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#335 Stuck in Limbo

I’ve always considered the days between Christmas and New Year’s to be quite untethered. We find ourselves in a strange limbo, with one celebration fading out and the next still on the way. Oftentimes, routines loosen and everything seems to be suspended, waiting for life to move forward once more.

That in-between feeling is what we’re leaning into this week. Let something go wrong when it matters most, introduce something that suddenly changes everything, or let uncertainty linger to the very end. Resist neat resolutions so that your reader's left in that same unsettled pause... caught between answers, with just enough clues to wonder what happens next!

This week's prompts

Write a story that ends without answers or certainty.

Short Story – 130 stories

Your character receives a gift or message that changes their life forever.

Short Story – 42 stories

Write a story in which something doesn’t go according to plan.

Dramatic – 58 stories

Withhold a key detail or important fact, revealing it only at the very end.

Short Story – 65 stories

Write a story that includes the question “Have we met before?”, “Who are you?”, or “Are you real?”

Dialogue – 69 stories

Stories

Tarsus

Submitted to Contest #335

The head of the statue stared with a constant gaze into the darkness and the endless vista of time. It was a fixed stare created by a craftsman’s hammer and chisel; the genius of bygone days the artisan had captured realism from the hard impenetrable granite material. One could easily imagine the head once alive with thoughts, and fascial emotions now frozen in granite by the artisan. Without a body the appearance of the head with the stoney stare was highlighted as it lay on the bare dark dusty floor. It had been severed violently from its ...

25 likes 15 comments 15
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Within Range

Submitted to Contest #335

This story contains non-graphic bodily injury and adult themes. I’m early. It’s a choice I make every time. My attempt to reduce uncontrolled variables. Our meeting spot is open despite the time of year. The opening hours taped to the door have been amended once, twice, in red pen. Between Christmas and New Year everything operates on habit. People show up because they always do. Good citizens flock to their regular spots. They’re nothing without them. It’s too warm in here. Evening humidity bleeding through the swinging door. I’ve chosen a...

25 likes 12 comments 12
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Invisible Shackles

Submitted to Contest #335

Faint distant click coming from the kitchen lets me know the kettle is done. After making a fresh batch of green herbal tea the steam leaves my face glistening. I inhale the scents, cradling the mug in my hands. Apart from the TV playing the newest series I´m watching, everything feels hollow around me- just as I feel on the inside.It´s been 5 months since I broke up with Nathan, moved out of our apartment and rented out this charming, 2-bedroom bungalow on a rural side of the town. Perfect location for avoiding people with a side of complet...

23 likes 5 comments 5
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Tree of Life

Submitted to Contest #335

The first time I heard my grandmother's voice from beyond the grave, I was halfway through brushing my teeth, and nearly choked on a mouthful of foamy toothpaste.Tess.She had a distinct way of saying my name, lingering a bit too long on the ‘s’.Tess.It sounded as clear as if she was standing in the bathroom with me. I looked around, half expecting to see her ghost. It would have been classic Miranda to come back to taunt me.Seeing nothing but an empty room, I wasn't sure if I was relieved or disappointed.I stared at my slanted emerald-green ...

23 likes 4 comments 4
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The Past Lives of Gregory Kaplan

Submitted to Contest #335

The Past Lives of Gregory KaplanTodrick shouted, “Bitch shut the fuck up,” and the classroom ignited into laughter that wasn’t playful. It burned with heat and mockery, sharp enough to make my skin crawl. With it came the crystal-clear message: Old man. You’re finished.My so-called scholars moved like they had no bones, no boundaries. Desks drifted in and out of formation. Bodies twerked and jiggled. Voices stacked until the room vibrated like a hive about to swarm. I stepped toward the noise, my pulse racing. Todrick was tearing into the ne...

22 likes 5 comments 5
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Stuffed Giraffe

Submitted to Contest #335

I pulled up right in front of the bar. I hadn’t even set the parking brake when a guy leaned down to my window.“You can’t park here,” he said flatly.I couldn’t tell whether he worked for the club or was just some self-appointed sidewalk guard, but whatever — have a nice day. I pulled out a hundred and held it out the window.“I know. Mind keeping an eye on it for five minutes?”Even I almost missed the quick motion with which the bill disappeared.“Of course.” He stepped back so I could get out.I worked my way past the impatient line of would-b...

21 likes 10 comments 10
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I'll Say Something Next Time

Submitted to Contest #335

Author’s Note: This piece contains themes of emotional and spiritual abuse, religious trauma, homophobia, and references to self-harm and death (metaphorical)I would give anything to be like him. Loud. Radiant. Unapologetic. Free. I wasn’t. He was a hurricane. And at best… I was a pitiful gust of wind barely stirring up dust in this godforsaken town. He always said what he needed. And always meant what he said. Instead, I danced around the bush as my… charming mother would say. It’s not that I didn’t want to…. But… I couldn’t. I was scared...

21 likes 7 comments 7
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Thank You for Your Years of Service

R M

Submitted to Contest #335

He was young, clean-shaven and tall, although in his horizontal position, long seemed like the more appropriate adjective. His strong jaw was made for films. His plump lips made my tongue subconsciously dart over my own pitifully. My movements were precise, perfected from years of routine. Just as my blue gloves pried his mouth open and reached for the first batch of cotton to insert, the ring of my doorbell interrupted. Reluctantly, I peeled off blue latex, trotted to the door and swung it open. “Jeff, nice to see you!” I greeted. His grin ...

20 likes 3 comments 3
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HoM

Submitted to Contest #335

The contents of Jun’s presentation binder nearly fall to the lacklustre blue-grey carpet tiles that cover the waiting room floor as he jumps from his seat. The tall woman wearing a beige merino wool vigour ensemble projecting the broad, well-practiced smile had just unexpectedly materialised in the HoM waiting area, startling the unexpecting, besuited young man.With hand extended and broad smile beginning to strain, she waits for the candidate to regather himself, an unintended concern creeping into her expression.‘Hello Jun.’ She says. ‘You...

20 likes 3 comments 3
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First Love

Submitted to Contest #335

There isn’t snow anymore, not in the small town I grew up in. A small town that used to be piled so high with snow that the cows could walk over the fences and it was called an automatic snow day. I missed the snow, how bright it made the world with its reflective qualities, and I missed the feeling of holidays. Now the world was dark and muddy, reminding me that I just wasn’t a little kid anymore. I mean, I haven’t been a little kid in a long time considering that I’m settling into my first year of college, feeling too mature among the oth...

19 likes 6 comments 6
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The Archangel

Submitted to Contest #335

“Who are you?” Taken aback by the stranger in my shared office, I was a bit brusque.“I’m Lily Smith; you must be John Smith. I started last week while you were still in Bali. I guess we’re office mates. I’m looking forward to working with you; I’m sure you’ll like my ways. I heard about you before I even came here.”“Cool! Funny, no relation, I’m sure. I didn’t mean to sound rude; I was just surprised. I’ve been in this office by myself for a few months and didn’t expect anyone. And thanks.“So, how are you? How’s the job so far? And...

19 likes 12 comments 12
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Offering a Second Chance

Submitted to Contest #335

The prison guard directed Edgar into an interview room and asked him to take a seat. The room was sparsely furnished, with two metal chairs and a table with nothing on it. As he tried to pull a chair out and sit, he noticed it was bolted to the floor, but it didn't startle him; all the chairs, benches, and tables in the facility were bolted down. He obediently sat and stayed silent."The shrink will be here soon," the guard said, then left the room, locked it, and stood guard outside it. After Edgar settled into the cold metal chair, he began...

19 likes 10 comments 10
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Dream Log

Submitted to Contest #335

Dream ending on 6:25 AM, Monday, November 3rd, 1997I was in a pool with my mother and we went exploring in a deep changing room that ended up being more pools or green water. The water felt warm to the touch, like a tepid bath. Mom kept asking to leave and we just kept getting lost trying to find a way out. There were slides, pool toys, and things scattered around. Most of the toys looked like little cuttlefish or things with tentacles that didn’t exist in real life. The room was not lit well, but there was a source of light somewhere at the...

19 likes 5 comments 5
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What the Forest Allowed

Submitted to Contest #335

Korax first heard the rule years ago, when he was young.Don’t go into the Ghostwood after dark. If a stranger there speaks to you, keep your mouth shut, keep your eyes down, and run the fast way home.He filed it away with the other border cautions parents used to keep children alive in hard times.When a rider reached Meadowvale Castle and asked for Sir Korax by name, Korax was already in the courtyard with Apollo’s reins looped over a gloved hand. Frost clung to the rider’s beard. His eyes avoided the carved saints and banners, as if looking...

19 likes 2 comments 2
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The Loop Remains Unattended

Submitted to Contest #335

Christmas is coming for me again, looping endlessly as far back as my memory can reach.Over and over, I prepare for it, searching for the right outfit. But it is never about clothes. It is about assembling a version of myself, a personality carefully chosen to survive the holiday gatherings, to pass unnoticed, to belong just enough.A loop of smiles, a loop of small talk, and the loop of never feeling good enough, each one dancing in circles, and endless waltz. It reminds me of the waltz I once saw while reading about chaos theory.Do you want...

19 likes 5 comments 5
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