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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.

11120+ 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 664 of 742

The Family Business

Submitted to Contest #72

   Ezra is the epitome of a snooty rich kid, except he’s long left the title of kid in the dust. But you’d never be able to tell based on his interests, as he often blows all his money on comic books, video games, and liquor.     It was his father that wanted him to work, and only his father. Ezra came from an abundance of wealth and would receive an allowance every month for proving that he was contributing to society. This benefit of having a job means he receives his allowance without having to hear the ...

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Beyond Repair

Submitted to Contest #72

I feel my phone vibrating violently in my bag. As I stop and rummage through its contents, I am overcome by a sense of glee. Tomorrow onwards, I do not need to carry it, tomorrow onwards, I will not be burdened by its contents. I find my phone and it is a call from Cullen. I am going to reach them in a minute at the most so I cut the call. As I raise the flap of my shoulder bag, my phone buzzes again and I again I cut the call. I’m trying to avoid the call on purpose. It’s nothing against him, but I would like to enjoy my freedom alone for a...

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Two Bakeries, Two New Romances

Submitted to Contest #72

Kovaa I tapped my foot impatiently as I stood in line to sign up for the baking contest that would be held during Wewoka’s Annual Holiday Festival. It was the first year that they added it to the festival, and I was jumping at the opportunity to show other people my skills. Also, not only would the five-thousand dollar grand prize help my bakery, but if more people tasted my pastries, they would come to my bakery more, too. “Next!” I walked up to the table where two elderly women sat on the other side, papers sitting in front of them. Th...

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Class

Submitted to Contest #72

“I know it’s funny after all these years but every time I walk on the streets, I feel to be abroad and home, at the same time. It’s like… love.” “Could you please answer the question miss Kulmane?” detective Gillespie interrupted the young woman, although he felt guilty. It wasn’t the first time they’ve met however the very first occasion he was listening. Interesting, he noticed before, he thought eastern women used more make-up but Illa Kulmane seemed to break that habit. “Sorry detective.” Illa went on, rubbing her skull under the half...

12 likes 4 comments 4
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The Clickity Clangingest Pulsator (Dedicated to Richie Johnson)

Submitted to Contest #73

You know how I get when live music is blaring through the room? I am on an emotional level and nothing can compare to it.I know everything is going to be alright when the band starts playing and so I felt as if being invited to share music on Christmas Eve for a party for the symphony orchestra of Harlem, was like a bridge to better days. I knew that I would be feeling magic moments in each and every song; especially with Richie banging out some forceful cries on his drums. He stands out from all the other drummers because he is not wit...

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Uncle Edward????

Submitted to Contest #72

Paula gathered her mail for the day and continued on her way to the apartment she had rented for the last two years without a second glance at what precious mail she had received that day. She was thinking about pouring a glass of wine and getting some cheese to sit down to look at the bills that had come that day.   As she entered her apartment, she put the mail on her kitchen table before continuing to get comfortable, she had decide to take a shower before the old creaky hot water heater two floors down decide to hit bottom...

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Stay

Submitted to Contest #72

One gloomy night while we're lying on a sofa. Curious of why my half sister keep this young woman. I questioned Din. "Why do you love me? Is it because of my money?" She pursed her lips but eyes were smiling and crinkled her forehead, "is it because I’m beautiful?" "Yeah." Answering me with a tease, she burst a giggle. I became serious and she saw that as half of my body is on top of her, facing each other. "Are you mad?" her eyebrows creased seeing my facial reaction. "No." I change the direction of my eyes. I lied and my doubt on ...

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Evermore Mariyah

Submitted to Contest #72

The last thing I remember before everything went dark was walking to my car after my shift at the diner. There had been footsteps behind me, the sound of crunching gravel loud in my ears. Then I climbed into my car, and I was safe. The person who had been walking behind me continued on to the main road, a cigarette in his mouth. I had locked the doors and taken a deep breath, relieved that I had gotten to my car safely. Then, a sight that made my heart freeze in my chest. A face in my rearview mirror. And then darkness.  *** I don’t kn...

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The Ghost's of Three

Submitted to Contest #72

The ghost’s of three Three is a small number. Unless of course you want to summon three dead people from the deep pits of Hades. It's just unthinkable. But that is what I was trying to do: summon the dead back into the world. It can’t be that hard right? Yes. Yes it can. Several times I had almost died trying to collect the ingredients. There was centaur blood which was toxin if touched by skin and I needed three liters of the stuff. I finally found an already dying centaur to give me some blood. Then there were the tears of a hippocampus w...

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Mira

Submitted to Contest #73

Atlanta, Georgia, 1994 I never thought it was possible to be speechless.  Well, not for me, anyway- I’m quite a talker, as my friends will be sure to tell you.  I’m twenty-six, after all, and my horizons are broad.  But this- this just takes the cake.  I open my mouth to form sounds, desperately groping my brain for some sort of reaction.  Finally, the words come.  “But… why?”  I ask, defeated.  It’s not that I plan to keep it, but it’s rude to blatantly reject a Christmas present, right?  Does ...

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OUR SHORT STORY

Submitted to Contest #72

A doctor took off the brain tumor x-ray image from the screen. What a reaction he got, only a sigh from the doctor who has treated him for years. “Worsen.” The only word the doctor said. “You should not postpone your surgery. I should have just forced you before.” This time, the doctor looked into his face with regret for the past. “But, - man, is this the only way? I don’t want to live ‘here’ anymore. Don’t you get it?” He can only complain about his worsening condition as he has been kept warded for months. He was in despair. But, wh...

3 likes 1 comment 1
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Last Wishes

Submitted to Contest #72

I never met my Uncle Elbrazzor. His passing was the first time I ever heard of him. I guess he was the black sheep of the family. From what I gathered from my relatives, he had a bank account that went into the millions, but yet he always wore raggedy clothes, lived in a shack, and always smelled like a pile of walking garbage. My family held a cheap and quick funeral for him. I got the feeling they did it out of obligation rather than out of love. During the service, I heard whispers of the millions of dollars my uncle saved up. Some o...

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The Shadchan

Shortlisted for Contest #72 ⭐️

The first time Rebekah saw Eliza was like poetry. Like the Emily Dickinson description of poetry, feeling like the top of your head has been lifted right off. Eliza had blushed and told Rebekah that she was her first client. “But I’m learning from the best,” she said. “Tova has 250 married couples under her belt. She’s training me in all her secrets.” Rebekah nodded, barely aware that she was staring, and ushered Eliza into her mother’s sitting room (her mother liked old-fashioned words like that). Eliza pulled out a list of questions and ...

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The Wrong Affair

Submitted to Contest #72

I deserved him. My body was cold, and it needed warmth. My insides empty and my smile appeared only on my lips, missing my eyes. I had forgotten what it felt like to have fingers run through my hair, to have a person stand back and admire me like I belong to a wall of fine art. In the moment it was simple. An action without consequences, movements without repercussions. It was only the two of us existing in our tiny world. His smooth skin rubbed against the cracks forming across my face, and my dry hands measured the width of his growing c...

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Abstract Worth

Submitted to Contest #72

The summer rain was torrential. Aiden gazed at the sight of the concrete ground enveloping the tears of the cloud into its embrace. The sight was indeed mesmerizing but the feeling he felt contradicted it. A failure. That is what he felt like. He wished, he did not behave the way he had. He wished he realized earlier that it was possible to be in hopelessly love with the person whom they have hated their whole life. He wished he would have understood her and asked her if she had sinned or not. All he could do now was wish that he could cha...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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