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Write a story using the most clichéd twist of all; it was all a dream.

Posted in Narrative on Jul 19, 2024

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✍️ 102 stories

The Round Genie From Behind The Moon Village

Submitted to Contest #260

     “The moon, look at the moon” cried the little, round genie, ignoring the fact that there was no-one around to hear him. His real name was Pampabald, but his parents and friends called him Billy, for short. “I must be traveling downwards,” he thought, as he was drifting across the Universe, led sometimes by the solar winds and some other times by magnetosonic waves. The little genie had no e-watch or compass, and for a while felt rather confused, trying to figure out if he was going South, East or West (somehow, ...

60 likes 22 comments 22
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Morpheus and the Dreamers

Submitted to Contest #260

“You take the blue pill... the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill... you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” — Laurence Fishburne, The Matrix***“Row, row, row, your boat…” Morpheus, the god of dreams, hummed absently as he puttered around his Mount Olympus penthouse. It was one of those tunes that got stuck in his head when he was thinking about nothing, but he didn’t mind, it was a tune with a good message after all. A knock sounded on his f...

34 likes 22 comments 22
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A Fortunate Woman

Submitted to Contest #260

“I thought it would be bigger,” the voice rang out from the crowd. “Not good enough for you, dear?” I held in my laughter as I snuck a look at my husband to see if he heard the back and forth as well. His twinkling eyes told me he had. “Some people are never happy,” he whispered in my ear. “I’m happy. Very happy.” I looked around the square hardly believing my eyes. Always number one on my bucket list was the trip to Italy. So often had I spoken about it that I had channeled the voice of Charlie Brown’s teacher “whomp, ...

32 likes 25 comments 25
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Within

Submitted to Contest #260

‘“… but it was all a dream!”We groaned, Pete, Tilly and me. Mick had led us a merry dance, taking us on a convoluted adventure that took in a car journey, an accident, a romantic meet-cute with the paramedic that tended to him, a dash across town with sirens blaring, another accident, Mick having to get off the stretcher to tend to the paramedic, the green blood, Mick limping down the road, desperate to get away from the ambulance but being pursued by the ambulance driver, the driver getting knocked down by a passing truck, more green blood,...

18 likes 14 comments 14
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O Mother, Please Send My Father Across

Shortlisted for Contest #260 ⭐️

It was all a dream, Murli’s breath like rotten fish on top of her tongue, the balled-up grey dead mass of it settled at the back of her throat like stale phlegm, his beedi stained tongue wriggling around on top of her tongue, his hand under her blouse, fumbling, scratching, his nails yellow and black and green the sight of which made her vomit, his puss-filled-bandaged hand on top of her breast, the nail digging into her nipple, the dirt in his nails mixing with her blood, in her blood, the blood cool in the thick heat of the dark room, swee...

18 likes 8 comments 8
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Dangerous Article

Submitted to Contest #260

This story contains references to cybercrimes and kidnapping. “Okay, team, here’s what we’ve got for this week.” Marcus Simpson, Editor of  The Scoop, an online gossip magazine with over 3 million readers, took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew the smoke out slowly. His reporters sat with note pads and phones in hand, waiting to jot down their new assignments. Nobody moved as they each waited and hoped for a big story. Most of them would be disappointed. “Maya,” he said. She raised her hand meekly. “We got a guy who...

18 likes 9 comments 9
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Night Watchers of the Rain

Submitted to Contest #260

It was that kind of rain; rebound romantic, film-noir. Stars rising up from the concrete, playing strobe to the night, a ricochet of orbs under the streetlight. Silver-screen, cinematic black and white, like Bogart had never been buried and Marlowe was out there somewhere casting shadows. Collar turned up on his trench coat, one foot against the wall, fedora tipped… Here’s looking at you kid… She waited. Sheltered in her doorway, one curved flight above the street, the sultry Bacall. One last draw on her cigarette, firefly orange, flicked ov...

17 likes 13 comments 13
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Meow

Submitted to Contest #260

Meow High above the city, Pastor Paul Morse of The Church of The Believers sat in his leather backed chair in his penthouse office and surveyed the view. He ran his fingers through his middle aged, oily hair and smiled to himself at the view from his office. He had just spent a week in the Bahamas as part of his ministry and after he had returned, he checked the financial reports and found that the ministry had raised double the amount from the previous month.  Membership rolls indicated an increase in numbers but, it was down from the...

16 likes 2 comments 2
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Awake

Submitted to Contest #260

Beep! Beep! Beep! Symone turned and slapped at the alarm clock, stretching and staring at the ceiling in the grey morning light, shaking off sleep. The dream plagued her again: being trapped in her old office, stuck in the musty, dingy brown walls. Nothing like a dream job turned into a nightmare to smash the visions of your youth. Then again, it was just a nightmare. She left that job fifteen years ago. She sat up and gently pulled the covers over Galen’s shoulders, mussing his short, dark blonde hair. He was still on medical leave, recove...

16 likes 3 comments 3
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Love Goes Through the Stomach

Submitted to Contest #260

The scream bit into the night, tearing through the peace like teeth through flesh.Travis Wells lurched awake; silk sheets pooled around him, revealing his well-toned abs. His heart – strong and resilient – throbbed inside his chest, but it did not gallop. Even when he woke up to a damsel in distress calling out for help, he woke up calm and collected. And that had been a damsel in distress – or, rather, the damsel in distress. It was Winona Chavez who rented the apartment two doors down the corridor. Travis wasted no time. He was out of bed ...

14 likes 6 comments 6
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Fields of Red

Submitted to Contest #260

Persephonus looked up at his mother. Her dark, curly hair was shining with a red ochre halo from the window’s light, framing her in glory. The light was sharp and illuminated only her, with all else cast into shadowy, unknowable darkness. His home was familiar, a soft feeling, but it felt fuzzier than usual. He longed for the sunlight ringing his mother’s hair to kiss his skin, and then he remembered the back garden, and all the flowers in bloom outside.  “Can I go out back and pick a bouquet? There’s someone special in my life that I ...

14 likes 3 comments 3
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Was it a Dream?

Submitted to Contest #260

“Come on! You have to take me! It sounds like so much fun!” My girlfriend exclaimed, handing me a flier that we just received in the mail. *ALL NEW EXPERIENCE*Join us in our Grand Opening THIS saturday!If you received this flier, you and one other person are VIP guests and will skip the line!Just show up this Saturday at“It was all a Dream” See you there!“But what is it? There are no details. I’m not sure how we know if it will be fun at all.” I knew I sounded like a pessimist, but today was already Friday night and I had big plans...

12 likes 8 comments 8
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To the Dreamer I Once Knew

Submitted to Contest #260

 I hope you’re happy.I still remember when we first met, you know. We were both so young back then. Do you remember? That house was tiny, really, but it felt so big, like a whole world. That first time, it was raining, raining in June. You’d just finished your first year of middle school. The Summer months stretched long and lazy ahead of us, the exciting mundanity of temporary freedom.The rain had put paid to talk of a picnic, a disappointment not easily recovered from. You were playing a telephone game with your sister, when I walked ...

12 likes 10 comments 10
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“The Midnight Carousel”

Submitted to Contest #260

Once upon a moonlit night, in the quaint village of Somnium Hollow, there stood an old, weathered carousel. Its paint had faded, and its wooden horses bore the weight of countless generations. Children would gather there during the day, their laughter echoing as they rode the merry-go-round, chasing dreams that spun 'round and 'round.But it was at night that the carousel truly came alive. When the moon hung low and the stars winked mischievously, the rusty gears would creak into motion. The horses leaped off their poles, their eyes glowing l...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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The Bench

Submitted to Contest #260

It was late summer when you came to the bench. I was sat reading a book - I don’t know which - while listening to the lazy hum of the bees dipping in and out of the scented wildflowers, a gentle breeze playing on my skin. I didn’t hear you coming; I looked up, and there you were. “Hello, Alice,” I said. “Jacob.” You smiled back at me, settled down beside me. “I’ve missed you.”“I’ve missed you too,” I said, returning the smile. There was a pause. My smile gave way to a slight frown. “It’s been too long. I thought…I thought you may n...

10 likes 5 comments 5
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