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.

11070+ 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 86 of 738

Dust Motes

Submitted to Contest #268

I still remember what I did on my father’s last day. Even then, I could feel it; something intangible but very real was closing around me. A door swinging shut, lock ready to click. I grasped at the idea, whisking just past my fingertips like dust motes in a sunbeam. I was getting restless, anxious.I asked Kim if he felt it too, when the air was thick and my head heavy with it, and he looked at me as if through a haze. “Are you talking about Mom and Dad?”“No, not that.” I was impatient. “Do you feel… off? Like something’s going to happen.”“I...

5 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Lonely Price of Ambition

Submitted to Contest #268

Olivia worked so hard. She woke up as early as the sun rose, was one of the first people at the office, one of the last to leave, and the only thing that granted her some reprieve was her husband. The only time she could relax was when she was sitting down for her evening meal with him. Olivia was quite satisfied with her life, but she always felt that something was missing, and one day, she realised that what she was doing at work just wasn’t enough. She knew she would have to start spending a lot more time working, working even when she go...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Leave Me

Submitted to Contest #268

Dear Future Self, You’re welcome.  I can’t believe I finally did it. Honestly, some days I wonder how I’m still doing it. But things have gotten easier, more peaceful, more serene. I never thought I’d say those words, and even writing them now, I don’t entirely believe this is my new reality.  Yet here I am, lying on my baby-blue beach towel on my stomach, warm beach sand surrounding me, a bright yellow sun baking my shoulders and back golden-brown. It smells like saltwater and sunscreen with a side of Tequila (margaritas on the be...

7 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Magic Medicine

Submitted to Contest #269

  When their child was six years old, Charlotte and Don spent a month in Histon Head, South Carolina. They drove there in their 1958 two-tone green Cadillac that looked like a tank, had plastic seat covers shot through with silver, and got about 9 inches to the gallon. They made the trip over several days, stopping in some town Charlotte no longer remembers except for the Mexican restaurant they found the next morning, which served a breakfast so big they all needed a 15-minute nap in the car before resuming the driving.&...

7 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Making Amends

Submitted to Contest #268

Trigger Warning: Substance Abuse, Child Neglect, Child Death, Mental HealthI could feel the heat intensify as the metaphorical speaking stick was passed around the circle. My fists tightly closed in the pockets of my hoodie. hands tensely rubbing together, moving, clasping, unclasping, moving my thumbs to each of my fingers. out of pocket, back in pocket. Like my hands weren't my own and were in attempted escape from my body. After this guy is finished it was my turn, let’s just hope he’s in the rambling mood. I hear the group leader " John,...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Final Hours

Submitted to Contest #268

Shaking her head, Lucy hung up the phone. Per her mother’s instructions, her older sister, Patty, had just summoned her and her son to visit her in the hospital. “It’s urgent,” her sister said.‘Urgent, my butt,’ Lucy said to herself, slamming the kettle on the stove. She walked to the cabinet and pulled out her favorite chipped blue mug. She dropped a tea bag in it and settled at the kitchen table, waiting for the kettle to boil.The phone rang again. Looking at it in disgust, she paused before answering.“What do you want, Patty? Lucy snapped...

3 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Marmalade Guy

Submitted to Contest #268

       It was at the end of some summer. With him, all my summers were the same, so I cannot tell the difference. Boomerang. Maybe everything in life follows this simple rule. I often find myself sitting in this room. The room is a haze of smoke and dim light, shadows dancing on the walls like ghosts of my past. The air is thick, suffocating, mirroring the weight in our chests. All participants of all the processes here are so different, but, simultaneously, we are so similar. We’re loaded with somethi...

4 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Layers of Pain

Submitted to Contest #268

The ultrasound probe hovers above my be-gooed tummy, excitement building like an electrical connection to this magical instrument.-Do you want to know boy or girl?- The tech, honey blonde, sweet, smiles at us.I laugh and squeeze James’s hand.-Yes, but I already just know it’s a girl. We’ve named her Rylee.- I look at James, then blush. What if I’m wrong and it’s a boy?-You two are so cute. How long you been together?- The tech is gushing. But I feel like gushing too.-We just got married in March, but we’ve known each other for ages. We grew ...

4 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

Peace

Submitted to Contest #268

My childhood room always terrified me. It’s white, blank walls waited to be covered in prophecies, yet they became mirrors. Loud voices that should have offered guidance reflected murmuring growls-even at night, when all doors closed. With no escape, sounds bounced off the illusion of sturdy walls, passing through my body again and again. The unflattering light of my bedside lamp transformed their cries into monsters, yanking me from sleep. I wished for peace. A entitlement erupted-the hole inside my growing torso pressured non-existenc...

5 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Unexpressed Love

Submitted to Contest #268

"Hi, Jey, what's up?" That's the last thing you said to me. Anything else after that couldn't count because it was no longer you. The days I would visit you in silence, just there waiting for a doctor to tell me anything new. I was new, newly confused, newly responsible, and Newly a voice. Your voice, I didn't know what I was doing. One moment, I was twenty-six. The next, I was spending my days in a hospital room. Sifting through years of paperwork and medical records. Trying to understand. You weren't able to speak much, and honestly, I cou...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Voicemail Box Is Full.

Submitted to Contest #268

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring* The person you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a message after the beep. “Hey baby… please call me when you can, I really want to talk.” The person you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a message after the beep. “Hey it’s been two days and I’ve been texting you non-stop could you please pick up?” The person you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a message after the beep. “Cynthia I- listen, I’m sorry ok? Can you please text me?” The person you are trying to reach is unavailab...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

You Made Your Bed, Now You Gotta Sleep In It

Submitted to Contest #268

Rude people still live among us… And they don’t always hide. It’s a story about a man who was a tyrant to everybody around… Even to his family. Please learn from this example, and never live this way, my dear reader. It all has started during the World War II. It was a very though time for such a little boy like Adam. He saw with his own eyes what the war means, and this experience defined his life forever. He was only with his mother when the war eventually ended… But it wasn’t always like that because he also had a fantastic father and a l...

3 likes 7 comments 7
Read story

THE WINDS OF CHANGE THE WINDS OF DESTINY HAS COME FOR RUBY

Submitted to Contest #268

Seven years ago, in the town of Harbor Bay, a tragic accident occurred involving three teen age girls. Two girls Willow and Amalia were killed instantly. The driver Ruby Collins survived with minor injuries.The town of Harbor Bay was devastated by the senseless loss of life. The people of Harbor Bay came to pay their last respects to Willow and Amalia including Ruby.Details of the accident was kept from the residents until after the funeral. Heartbreak and sadness turned to anger and hatred when it was revealed that Ruby Collins was responsi...

8 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Days of Past's Future

Submitted to Contest #268

Roland sat on a chair inside the door of his brother-in-law’s home, his legs straight out and arms folded. He didn’t have to wait long. Tatenai burst in. Roland had never seen him so furious. “This outrage is unforgivable! Rosheen is devastated. You’ve left your poor sister, a widow.” He trembled, his face red and twisted.Roland glared at him like a lord to a wayward villein. “Yes, she’s a widow. Her child’s father is dead. But if you thought I couldn’t avenge my sister and protect her from being manacled to such a monster, you know not...

21 likes 16 comments 16
Read story

What I Deserve

Submitted to Contest #268

I woke up around 8 am that morning. The first thing I did was make myself a cup of coffee. I would need the caffeine to face my plans for the day. After finishing my cup I jumped in the shower to rinse off. When I got out I put on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. I grabbed my phone, keys, and wallet and headed to the nearest bus stop. As soon as I got near Agnes’ apartment I got off the bus and started walking to her place. This was it. I knocked on her door, fidgeting with my hands while I waited for her to answer. “I am sorry, Agnes.” ...

3 likes 1 comment 1
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.