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

Write a short story about someone who does not spend December 31st celebrating New Year's Eve.

Posted in Winter on Nov 1, 2022

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?

✍️ 77 stories

Pagliacci on the Q Train

Winner of Contest #22 🏆

It is 4:06 PM on December 31st, and my mother is sobbing at the kitchen table. She is wearing a peculiar type of party hat, one with a hidden button underneath the brim. When this button is activated, a string of lights declares the year, 1993, above her head in a semi-circle. While my mother cries, the sprigs of tinsel on the hat bob comically. I do not laugh, although I want to, just a little bit. Instead, I watch her, studying her ruddy cheeks with a detached fascination and chewing on my cuticles. I am not even sure if she is completely ...

99 likes 26 comments 26
Read story

A NEW 'MENTALITY'

Submitted to Contest #22

When Adriel announced that he wanted to be a cardiovascular surgeon, I asked him if he'd be okay with patients wanting never to see him again; he blinked and said," That's okay, Mum, as long as they're alive to wish it."Being a single mom was hard both financially and emotionally, with a recently started psychiatric practice and just a few guilty calls by my ex to ask after Addy and checks sent 'with remorse' for child support. Who will support the mom? I wanted to scream sometimes. I was desperate for better credentials to get employed in a...

60 likes 44 comments 44
Read story

Edge

Submitted to Contest #22

"It's teflon-coated, not stainless steel.""Are you sure about that?""Yes, I used to shave daily with Voskhod.""Why did you switch?""I tried the Wilkinson and since then it's my main blade.""I didn't like it in my Merkur; it bends it at a weird angle.""I'll lend you my DE89, great for Russian brand blades too. ""Oh, that's ok, I know you can't go a day without shaving.""I have many razors, Frank. I'm currently using -""That's our guy."Eric turned his head and locked eyes on the pizza boy."Let's get him."Just as the kid was buzzed in, Eric gri...

45 likes 6 comments 6
Read story

Once The Misfit

Submitted to Contest #22

Furious, you throw the bottle which overflowed with a cheap, filthy substance. Your eyes spark with anger as you hear the mocking, brutal noises the passerby’s howl at you. You remember, ‘Don’t let life slip away, one day you’ll leave this world behind, so live a life you’ll remember.’ That is what she said? That? A joke! To live a life you’ll remember you’d need a continuous journey to travel without setbacks. What did she know anyway?You heave, as you lean onto the brick wall on for support, lifting yourself up, you stagger up and wobble o...

27 likes 7 comments 7
Read story

A normal day

Submitted to Contest #22

On the thirty-first of December, Emily locked the door, closed the curtains and played classical music to drown out all noise from outside. She started with Chopin. Outside the sun was shining. Beams of sunlight crept through gaps in the curtains and she had to keep tugging them shut. She dusted the bookshelves and cleaned the bathroom, all the while pretending it was evening, a Tuesday, somewhere in January.Around noon someone in the street set of a couple of firecrackers, and Emily twisted the volume knob on her stereo. Even at maximum vol...

16 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

someone who does not spend December 31st celebrating new years eve

Submitted to Contest #22

‘’Good morning janeman(sweetheart)‘’ I said to arousa lying beside her. She kissed on her forehead.‘’Hmm… don’t... let me sleep’’ arousa said in a sleepy voice. ‘’ I am going to make breakfast get ready ‘’ I said slipping out of the bed.‘’Ok,’’ she said yawning.I went into the kitchen, made some boiled eggs sandwiches and served it  With hot cups of coffees. I settled breakfast on the table and called arousa to come down. After some time she came down wearing a new suit. She was kind of choosy in brands. Her favourite brand was IDEAS. I...

11 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Never a New Year

Submitted to Contest #22

The diner hummed, packed with people eating a quick meal before heading out to New Year’s Eve parties, leaving only one seat at the counter. The man entering took the last seat next to a tall, thin woman nursing a cup of tea and waiting on her meal.“Happy New Year,” he said as he sat down.“Hmph.” The woman offered as a non-acknowledgment of his sentiment.“Sorry,” he said. “Hi, I’m—” she cut him off with a raised hand.“You’re you, I’m me, pleasetameetcha, blah blah blah.” She picked up her tea and sipped while he ordered. “This isn’t a bar, s...

11 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

An Explanation of Absence

Submitted to Contest #22

I did not celebrate on New Year's eve. I would have, had I been here on that day, but I wasn't, so I didn't. Actually, the New Year came and went without me. I did not exist on that night in question.Then how can I be here now, you may ask. It's a fairly logical question, under the circumstances. Am I a newborn babe that was not born until after New Year's Day? Of course not; babies cannot write, nor do they have the capability to dictate their stories to others to be written. Am I some creature from outer space, who only arrived after Decem...

10 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Absolutely Nothing like North Korea

Submitted to Contest #22

What I can’t seem to make people understand is this. My childhood was idyllic. And no, this is not some kind of inverse false memory, sugar-coating the insufferable, I am not in denial, and I am not speaking out of loyalty. Well, the last perhaps a little. But it WAS idyllic, and I still feel sorry for children who don’t have that kind of childhood. I’m not necessarily saying it was right, but it was idyllic.     I grew up in a world with waterfalls and wildflower meadows and fluttering snowf...

8 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

The Bus

Submitted to Contest #22

The driver glanced back at his passengers.“All belted up. Ok, we're off.” he announced, and pulled out from the bus station.Some passengers had already fallen asleep, not worrying about any stops as they were going the full journey. Others gazed out of the windows at the blackness outside. Some met each others eyes briefly, then looked away again. A couple sat holding hands contentedly.A baby began to yell hungrily and the woman holding it shoved it under her baggy top to suckle.The man opposite sighed and looked the other way, not wanting t...

8 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Unexpected destination.

Submitted to Contest #22

“Wow, I take it you are St. Peter, or do I call you just Peter, or Pete? No, no, I’m only kidding. Actually, I didn’t expect to see you at all. In fact, I think I may have ballsed things up, me being an atheist. Well, let’s say, a former atheist. It’s more than a surprise that I’m here at all, I’m supposed to be at a New Year’s party. Apparently, some drunken prick has taken me out. I hope that bastard is down below. I can’t imagine he’s up here with that blot on his record. Yeah, yeah, I know I’m rambling, I’m actually petrified. I’m not ac...

7 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

The March Home

Submitted to Contest #22

Torches roar. I mean, the old style, pitchfork-and-mob torches. Tiki torches? I had never once thought about them until December 31st, 2018, but they roar. When you light them. They roar like the wind roars in the Hebrides in the winter, for a moment. No, they roar like the crash of the tumultuous sea against the side of a stricken boat. My great-grandfather grew up listening to those roars, lying in his bed at night while the wind howled, going to the fishing as a teenager and getting caught in a squall on...

7 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

The New Years Eve Feud!

Submitted to Contest #22

December 31, 2019           Adam Parker reached for the large box of specialty chocolates when another hand quickly snatched the box from the shelf. Irritation filled his mind as he turned towards the chocolate thief, when he saw the perpetrator. His eyes grew wide with annoyance, of course, how could Adam expect anything else. "You!" growled Adam standing up to his full height of 5' 6", "I should have known it was you when the air froze!" "Did you really think I would allow you to have ...

7 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Holidays Alone

Submitted to Contest #22

Reclining in the lounge chair, Ralph procured the TV remote and clicked on the Television. He flipped through channel after channel of commercials, game shows, and New Year’s specials. Finally, Ralph settled on a war movie. All of a sudden, the telephone rang in the kitchen. Ralph heaved a deep sigh, rose from his beloved recliner, and staggered to the kitchen. He caught the phone on the last ring.       “Hello,” He said rather coldly into the telephone.       “Dad! I was ...

7 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

" It is not always what you see"

Submitted to Contest #22

 It was new year’s eve. Grace placed herself tightly under the comforter and hit the sack at seven ‘o clock. Grace’s mother Evelyn was busy baking her mixed penny cakes and a huge chocolate cake covered with white and chocolate fondant. Evelyn was at her best in baking cakes. Her cakes will not only be a feast to our tongue , but also to our eyes. Evelyn thought of calling Grace as she was in a mood to visit St. Paul’s Cathedral. But she didn’t because she was waiting for her cakes to come out of the oven. She gently took out the c...

6 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a short story about a person who goes to bed on Valentine's Day and wakes up in 1920.

Holiday – 41 stories

Write a short story about someone with unconventional New Year's traditions.

Holiday – 43 stories

Two strangers meet at a New Year's Eve party. They spend the party together, and then never see each other again.

Winter – 79 stories

Write a short story in which the last line is the countdown to midnight on New Year's Eve.

Winter – 95 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