Menu

More apps built by Reedsy

Assemble a team of professionals

The writing app for authors

Writing courses, events and memberships

Get your book reviewed

Weekly writing prompts and contests

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Start your story with the sensation of a breeze brushing against someone’s skin.

Posted in Short Story on Oct 17, 2025

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 80 stories

Wind Beneath My Arrow

Submitted to Contest #325

Wind Beneath My Arrow She silently raised her bow and took aim. The arrow took flight at the same time a stiff October gust brushed her cheek whipping a wayward strand of dark curly hair into her eyes at the same instant it spooked her target. The young buck flinched as the arrow pierced his rear flank far from the intended kill zone. All her carefully laid plans of scoring a winter supply of meat with a single shot close to home slipped away as the dear panicked and skedaddled, limping deeper into the forest.Nellie-Rae sighed as she grabbed...

34 likes 29 comments 29
Read story

The Stare

Submitted to Contest #325

The unwritten rule on the NYC subways is simple; For god sakes- Don’t make eye contact with those on the train! While everyone else was trying their NY best to ignore one another- There was one passenger that was dressed to the nines, and seemed adamant about breaking that rule. He glanced over and tried to make eye contact with each person on the train. Noticing his validation seeking intentions, I rolled my eyes and ignored him. I had no patience for such a bushy tailed tourist at this hour. ANY HOUR. As I sat across from this creep, there...

32 likes 35 comments 35
Read story

Voices

Shortlisted for Contest #325 ⭐️

A swaying breeze, dancing through an open window brushed my face. It was cool, a herald for the coming fall. I trailed my fingers carelessly over the dusty top of a crib, long cold, waiting for nothing. A good existence I suppose, very relaxing, I thought. The nursery was gloomy, the only light coming through the open window. The lights had shut off a while ago now, but the electrician had not picked up any of my calls. Perks of being in the country, I mused sarcastically, when I heard little steps on the old stairs. As I turned sharply towa...

31 likes 15 comments 15
Read story

Whispers in the Wind

Submitted to Contest #325

A breeze brushed against his cheek, soft as breath, and Micah stirred beneath the thin blanket. He blinked into the dark, his eyes adjusting to the pale cut of moonlight slipping through the blinds. The room smelled of old pine and dust—the kind of silence that had weight to it. The retreat center was still, save for the quiet creak of aging beams and the distant hum of cicadas outside. Then—that feeling again. A presence. “Micah…” He jolted upright. He turned toward the door. Nothing. Just moonlight pooling on the floor like spilled silver....

25 likes 12 comments 12
Read story

All My Dog's Fault

Submitted to Contest #325

You want a scarf? This wind is numbing icy.Here. Bundle up against the frigid gale. No? Suit yourself, though choice seems rather dicey. I guess you’re young. Perhaps you’re not so frail. Andre? Oh, yes. He’s friendly. Most labs are. Care to join us and saunter ‘bout a spell?We’re wandering around the creek, not far. This breeze reminds me ‘bout my darling belle. I always tell the tale of meeting same:It was all my dog’s fault; I’m not to blame. I’d been quite happy single, living ‘lone. It was Andre’s idea to find a bride.He slipped his ...

20 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

The Knight Who Wanted a Song

Submitted to Contest #325

A cool, soft breeze gently danced through the Princess’ tower window as the sun began to rise up from the horizon. The breeze always felt strange upon her skin, so delicate and almost gossamer. The pink and purple pastels she wore suited her body though, and her long, long hair glittered like spun gold. The cold tiles always felt uncomfortable beneath her bare feet, for she was used to heat and warmth. She missed the feeling of warm sand with nothing between you and a blazing sun except hot air you could dance in. The forest in which she now...

19 likes 9 comments 9
Read story

Sharp Edges

Submitted to Contest #325

The wind didn’t knock me over but breezed right through my bones. Goose bumps rise on my skin as I involuntarily shiver from the cold starting to infiltrate my beautiful fall days, days where all I needed to do to feel warmth was look up. Winter is coming soon.“June!” A voice says, and I feel an elbow interlock with my own, just as soon as I push open the doors to Lemwood high, my 7-5PM forced job for two more years. Not that I have anywhere better to go. I’ll get a diploma just like everyone else and be one more fish in the pond that eventu...

18 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

The Knight, Death and The Devil

Submitted to Contest #325

The cool breeze brushes up against the skin of my cleanly shaven face. It is a beautiful morning, and if you know how to hate just one person I can teach you how to hate the millions. I ride my pale horse through the valley, sharpened sword at my side. My faithful hound Marcus keeps pace, ever ready for the next slaughter, as am I. We are both proud soldiers of the Fatherland. Stolza Deutsche Soldaten. I wear the goat horns and I bring the flame. I bring death by the bullet or the blade or the rope. I am all of these things. I wear the SS li...

18 likes 15 comments 15
Read story

The Collection

Submitted to Contest #325

Sam was less than two feet from the Cinderella staircase when a sudden gust of air sent dust particles dancing in his flashlight beam. Had someone opened the front door? He spun around, flashlight cutting through the dark, but the massive double doors were still as shut as he’d left them moments ago when he made his way in.He shook his head. No cameras, no alarm, and a heavy lead key tucked conveniently under the doormat. Fools. They were surely asking for it. And he was the answer.Mask comfortably off, he swept through the first floor, past...

17 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Did You Feel That?

Submitted to Contest #325

DID YOU FEEL THAT? Part One – Ida“Did you feel that?” Ida placed her hand on her cheek while turning away from the open window.“Feel what, love?” Hank looked up from the newspaper he had opened on the kitchen table.“That breeze.”“I wish. It’s hotter than blue blazes in here.”Ida knew her husband’s answer was true. Her damp blouse sticking to her back was proof enough. But yet, there was that breeze she had felt on her cheek just for an instant. Then it was gone.“You’re right. Would you like some iced tea? We can sit outside for a while, watc...

16 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

The Breeze That Spoke His Name

Submitted to Contest #325

I feel the breeze brush against my skin, soft and cold, and for the briefest second, I swear I can feel him beside me again. It slips through the torn screen, smelling faintly of river mud and cut grass. The curtains lift and fall. The porch glider creaks. Out in the yard, the maple leaves flip their pale bellies to the sky as if they’re ready to tell a secret. I stand there, hand on the doorframe, and let the wind climb the inside of my wrist like it used to when I was small—when I had a hand to hold that made everything ordinary and safe. ...

16 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Shards

Submitted to Contest #325

“Have you ever wondered what it means to take away a person’s memory? It’s like stealing their very life! For what use is life to someone who can’t remember it?”That was the only thought that surfaced in my mind as I lay by the roadside, a light breeze brushing against my skin. Who said those words? And when? It feels like it was at a funeral. But how could the image of a maroon funeral wreath with ribbons help me now?No — the wreath isn’t a memory. It’s here, in my present, lying on the tarmac. Nearby, a bicycle wheel spins idly. A pair of ...

14 likes 6 comments 6
Read story

The Miner’s Mule.

Submitted to Contest #325

The hot breeze brushed against the old prospector’s leathery skin. Yet he ignored the hardship it presented for the moment, as he hitched a rope to his mule. Then bitching as he usually did about the pestilent flies and heat, the miner led the mule forward as she hauled yet another bucket load of burden to the top of the mine shaft. Then, hitching her off with a length of measured rope against a post, the miner trudged back toward his mine. Precariously balanced near the edge of the rapt chasm, the old-timer struggled with the stubborn and s...

13 likes 10 comments 10
Read story

Coffee Djinni

Submitted to Contest #325

Coffee Djinni Frowning, Allen stepped from the elevator. At the door to his apartment, he found a package wrapped in plain brown paper. Above the mailing label, Happy Birthday! was written in large red letters. The sender: his mom. He rolled his eyes and groaned.They hadn't spoken for weeks, not since their last argument, something about how he was always too busy to visit, or how he was never grateful for anything. She always had something to complain about. But now, a birthday package?The lights in his apartment blinked on as he entered. T...

13 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

The Pulse in the Pines

Submitted to Contest #325

She awoke under the cover of trees, blanketed in soft dew, their dark green colors not yet exchanged for crimson. She opened her eyes and was met with the harshness of the morning breeze, brushing against her exposed skin and pulling small strands of hair from behind her ears.“You shouldn’t pull your hair back too much,” she heard her mother’s voice ringing through the trees. “People will think you’re a boy.”It appeared her mother and the wind had made some sort of deal that day...to expose Eliza as the woman she was. But neither the wind no...

13 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Center your story around a character who can’t tell the difference between their dreams and reality.

Dramatic – 93 stories

Your character sees something unfamiliar out of the corner of their eye. What happens next?

Horror – 30 stories

End your story in a way that leaves the reader with a sense of uncertainty or doubt.

Short Story – 81 stories

Write a story that includes the line “Did anyone else see that?” or "Who’s there?”

Short Story – 55 stories

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel