deep tugging sensation to my core told me that home was no longer the word used to describe this place.  Dad came up from the basement, smiling warmly at me. He leaned against the counter as mom cooked and asked me his million-l...

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Dog and Pony

Submitted to Contest #283

Young Ryder entered the living room early Christmas morning to see a large box lying beside the tree. It was too large to fit among the other presents. There were holes around the top. Ryder stared in awe as he thought he saw the box move. He whispered, “A pony? Santa brought me a pony?”He ran to the box and peered into one of the air holes. A Beagle puppy stared back. Its wagging tail thumped. It whimpered, begging for release.“Mom! Dad! Santa brought me a pony!”Ryder’s parents, Paige and Levi, entered. Still in pajamas, they were bleary fr...

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And there she was...

Submitted to Contest #283

He pulled his car into an empty alleyway hoping in this heavy snow laden street parking was permitted on this busy Christmas eve. Before getting out of the car he pondered whether he would need his laptop or should just go in with a novel. He had about an hour to kill and didn’t know whether he wanted to get some work done or just spend some time catching up on his reading, which he knew was lacking a lot. At the end he decided on neither and just got out of the car with his airpods in his ears and played his favourite Christmas tunes. ...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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The Magazine

Submitted to Contest #283

Lincoln Eldridge Lopez."What a man." Liliana sighs dreamily and her twin brother rolls his eyes in contempt. He reaches over to tug at the magazine gripped tightly between her hands and Liliana whines. She struggles for a few seconds before begrudgingly releasing it."Behave." Lorenzo eyes her pointedly and her hands lift into a sign of surrender. "We need to get to father's event before Melanie calls and chastises us." His words carry humor, but they both know how accurate his concerns are. She looks between him and the Magazine of the best ...

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Hannah and the Scotty Dogs

Submitted to Contest #283

Hannah and her husband agreed a few weeks before Christmas to spend their holiday in Edinburgh, Scotland. Hannah was an avid reader and took a fancy to a few Scottish authors who she knew would have a memorial or two in the capital city. She had just finished a big work project and was eager for a break. Her husband would occasionally travel for research in England, and he thought that it would be an easy visit to go straight to Scotland after his latest trip. With few obstacles to their travel, they were soon in Scotland for the holidays. I...

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Waiting for snow

Submitted to Contest #283

14:00 pm The sky was brilliantly blue. Almost blindingly so. Mary scowled at the offensive hue. "You'd better snow soon,” she grumbled at the sky. It was only polite to issue a warning. "What was that, dear?" her mother-in-law asked her, head poking in between the potted plants adorning the kitchen island. "Nothing! All good!" she replied, rearranging her lips and jaw and teeth into an approximation of a smile. Her mother-in-law was sweet and kind and there to assist, but she was also very jumpy and every word or sound or even a sigh that c...

9 likes 3 comments 3
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Will She See It?

Submitted to Contest #282

Riveted. They continue to eye each other She begins to step down to the dock. And with her first step, she falls into his arms. “What the hell is happening to me?” She knows she is fading, into unconsciousness but her mind is actively trying to relate to all that is happening. “Who is this man and why is he so familiar? And why am I detoured from my objective? I was following BT, I need him back at any cost. Damn it, he is mine. But this…this man, he’s carrying me because I fainted? I ne...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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