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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 4 of 399

When the World Stopped Spinning for a Minute

Submitted to Contest #294

When the World Stopped Spinning for a Minute The phone call came, and I tried not to panic, but I knew something wasn’t right. They called me at work to tell me to come today, not next week, not tomorrow, but today. My test results were in and they want to see me today. “No Mrs. Klaxton, it cannot wait; we’d like to see you TODAY!” I said to myself: “This can’t be good,” but the nurse on the phone seemed upbeat so I focused on any little thought that would offer some sort of reasonable explanation, just to relieve my mind. And it worked for...

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Dear Me - Discontently Happy

Submitted to Contest #294

Dear Me,I see you. I see the journey you’ve walked, the struggles you’ve endured, and the triumphs you’ve earned. You have lived through the chaos and still found a way to thrive. You have fallen and risen again, each time stronger, wiser, and more resilient. If nothing else, let this letter serve as a reminder of your incredible ability to survive, adapt, and find happiness even in the most unexpected places.Life, as you have learned, is not about perfection—it is about embracing the beautifully messy, unpredictable, and sometimes infuriati...

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Who Let the Dog Out?

Submitted to Contest #294

A Phone Call"Hola.""Papa?""Yes.""I am sorry to bother you at work, but you have to come home right now. There is something wrong with Mom.""What do you mean, 'something wrong'?""She is—I don’t know—broken.""What are you talking about? If you kids would listen when she speaks, she wouldn’t yell as much.""No, she is not yelling. That is what I am saying. She is not saying anything.""You are not making any sense at all. What is she doing?""She is sitting at the breakfast nook—quietly.""Look, Nina, I am very busy, and you are not making any sens...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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Omega

Submitted to Contest #294

Trigger Warning: This story contains themes related to hazing, physical harm, guilt, grief, and injustice. It explores the devastating consequences of a fraternity hazing incident, including permanent trauma, emotional distress, and loss. Readers who have experienced or been affected by hazing, peer pressure, or similar tragedies may find some content distressing.This story does not depict any real individuals but is inspired by true events that have tragically occurred in various communities. It aims to raise awareness about the dangers of ...

8 likes 0 comments 0
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Safe

Submitted to Contest #293

        I want to drive myself home, but I simply don’t have the will right now. My door slams after I finish swinging my left leg in. Before I do anything, I let my body dissolve into the driver’s seat and am immediately met by a shiver – the sweat on my shirt isn’t completely dry yet. It’s a sharp contrast to the hot interior of the vehicle brought on by the late August sun. It’s hotter than forty hells in here, that’s what dad would say. I feel like I’m suffocating and turn ...

7 likes 3 comments 3
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Memory Driven

Submitted to Contest #293

It was a Friday evening and here I was driving my Grandma’s friend to the airport. Don’t get me wrong I do not mind; well I confess there were some complaints to Mom, as I could hardly complain to Grandma. That said at twenty years of age shouldn’t my life be more exciting?Mrs. Cohen is a sweet old lady and I had met her a few times before. She was already waiting for me when I arrived. I had got out to open the car door for her and helped her into her seat then put her battered suitcase in the trunk.“Such lovely manners.” She told...

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Sister Rose Alma and the Little Brick Schoolhouse

Submitted to Contest #293

Sister Rose Alma and the Little Brick Schoolhouse                                                      A recent business venture led me through my old neighborhood in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts. Going through this, now ram shacked, part of town, I went past an o...

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A Lifeboat Adrift on Dry Land

Submitted to Contest #293

At six years old, and with a tomboyish spirit, I felt a profound connection to the outdoors. I resisted anything that contradicted my core values. I often imagined myself as “Sheena, Queen of the Jungle,” spending days climbing trees, feeling at one with nature as I listened to birdsong and observed the distant horizon.As I sat reminiscing on the world I left behind I softly hummed to my favorite Rod Stewart’s ‘Rhythm of my Heart’ to self soothe, cementing the melancholy feeling that had been settling over me, due to the lingering echo of pa...

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THE FIRST FLIGHT

Submitted to Contest #293

“I’m late… I’m too late,” I whispered, my voice trembling as I stood in the doorway of His house. The door was slightly ajar, swaying gently in the breeze, as if it had been left open in a hurry—or as if it had been waiting for someone who never came. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat a painful reminder of the time I had wasted. My hands clutched a small bouquet of wildflowers I had picked on the way, their petals already wilting, as if they, too, knew they were too late.I stepped inside, my heels clicking against the marble ...

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Rearview Ghosts

Submitted to Contest #293

Part I  Even with my forehead pressed against the train’s only window, the world outside blurs into a shapeless haze. My thumb absentmindedly traces the “L” engraving on the locket grasped in my hand like it could actually take me back. As if I could outrun the fate that has haunted me for five years.  I am running to the far corner of the Earth as fast as I can get there. And yet, every time I get on this train, I find myself back on it within the next hour, retreating right back, but this time, I’ve made my decision. My fina...

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Smell the Roses

Submitted to Contest #293

The trees were speeding by almost too quickly to see – a blur of every shade of green you can imagine painted the large observation windows like a living painting. And yet, on a train filled with people, it seemed that no one seemed particularly interested in noticing.  “Mom!” A few rows behind, a child whined and kicked at the back of the chair before him. It rattled loudly, causing his mother to wince. “I’m bored… are we there yet?” Across the aisle, a man in a tightly-tailored suit rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to h...

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The Promise Keeper

Submitted to Contest #293

He stared out the window of the passenger train at the flat land that moved by in a hypnotic array of fields, trees, and farms. He thought that he was still somewhere in the state of Montana but was not sure.His journey began in Long Island. After taking the LIRR train to Penn Station, he transferred to an Amtrak train and transferred again at the Chicago hub.The further away he got from New York, the more his memories of his old life faded away—and that is exactly what he wanted. He wanted to forget all about his dull job as director of log...

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Leap of Faith

Submitted to Contest #293

Do you ever experience that feeling of just knowing what the next right choice is for you? That inner knowing, intuition you know will not fail you and cannot be wrong? Well, that is exactly and solely what I relied upon while finally taking a leap of faith into the life I deeply want and while it was not an easy choice to make, I was truly ready for it, after years and years of living completely the opposite of what I wanted from life - being in an unfulfilling relationship, working jobs that are way below my capacity and just settling...

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Memory, loss, and finding beauty in unexpected places.

Submitted to Contest #294

Okay, here’s a story in the form of letters, playing with themes of memory, loss, and finding beauty in unexpected places. Letter 1:Dearest Amelia,I hope this letter finds you well, or at least as well as can be expected. It feels strange, writing to you after all this time. Decades, isn’t it? Since our last hurried goodbye at the train station, smoke has swirled around us like a melancholic waltz.I'm writing from the Isle of Skye. You remember how we used to dream of visiting, poring over photographs of jagged mountains and misty lochs, pro...

19 likes 6 comments 6
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Slow Lane Eulogy

Submitted to Contest #293

The view from the rear driver’s side window remained stationary. It would change, eventually. The traffic back from the Poconos was insane, and this was the fastest route according to the GPS. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t also over eighty degrees out, the cell service was better than spotty, and the radio was working properly. Stuck on an upstate New York backroad in traffic with just radio static is awful, I knew I should have downloaded some podcasts or eBooks. Now all I have is my view of nature for entertainment.   ...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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