Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Featured stories
Activity feed

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.

11130+ 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 530 of 743

The Broken Glass

Submitted to Contest #92

TW: domestive violence, murder, violence towards a child All was dark, and the force of trying to open his eyes was too much. The beeping of the EKG surrounded him, as well as the noisy chatter just outside the room. Police, nurses and reporters were all arguing over who would come in first, the nurses trying to prevent everyone from coming in, to let Maverick rest.    It had been about an hour since the incident, an hour of sleep, fear, remorse, guilt and chatter, but most importantly chaos. Rushing to the hospital, the arriv...

19 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Romantic Hook

Submitted to Contest #91

  I hate the library. Do you want to know why ? It's because it is full of things I hate ; the books,the stern librarian, how the building is built,the dirge atmosphere.   In my opinion the library is similar to the place where my best uncle lives;the cemetery,in the ground. The quietness, formality and respect we give to inanimate things in these two places makes me to ponder.   I promised myself to never again visit these two places but love couldn't allow my promise to last a month. My crush that I was stalki...

9 likes 12 comments 12
Read story

Allergy.

Submitted to Contest #92

Work was hard today. Not that it's been much better any other day these past few years. Every day seems to be getting worse and worse. I don't think I could ever move on form her death. I don't think I will ever be able to forget her sweet smile or her warm touch. She gave me life once, only to take it with her when she was gone. Jolene was the only real reason I had some self worth. The only thing in my life I was proud of. And she died. She was killed off, like she didn't matter to the universe. She was killed off, like some sort of side c...

14 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

A thousand deaths in one

Submitted to Contest #91

 It makes exactly two months today since the drastic overturn began. The phase where life changes its course and death is undeniably inevitable to the larger-than-life. It is a glaring truth, a sporadic downturn that oars the later tides of my path through the earth. Forever. Today makes it two months exactly since I woke up to the alarm ringing on the sit of my juniper bed table. The snoozing little asset had been gifted to me by Tena, my only sibling, on my seventeenth birthday weeks ago. It is a valid asset and I cherish it to t...

10 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

It's True, What They Say About Librarians...

Submitted to Contest #91

“Hush!” The dark corridors seemed endless. The room itself was large, meaning even the smallest sound could carry, but in the darkness, it felt like a veritable cavern. The rows upon rows of books did something to dampen the sound a bit, but it didn’t stop the feeling of paranoia that lent itself to being somewhere they shouldn’t have been. Enveloped in near pitch-blackness, the smallest breath sounded like an exaggerated gasp. Two figures crept silently along the ceramic tiled floor on worn leather soles. Two clicking sounds of headwear ...

13 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Half Notes

Submitted to Contest #92

Alexandria sat at the piano, her fingers hovering over the keys. A breath waited expectantly on her lips as the song itched at her fingers. She waited. Waited for that moment when the emotion overtook her and she could do nothing but play. Waited for the bright yellows and oranges that steered her senses. But inside her was vast nothingness. Alexandria set her hands in her lap, her eyes growing damp. There was nothing she could do. There had been no music in her soul since that day. Since a single moment and a few words changed her life....

18 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Spring Cleaning

Submitted to Contest #91

They call it “Spring Cleaning,” but I’ve been at this for the better part of a decade. I had so much clutter built up from my entire life and my parent’s that I did not know what to do with it. I am almost finished now, though. Just half the basement, and I will be done with this. I threw out so much garbage: picture books, year books, text books, cd’s, tapes and what-have-you. So much clutter I kept for idiotic sentimentality. I don’t read those picture books anymore; I haven’t read them since I was 12. I don’t plan to get in touch with any...

11 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

My Two Obsessions, My Heavy Truth

Submitted to Contest #92

When I turned three, my mom bought me my first real doll - a cabbage patch girl with flaming red pigtails. She came with a birth certificate. Born: April 4th, 2004. Named: Dolly.  I loved her, she was my best friend, and she went everywhere I went. Daycare. The park. My grandparents' house. I took care of Dolly like she was my own daughter. When my sister Zella was born, I watched intently how my mom took care of her. I copied what she did with Dolly. When she changed Zella's diaper, I changed Dolly's. When she fed Zella, I fed Dolly....

22 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Returned

Submitted to Contest #91

The library book sat quietly among my rations, a silent passenger in the new world. All the same, it screamed at me. I tried to gently remind myself that no one could possibly care if the book went overdue, because there was no one left alive to care. Such norms had died out with humanity. That proved a futile effort when I was immediately struck by the obvious retort. I was alive. I would care.Introspection didn't help.Although I was perfectly comfortable scavenging from the carrion of pharmacies and supermarkets, the book had somehow morph...

9 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Users’ needs

Submitted to Contest #91

My name is Muggs, and I’m a librarian. I work in the Walnut Creek library, which is in downtown Walnut Creek, near Civic Park. It’s within walking distance of the Walnut Creek BART Station, and we get visitors from all over the East Bay. The library, which opened in July 2010, was funded through a public-private partnership and cost $34M. It’s a 42,00 square-foot building with a children’s wing and garden, a business and career center, a technology center, a 16-seat conference room, and a 150-seat meeting room named The Oak View. There ...

30 likes 9 comments 9
Read story

forget me not

Submitted to Contest #91

In my house there’s a hidden passageway that leads to a set of stairs.  Many books are stored on the staircase and it’s quite a hazard if you do not pay attention or forget what place is safe to place your feet. Some days even I, the creator of the staircase and placer of the books forgets what place is safe to stand on. If I'm going to be honest, I've created multiple holes in my floor by accident. There’s a hidden guide on the left side when you enter the passageway which can be revealed by candlelight on a low flame. But like I for...

17 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Anniversary

Submitted to Contest #91

… The dark knight took the enchanted sword after passing the trial of the pyramid. Now he was ready to defeat the demon at the island. Lucas lifted his eyes from the book, no matter how excited he was for the next chapter he knew he would have to leave it for the next day. It was late, later than he was aware of. He got out of his little hiding spot, the only place where could really read alone. He looked around as his heart started bumping faster.  The library was completely dark, the chairs were placed above the table and the only...

8 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Checked Out

Submitted to Contest #91

“Miss your bus?” Suzette’s mom called out from the living room. Suzette returned home a little later from her therapy session than usual which had worried her mother enough for the question but not enough for a text message as that would have been a bit invasive in her mind. “No, I had to stop by the library on my way home. Did you know there are still libraries?” Suzette said with a bit of snark. “Funny. I didn’t know you had a library card?” “I don’t. Well I didn’t. I do now. That’s sort of what took so long, they needed a lot of inf...

10 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Daydreams

Submitted to Contest #92

From the beginning of time, there has always been one thing.Darkness.But with darkness, there was a counterbalance.Light.Many beings were born from these light and dark deities, but the youngest is the one that tells this story. Her name is Muse.—Flora is mothers favorite. She is so kind and compassionate. According to our mother, Flora is so perfect and treats every one of her siblings so nicely, and we should all follow her example.I would treat my siblings nice like her, but the thing is, I've tried that, it doesn’t work. Mother alwa...

49 likes 10 comments 10
Read story

Book of coming death.

Submitted to Contest #91

  I used to be a book worm who like read many books and make a summary of that books but one book has changed my life, i like to share that incident with you.    It was a Sunday morning I have to complete my project. So, for that me and my friend Adam both are going to the nearby library. There are so many libraries in our town. Some of these are hundreds and thousands of years old. And this gives me a goose bumps. So, I mostly spend my time in the libraries.   That time my project topic is ''magical b...

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

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. All for free.