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Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

150+ Sad Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Do you ever need to break your own heart? We see you. Grab a tub of ice cream or a box of tissues and settle down with some of the best, really sad short stories to make you cry.

Sad Short Stories – Page 10 of 10

The Shadow

Submitted to Contest #301

The Shadow The first time I saw her was on my very first night in the university dorm. Exhaustion clung to me after a grueling twelve-hour flight, made heavier by the hollow ache of disappointment—my boyfriend hadn’t been there to greet me at the airport. A cocktail of jet lag and heartbreak swirled inside me, numbing my senses. And then, as I flicked off the light, there she was. I stood frozen, colder and stiffer than the ancient ice choking the dorm’s rusty old freezer. My thoughts stalled, my limbs locked in place as if the very air arou...

3 likes 2 comments 2
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Hazard Lights

Submitted to Contest #301

Trigger warning: This story contains physical violence, child abuse, and mentions of death. Liam's life was supposed to be the stuff of every little kid's dream. His parents were high school sweethearts who married just a year after graduating. Everything seemed to be looking up for him. He was going to be born into a loving household to two bright-eyed, ambitious young newlyweds who were ready to take on anything that life could throw at them. Liam was supposed to have a life full of love and laughter, he was supposed to want for nothing. ...

4 likes 0 comments 0
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Kulshan

Submitted to Contest #301

KulshanThis story started when I was a little over 7 years old. I think that it was on a Friday evening. It was a regular night, like any other. I was chasing my friends around the house like I often did, when I think I twisted my leg. Rushing down the stairs trying to catch one of my friends must have caused me to sprain it pretty good. Me being the tough guy that I was though, I wasn't about to let anyone know that I hurt myself. I also did not want to upset my parents because I was doing something that I should not have been doing, ...

8 likes 0 comments 0
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If there's anywhere lower than here, it's Hell itself

Submitted to Contest #301

John’s apartment was bathed in darkness. The only light in the room came from a thin slit in his crooked curtain, streaking across the floor like a scar. The stench of midday sex lingered throughout the room, overpowered only by the smell of cigarettes. He barely noticed anymore. The light did little to illuminate the room, but what it did shine its light on, made John’s body stiffen. He slipped on a pair of underwear and walked past the piles of dirty clothes and food wrappers. He put his back to the wall, and slid down, sitting on the floo...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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Unbound

Submitted to Contest #301

This story contains violence, abuse, language, and overall dark themes. Enjoy!"I'm just looking to join a ship's crew. If you could point me toward any merchants or captains hiring, I'd appreciate it." I raise my voice higher to be heard above the bustling market crowd. I'd come during rush hour on purpose, but the clamor is making it hard to get my questions answered. "No, I don't know of any crews hiring. Now get lost, brat. You're getting in the way of my paying customers." The stall owner waves a meaty hand at me over the fragrant fruit...

13 likes 7 comments 7
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A Fate Worse Than Death

Submitted to Contest #301

(This story contains mild Language, Physical Gore and Violence, and uses Terms used from World War 2)Lieutenant Lyle J Bouck jr is a real Lieutenant that served in World War 2, and this story takes place before and after the Battle of the Bugle (December 16th, 1944 - January 11th, 1945) the true story has been modified & Fictionalized to tell a compelling storyTerms used from World War 2“See the Chaplin” = Shut Up & stop complaining“BTO” = Big Time officer, someone who thinks they’re important“T.S” = Tough Situation“Grousing” = Compl...

5 likes 1 comment 1
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The Breaking of Resilience

Submitted to Contest #301

The Breaking of Resilience Krystal Renee Resiliency is a worn, tattered jacket I keep tucked away in the depths of a closet. I did not need the jacket until catastrophe struck. Though frayed, old, and out of style, it’s comfortable—my go-to when nothing else works. The jacket collects dust most days, but it’s still my favorite tool. I store it in the darkest corner of the closet in hopes it will bring me peace. Resiliency is for life. Even on days when I’m flying through the water in the pool or walking through the gardening store to buy pla...

2 likes 2 comments 2
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Sad Eyes

Submitted to Contest #301

My mother had sad eyes. I don’t believe she was naturally a sad person, but there was a certain melancholy about her. The nagging feeling that she was never entirely present. In the winter, as soon as she stepped outside, the wind glazed her eyes with tears. She was never more strikingly beautiful than on those days, with her wool coat wrapped tightly around her, her face disappearing behind one of her large knit scarves, and her shiny melancholic eyes. Looking back on it, I am now certain that it was that aloofness about my mother, her abse...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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Burnt in The Memory of The Rain

Submitted to Contest #301

Sensitive Themes - Slight Abuse, Discrimination, Religion I used to love being out in the rain. The rhythmic sounds carried by nature, the world settling into peace, and the feeling as if nothing else mattered. Every night, when the world fell into this spell, I would go into the forests. The darkness, combined with the rain, made it so no one would follow me, which was exactly our plan. Adelia was special to me. She put color into my dull days. Even when we had to be a secret to our husbands, I always waited for her in the familiar bend o...

4 likes 0 comments 0
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An Open Letter to The President

Submitted to Contest #301

This short story contains sexual violence against a minor, substance abuse, and unsafe abortion.Dear Mr. President,My name is Theo and I am thirteen years old and I live in Arkansas. My girlfriend's name is Rose. A week ago, Rose came to me crying before class and told me what happened to her two months ago during winter break. Something very, very bad happened to her. I won't go into detail but her uncle came over to her house and did something terrible, and now she was in a tough situation. SI was really sad and wanted to help her, but she...

21 likes 17 comments 17
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A Nightmare to remember

Submitted to Contest #301

The pair of them wander down the regularly busy Headrow, the buildings casting their usual shadows with a soothing chill on a stifling day. The city centre was unbearably warm this time of year, like being placed in a steamer, sweating wasn’t helpful and if it could make you sweat, you’d be too soaked by the thick soupy air anyway. Clothing sticks to your skin too, no matter how loose you wear it. Their steps where never in unison, but their laughter was as it had been so for many years, used to this dance they bypass the old familiar Horse ...

4 likes 0 comments 0
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A Tragedy at Sea

Submitted to Contest #301

SENSITIVE CONTENT WARNING: Death, GriefTamae Mitsufuji had just turned nineteen. It was the sixteenth of December, 1946.Tamae and her grandfather had just spent the night at her aunt’s house on Shikoku, one of the main islands in southern Japan. They were returning to Hakatajima, a nearby small island with a population of about a thousand, on which they lived.She stepped out into the dry and dusty road. It was cold outside, and she could see her breath condensing when she exhaled. The sky was a clear, deep blue, and the air was still. She wa...

3 likes 0 comments 0
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Best Laid Plans

Submitted to Contest #301

Eleanor, a high school friend I'd drifted in and out of touch with, unexpectedly asked me to be her Durable Power of Attorney shortly before her mother's death. After her divorce, our time together increased, often revolving around me bailing her out of bad dating app decisions. With no immediate family close by, I saw the importance of the POA, but I also became the reluctant guardian of her finances. I gently suggested that people were taking advantage during shopping sprees, afternoons at the “club,” and trips to the casinos. Once, she to...

4 likes 0 comments 0
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Failure to co-calibrate

Submitted to Contest #301

After a good long cry and five-mile run, Sandra could almost convince herself she would be okay. She took off her mask and switched off her Personal Proximity Perimeter as she entered the apartment. She slumped onto the couch, ignoring her Mycrobiometer’s beepy insistence that she ought to shower first, get her body disinfected. She gazed at the spot where Julia’s Mycrobiometer used to sit, imagining she could see its outline in dust. But she knew that was impossible. Julia had never let dust settle in the apartment. Sandra’s own Mycrobiomet...

3 likes 0 comments 0
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When the silence breaks

Submitted to Contest #301

It was raining heavily when Olivia Hart drove her car on a twisted mountain road. The bends were barely visible through the blur of black and lightning-laced silver. Her knuckles blanched bone-white against the steering wheel, trembling with a desperation that made her arms ache. Every heartbeat sounded like a war drum in her chest, overwhelming even the thunder that was ripping the sky open above her. The headlights slashed through the dark in thin, surgical cuts—precise beams of control in a night unraveling at the seams.Yet nothing—nothin...

10 likes 0 comments 0
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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