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Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

150+ Inspirational Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. From tales of the miraculous to stories of extraordinary people overcoming incredible odds, you’ll always find something uplifting in our collection of inspirational short stories.

Inspirational Short Stories – Page 3 of 10

The Spirit of Things

Submitted to Contest #311

A character finds out they have a special power or ability. What happens next? The Spirit of ThingsDamian looked at the man standing in the doorway to the old curiosity shop. He was lean grey haired, bearded and well dressed but not fashionable. He seemed to have a special character-raiment, seemingly from another era or place than Stockholm. As Damian watched the man; he saw the colour of his beingness and physical condition of health. The character was calm; definitely someone, he...

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The Road to Bethlehem

Submitted to Contest #311

"There you are." Liz pushed through the bookstore door, her smile faltering when she saw Miriam's face. "Somebody's in a festive mood.""Hardly." Miriam's hand moved instinctively to her abdomen, where the fabric of her spring dress had begun to cling. What was once flat now felt like a mound, and soon there would be no hiding it. "Joe wants to move the wedding up. His father insists we marry next month."Liz's eyes narrowed with the look Miriam knew too well—her friend's uncanny ability to sniff out secrets. "Don't tell me you're still hung u...

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The Bautzen Prison Incident

Submitted to Contest #311

East Berlin, 1952 Amidst the sound of dripping water and boots on stone, two guards dragged Gestas Milovik down a prison corridor.“Los!” barked the tall guard, and sharp garlic spilled from his breath.In front of a rusted steel door, the second guard rattled his keys and a door squealed open to reveal a wide chamber. The guards dragged Gestas to join two ragged men who were on their knees facing a far green-streaked wall. The guard’s thick hands pressed him down to take his place in line.He stopped breathing for a moment. This was how they d...

21 likes 18 comments 18
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The Spark, the Flame, and the Silence

Submitted to Contest #311

I remember the first scream. A sharp wail of neither pain nor distress but an intense, high-pitched scream of startled awareness.I remember the suspense of not knowing—the uncertainty of whether everything was alright or terribly wrong. In those seconds, I forgot the pain in my lower abdomen, the stiffness of my back, the tingling in my thighs. I tried to sit up, eager for a glimpse of what I had made.I remember the moment I saw his eyes—bright slits of curious light—the unshaped promise flickering in his gaze.I knew I could never control or...

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Candy Delivery

Submitted to Contest #311

George winced at the sound of his abused handbrake crunching its way up. State funds rarely stretched to preventative maintenance, and every click of the handle drove nails of frustration into his skull. He silenced his siren, left the lights spinning red and blue against the trees and called in the traffic stop to dispatch. Reaching over to the mounted laptop, he checked those damned boxes to confirm he had followed protocol, entered the plate number, switched on his body cam and finally, was able to open his door and act like a human being...

12 likes 9 comments 9
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The life of...

Submitted to Contest #311

As a kid, parents did everything to prevent their children from experiencing heartbreak at some point in life. Whether they relay their messages from a movie, TV show, or through speaking of past experiences in their life. One way or another, you'll encounter one of those talks. It begins with your older brothers, then continues with your father. Growing up, you and your older sister are last to leave the nest. You're also the ones who play "clean up crew" after the family gatherings. Going to sleep after 1am sounds like a plan until your fa...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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No Promise

Submitted to Contest #311

My journey to self-reliance and healing was a brutal and painful battle, in the front lines. My armor was honesty and my most powerful weapon was willingness. I stood still were silence screamed in agony and fear took aim. However, I still rose. Each step forward earned me a scar. My breath was a rebellion against my enemy addiction who wanted me to be claimed by death.Now ten years later I no longer have to depend on anybody or anything. I stand strong. I won the battle and celebrated my independence time and time again. I celebrated for ot...

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The Little Key

Submitted to Contest #310

Maya stared at the rejection email until the words blurred together. "While your fairy tales show promise, they lack the commercial appeal our readers expect. We encourage you to consider more mainstream genres."She closed her laptop and walked to the window of her cramped studio apartment. Three years of writing, two dozen rejections, and a bank account that mocked her dreams with its single digits. Her mother's voice echoed in her mind: "Maybe it's time to get a real job, sweetheart."Outside, the city hummed with the lives of people who ha...

16 likes 4 comments 4
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The Witch and the Never-Ending Need to Communicate

Submitted to Contest #310

Argie always found books easier than people. They spoke whatever language she felt for the day; poetry, thriller, nonfiction. She was a witch who could convey her emotions to others without uttering a single word, easily manipulating light that people recognized as her feelings. While she preferred to keep quiet and let her power replace her voice—to the point where moving towns meant no one knew her name—those emotions were never truly understood. Others would nod and smile when Argie let off a flurry of her thoughts put into tangibl...

11 likes 1 comment 1
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The box

Submitted to Contest #311

It was suddenly ground hog day again. I awoke from a deep sleep, sweating profusely; the dream was fading back into my memory bank. I tried to chase it like catching a wave rolling softly out to sea. I couldn’t remember the dream, only how it made me feel. I was having doubts and misgivings again. This had been going on for the last few years; the dream brought everything back home, back to the closet, back to the box. It was time to open it. My body shuddered with the mere thought of it. What would I find? Could I actually do it this time? ...

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How the Story Goes

Submitted to Contest #310

I sit at my desk, staring at my computer. Sweat beads on my brow. My hands tremble. On the screen is the last story I wrote about Detective John Harden, a character I created. That’s important because he’s standing behind me, a gun in his hand.“Go on,” he says, his deep, gravelly voice low and compelling. “Do it.”I lick my lips, swallow. Surprisingly, being held at gunpoint isn’t conducive to my creative flow. “I’m not sure how…”“Try.” He grates out the word past clenched teeth.I am trying. Hard. “Look, I’m sorry, but I didn’t know—”“I don’t...

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The Day the Angels Quit

Submitted to Contest #311

The sky rained feathers the day the angels decided to quit.It wasn’t gradual, like a fading light or a whisper slipping into wind. It was sudden, vast, final. At 4:17 p.m. Zagreb time, the clouds opened — not with thunder, not with fire, but with a hush. A hush so deep it silenced traffic, halted footsteps, and left a little girl holding her mother’s hand at the tram station, blinking at the first white feather that drifted down onto her outstretched palm.Then another.And another.And then it was a blizzard of softness, a snowfall of resignat...

33 likes 13 comments 13
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I don't know love

Submitted to Contest #310

The old man emptied the drawers of the cabinet that had long accompanied his life. The stories he had written were somewhere in there, a draft of a romance, an outline of a children’s book, a poem he wrote while waiting in a doctor’s office, the book idea he had in the middle of the night that was never written, the stories that were shaped by his life. After all the time, the cabinet was falling apart. The old man had restored it a few times, but the damaged parts could not be recovered. Now, the bottom drawer, almost empty, holds the pl...

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Bad Gas

Submitted to Contest #310

Marge Curvello brewed up the darn-best chili in the entire nation. It was rich, spicy, and filled with ingredients even the Devil wouldn’t know. She often joked that a bowl of her chili would light your taste buds on fire and, with just a strike of a match, potentially blow up the Loco Café because it produced that much gas. People from all over Canada came to taste Mexican Marge’s signature dish, until she suddenly keeled over, taking her secret recipe to the grave. You see, Marge was buried in her favorite apron, which was colored red, whi...

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The future is what you want it to be

Submitted to Contest #310

Chapter OneDenise’s heart pounded a rhythm of triumph against her ribs. One year. One relentless, ambition-fueled year since tossing her graduation cap in the air, and now, it was hers. The promotion to Director of Architecture and Design at Sky View Designs Miami wasn’t just a new title; it was the gleaming key to the life she’d dreamed into existence. She practically floated, imagining the look on her fiancé’s face, already anticipating the intimate, irreplaceable gift only he could bestow in celebration. That promotion was her one-way tic...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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