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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.

5980+ 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 303 of 399

Barefoot In The Grass.

Submitted to Contest #89

Barefoot in the grass. Paul and Katy stood looking at the large silver plaque they had won, hanging proudly above the fireplace in the family home. Katy loved reading the inscription under their names. “When most flock with the crowd, there are a few who dare to create a path of their own.” Katy still couldn’t believe their luck. It was two weeks earlier when they had won the prestigious award and the $10,000, which had paid off their parent’s mortgage on the farm. They had sprinted to the finish line first and second, fifty yards ahead o...

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Jennifer's Glow Up

Submitted to Contest #89

February happened to be the same month as Jennifer Grande's birthday.She was so excited about her birthday - there were alot of things she wanted to do, like get a manicure, buy a new dress and lose some weight. So she could fit into the new dress. She also hoped she would get a promotion, as she felt she had been working really hard at work.It was a sunday and suddenly the doorbell rang and she rushed to open it. Without thinking, she opened the door and there was Louanne, her friendly neighbour. She was just standing there with an awkward ...

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The Black Blanket

Submitted to Contest #89

THE BLACK BLANKET Cora sighed, and took off her hat. Tears that were held in check for so long began to form in her eyes, but she fought them. Her family would need her now, more than ever. If only the arguing wouldn’t start again. She was so tired of family squabbles.  In some ways, Jack’s death had ended some of the arguments, but it would beget as many again. She sighed again, and made her way to the door. If only she could stay here, by herself, and let the rest of the world go away and leave he...

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How my life changed

Submitted to Contest #89

Today I want to talk about my older brother . My oldest brother Moa was a field translator for the Marines in Afghanistan because he wanted to help and support the U.S troops. When he was working with the military, the Taliban couldn't target him, so they targeted us. During this time, my dad went missing for two weeks; finally, my mother came home crying and told us that his body had been found in the river. He had been brutally beaten and shot to death by the Taliban. A few days later, they kidnapped my youngest brother. They said that if ...

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Finally Free

Submitted to Contest #89

After seventeen years, Cecilia's hair was finally cut for the first time. She took the scissors and indulged in cutting her long thick, jet-black hair that extends to her waist. Chunks of hair strands went through the scissors' blade and fell off one after the other. She didn't care about the style or whether the hair was cut evenly. All she wanted was to cut it.She went out of her room. Her hair's length was just until underneath her ears, which she intentionally showed to her papa, who made it a law in their house to never chop her hair of...

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It's on the cards.

Submitted to Contest #89

Jenny put the deck of tarot cards on the table. It was the same deck her grandmother had handed in to her on her 16th birthday. The old woman insisted that Jenny had “the gift”, but Jenny could hardly believe her then.  Jenny knew that predicting the future is both tricky and dangerous, but from time to time she could not help giving it a chance. Unable to decipher the random cards that sprang out of the deck at her beck and call, she considered her grandmother’s intuition wishful thinking and threw the deck in the last drawer of her cl...

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Unravelling the swiss roll

Submitted to Contest #89

I stood in the morgue with a female police officer beside me. The lighting was dim, and the air smelt unpleasantly of chemicals and effluent. In front of us, my husband, Mick, lay wrapped in a white quilted body bag. Or at least, the man lying before us resembled Mick, but whatever was the essence of Mick was gone, literally leaving a corpse. Only his head was visible, his lips were slightly parted, and there was a slight trace of dried blood on this man’s bottom lip. In recent years, I had used electric clippers to trim my husband’s hair. N...

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Turning over a new leaf

Submitted to Contest #89

Molly closed the apartment door behind her and turned the key twice in the keyhole. Then she left it under the mat for the landlady. All her belongings were on the truck. She was about to turn over a new leaf in her life’s book once more. And she was ready to live again. Packing her belongings had been easy, since she possessed so few things: a few clothes, a few pairs of shoes, a few books and a laptop. Packing her memories had been the hardest part: the fights, the arguments, the fits of jealousy. Tom had proven to be a difficult man to li...

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The Lives We Leave Behind

Submitted to Contest #89

“What about your job?” “What are you going to do with your apartment?” “How will you make money?” “This is a crazy dream, not an actual life plan.” This was all I heard when I told others about my plan. No one believed in me. According to everyone else quitting your job, breaking your lease, and buying an old camper van to tour the open roads to become a writer was an insane pipe dream. Not an actual plan for your life. Their words cut deep. More than anything I needed some encouragement before I set out on this long journey. But wherever I...

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looking back

Submitted to Contest #89

Looking back, there was nothing to leave, any memories that remained had tarnished to seem worthless. His heart felt so heavy that each step seemed to be dragging his feet through Fundy mud at low time, taking forever to escape the moment. He was squinting to keep the tears from falling ,but only, crushed his soul more with knowing that life was gone for good. Now flight was the option that seemed hope full, he knew that change was required,,but , will power and inner conviction were in too much for a weak man. She would find...

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A leap of faith!

Submitted to Contest #89

A LEAP OF FAITH Madu sat in the corner of his sitting room in his private apartment at the corner where his seat was found. Madu’s seat found at the corner that was adjacent to the door that led into the sitting room. The seat was place at that particular corner so that anyone coming into the house wouldn’t see Madu directly if at all he was seated inside. The private quarters of Madu contained two sleeping rooms and a toilet and it was located in the compound furthest away from the fence that was the only entrance into the compound. Madu’s ...

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One night

Submitted to Contest #89

One night, he couldn’t sleep. It was one of those days when he was absolutely tired but sleep won’t come. He resorted, naturally, to what was expected of him- to overtly analyzing every life decision he ever made that had led him here, to this cold hard bed with only a really thin blanket to warm him against the bone-chilling cold. As he lay restless in bed, his thoughts led him in a whirlwind. How he wished he had gathered up the nerve to just bear his heart. The regrets, the failures, the missteps all met him in the whirlwind tour. As he l...

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We All Have to Believe in Something, Don't We?

Submitted to Contest #89

      Never in my life did I ever expect to find myself in the state of Arizona, especially being a girl from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I've always had a kindred spirit and a yearning to travel, but little time or resources to do so. Therefore, I have not embarked much further from the City of Brotherly Love except for an impromptu trip to North Carolina a few years ago and my family adventures into New York City and the Jersey Shore when I was younger.  So when my fiance and I radically decided to jump o...

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The IPL Specialist

Submitted to Contest #89

Swarup Mishra received the Man of the Series Award for the IPL 14 .He was nicknamed as the IPL Specialist for his all round performance in this season.He was overwhelmed with happiness.He was living in a dream! While giving his interview to a magazine, he recalled his journey! It all started after he played for the Under-19 World Cup.His performance was all-round.He scored runs,took wickets,fielded well,took catches and was the man of the Series in the mega event. India had won the Under-19 World Cup and Swarup was the find of the event! Aft...

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Achieving Goals

Submitted to Contest #89

Achieving Goals It was a hot steamy night a woman in labour was perspirating in pain, “it will be all over said the handmaid who was treating her”. It was a restless night sweats of anxiety were rushing down the mothers face. The father who stood outside, was rubbing his hands in impatience praying to Lord Ganesha “ O Lord, everything should be safe and sound. Let the mother and baby be safe,” he said. Sometime later shrill sounds of the baby could be heard, the handmaid happily announced, “Laxmi hui hai, a girl is born”. The father too...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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