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Write a story that includes the line, "I didn't see that one coming."

Posted in Dialogue on Jul 19, 2024

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✍️ 39 stories

Vital Signs

Submitted to Contest #260

Leicester was the first city in Britain to go into lockdown due to its high infection rate, and the social restrictions remained for eleven months. However, despite the growing number of bodies waiting to be interred, the authorities relaxed the strict rules at Christmastime to allow family gatherings. After three days of merrymaking, the city’s population returned to a state of suspended animation and awaited a miracle.* * *There was a nip in the air and a dusting of hoarfrost on the asphalt outside the Newbury and Cookson Funeral Home. Yes...

49 likes 43 comments 43
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When society lets men down

Submitted to Contest #260

There, by the tarnished entrance gate of a once-thriving shop, laid a figure. He looked familiar, but who was he? As I approached, I recognized the disheveled figure as Alec, someone I had known since our university days. His hair and beard, once meticulously groomed, were now a tangled mess. Stained and torn, his worn-out jacket barely shielded him from the natural elements. He lay curled in a fetal position on the hard surface, asleep. His bare feet were black, caked with dirt. He was a stark contrast to the man I once knew. Alec, always n...

26 likes 11 comments 11
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Suspicious Partners

Submitted to Contest #260

Percy Smart formerly lived alone in a palatial home left to him by his deceased parents. He is unmarried. Now, he shares his secure residence with an interesting houseguest named Adam. At least, that’s his cover story.He works on the design team for the game Fortnite at Epic Games. His brilliance in the field is only surpassed by his ability to play the game. As a player, he’s ‘cracked’ and sought after for team play. ‘Cracked’ means he is a dominant and skilled player.He is also a successful businessman, almost up with Tim Sweeney, the foun...

22 likes 26 comments 26
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Locket

Submitted to Contest #260

Unofficial Report Document:I did what I had to do.Okay, I am writing this to cover my own ass if any of this comes out. I was engaged by Captain K_____________ on a mission to retrieve an object on a post-apocalyptic Tier-4 planet and the mission went very badly. This is how I am interpreting it. This document will be stored with my other papers, so I do not expect to have this timestamped beyond the safe where it is kept and the lodging where I awaited my instructions. Again, I was taken onto a mission by a senior officer. I followed orders...

17 likes 14 comments 14
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I'm Broken

Submitted to Contest #260

"Daddy, I'm broken." A phone call at two in the morning, and those words crying out in the dark are the reason I am on this flight. I went to find my daughter, my little girl.It wasn't easy, but she was coherent enough to give me directions, and from her history I can now go to any city and know where to find her. It's usually where they all hang out.That was five days ago, I am now on another flight, returning home.Sitting in silence, there is only one other person in the row, and he isn't much of a talker. Leaning back in my chair I stare ...

17 likes 12 comments 12
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The Woolybugger

Submitted to Contest #260

   You know the old expression, raining cats and dogs? Well, I saw neither cats nor dogs, but it was raining too hard for any living creature to be walking the streets of Cincinnati. I had taken the bus to the emergency room for ex rays on my fractured arm. My experience with emergency rooms is to anticipate a lengthy wait. Nothing happens there at the speed of light. It was late by the time I saw the doctor, and a heavy storm struck before I could start for home. I wasn't prepared for the rain. On a side street down from the ...

14 likes 3 comments 3
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The Farm

Submitted to Contest #260

The CIA never confirmed it, but Daria Ahmadi knew her ability to speak fluent Farsi is what led to her recruitment. Six months out of Ohio State, having sent hundreds of unanswered job applications, she had been working at her parents' Subway sandwich shop in Minneapolis when the US government flew her to Washington DC for an interview.Three weeks later, she was at ‘The Farm’, deep in the Virginia woods, training on how to be an intelligence officer. She learned how to tail targets without being seen, how to collect dead drops, mastered all ...

14 likes 11 comments 11
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Formosa: Past Trauma

Submitted to Contest #260

(This story contains sensitive content of sexual violence, physical violence, and gore.) I woke up early in the morning, as usual. My mother was already awake when I went to her room, as usual; then, I made some congee for breakfast and proceeded to pull up the metal gate of our shop while she cleaned the dishes. It was a pleasant autumn morning. There are no drastic seasonal changes on this island, but we always know that fall arrives when cool breezes are in the mornings. I sat behind my register and looked around our humble shop. We se...

13 likes 10 comments 10
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A Grave Business

Submitted to Contest #260

Reference to alcoholism, infidelity and homosexual intolerance.A crowd of us stood around the open grave. A motley crowd, it has to be said. Fred hadn’t yet arrived. “We always said he’d be late for his own funeral,” Albert said to a mumbled chorus of assent. “Too right,” Ron agreed. “Who thought he’d actually live up to it? Well, I say live ...” The vicar glared, glancing at his watch, “Against my better judgement I’ve already broken with tradition and agreed to conduct the entire ceremony out here,” he complained, fiddling w...

12 likes 13 comments 13
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Neon Night Nerves

Submitted to Contest #260

The old diner sat at the edge of town, its neon sign flickering intermittently in the stale, warm night. Outside, the dark was eerily quiet, save for a lone dog barking somewhere in the distance, interspersed with the occasional rumble of a passing truck on the nearby highway.I took a booth near the window, more than ready to begin nursing a cup of coffee to sober up from a night of clubbing with friends. My tired eyes scanned the diner, barely registering the two women chatting in hushed tones two booths away. They seemed lost in their own ...

10 likes 7 comments 7
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Searching for the Moon

Submitted to Contest #260

Searching for the Moon Ratna wiped some dust off the photo album. The faux leather was graying in certain areas because of its age and chipped along the edges. She remembered the day her grandmother brought it over. “I got two of these, red one for me, and this wood color for you, Rina.” Her grandma put the photo album on the dining table as she talked to her daughter. “Wow, how did you make this fit in your bag, Ma? I mean, this is not just big, but it is also heavy.” Ratna remembered the way her mom held the photo album, feeling its wei...

9 likes 6 comments 6
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Taken In One Minute

Submitted to Contest #260

Anita stopped at the red light a couple feet ahead of the white line that separated the drive and walk space. Behind her right ear she heard what sounded like a car door opening and closing. She waited until the vehicle came up to the line and looked curiously over her shoulder at the driver.It was a white compact with open windows. Smiling at her with perfect white teeth was a man wearing a low crowned cowboy hat above penetrating blue eyes. There were tuning pegs on the guitar neck that sat on the floor of the passenger seat. His radio pla...

9 likes 2 comments 2
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No Moon over Miami

Submitted to Contest #260

Dean Troutman, native New Yorker, struggled to walk down a palatial residential sidewalk as the inviting Miami sunshine burned through the tall palm trees. Under the blue sky and fluffy clouds, he wiped his brow and viewed the address on his phone.The immaculate lawns, towering homes, and friendly waves from unknown neighbors, made him feel uncomfortable. He preferred Manhattan: no one made eye contact and he could hide in the shadows of the skyscrapers. He was on a mission. He had to speak to the Master about the issues in New York, and ...

7 likes 0 comments 0
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The Hero of Plastic Trash

Submitted to Contest #260

The Hero of Plastic Trash“Dad, this has been a great day!”"Oh yeah, Berkeley? What made it so great?” “I’ve decided I love mini golf! I don’t remember doing this before, and you can’t do it where we live.”“True dat. Mini golf doesn’t exist in Uganda.” It was really nice to see my 11 year old engaged in something other than screens. A day at the Fun N’ Stuff is also just a healthy blast of American culture for a young tween diplomat.“I’ve had a good time too, Dad. Can we do the boats again?” 6 year old Quincy just couldn’t get enough of ...

6 likes 0 comments 0
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The Waiting Room

Submitted to Contest #260

When I was twenty years young, trying to keep my eyes open in a dusty state college classroom, a loud-mouthed girl turned around in her desk and asked me for a pencil. She had a deep cupid’s bow and wild, curly hair, and I knew I’d never get over her. I was an awkward kid. I had long clumsy limbs, wore starchy button-up shirts to class every day, owned all twenty-six volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica, and had lived two decades without kissing a girl. I would have been deluded to think this radiant girl wanted anything more than the...

6 likes 0 comments 0
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