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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of bedtime short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

Bedtime Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Everybody loves a story before bed, and our collection of bedtime short stories has got you covered.

Bedtime Short Stories – Page 2

Mess After You

Karly Moller

Weekly Contest #366

I should have known better. If only I had paid attention to the warning signs, or asked myself what I was really getting out of these nights. Looking back, I wish I had walked out sooner, or stopped pretending I was fine with the way things were. Maybe if I had trusted my instincts, I wouldn't be standing here with this awful feeling churning through me. It's a muddy mix of shame and regret that sits low in my stomach, making it hard to breathe. I feel like I wasted something real and important, and all I'm left with is this hollow ache. The...

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The Dreaded Writing Assignment

Weekly Contest #366

The Dreaded Writing Assignment By Heather David "I should have known better!"The Author clenched her fist and sighed as she stomped up the stairs to her bedroom. She had wanted nothing more than to go out for coffee with friends. But as usual, her parents put down the homework first rule. She had tried every excuse in the book, but her mother would not hear it."It's a school night, therefore homework first, then TV," said her mother as she pointed to the stairs."Daddy?...." She tried weakly.Her dad did not look up as he said, "Homework first...

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Daydream

Aliyah Russo

Weekly Contest #366

You come to me in a dream. You come to me as a monster; a beastly, many-limbed thing bearing scales of judgement. In your night-drenched form I see my every failing. You chase me, and I run.  We repeat this process night after night, until morning comes to wash it all away. And I am left to pull myself slowly from the shell of my bed and dress in uniform, the one with the tightly drawn collar. The details blur and obscure, leaving only an impression—an itch along the rivets of my spine. I pull my long hair into a tight knot and clean m...

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Rainbow Space Shuttle

Gage London

Weekly Contest #366

Okay. This is one life changing decision right here. Do I want the “rocket clusters” or the “rainbow space shuttle” gummies? Who am I kidding? “Rainbow space shuttle” is way more my speed. I grab the bag, nod, and as I step away another bag falls to the ground. “Looks like two bags of candy for me!” I snicker. I pick it up and hear a muttering of something. I ignore it, checking out with a drink and a pack of smokes. I head back to my dorm. I ride my bike, the wind blowing through my hair and leaves falling on the ground. It’s early fall. I ...

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A Rather Curious Tea Party

Rae Beuke

Weekly Contest #366

“Are you an angel?” I didn’t know how else to refer to the creature standing in front of me. I only knew that this towering being couldn’t possibly be human. Humans didn’t have wings, did they? I certainly didn’t.I had thought that today was going to be like any other day. Apparently I was very, very wrong. It had started as usual, or I think it had; I’m pretty sure I had the same pumpkin waffles for breakfast I always had.“I’m not an angel,” The creature answered, “But what are you?”“Um,” How to reply? “A girl?” Duh. What else would I be? A...

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The Flying Dog

Tanya Humphreys

Weekly Contest #365

Step One of Bobby Skully’s weekday daily routine was SCHOOL and at the age of twelve, Step One was an obligatory grind that he tolerated. His grades were pretty good, and he got a kick out of learning something new, particularly in the sciences, history, and English classes. The kids all called him Skully, which he secretly adored; they teased him about having a wooden leg and often threw in plenty of ‘arrrrrs’ and yarrrrrs’ when speaking to him. He wished he had a parrot but drew the cliché line at wearing an eyepatch. Kids mostly avoided h...

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The Debt Collector

Angelus Rose

Weekly Contest #365

The city is wrapped in eternal layers of woolen coats that brace against the August winds but I have not felt winter against my skin for over ten years. The colder months are like a weighted blanket that sweep through the concrete buildings and entrap city folk inside the wind tunnels. I only know this from the times that I made the daily office commute. Braving the winter was something I despised and now only dream of. Any life beyond the confines of this cage is worth living. My hands clasp the metal railing as I watch the fragments of the...

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Black Datura

YuYou Cai

Weekly Contest #365

Yumi Cai caiyuyou1227@gmail.com +86 13564550045 Word Count: 1843 “Hey honey, where’ve you been?” “Uh… what’s going on?” The background noise on his end was a predictable wall of sound—passing traffic, the sharp clink of highball glasses, the hurried, thin murmurs of men who calibrated their lives by a stock ticker. “You forgot again, didn't you?” I let a low, amused hum escape my throat. “Don't tell me. Let me guess which boardroom held my anniversary hostage this time.” There was a heavy pause on the line, the sound of him stepping aw...

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Inexplicable but true

Viacheslav Novakovskyi

Weekly Contest #365

There was a pouring day. Rain was kissing the windowpane. It did not merely fall, but incessantly set the percussive rhythm, that seemed to demand attention. The sky was colored like bruised plum, hanging low over the local architecture of McFanry’s manor. A surge that would leave the city blind. All inhabitants of Sheffield thought the blackout was coming. But they were wrong. The darkness they feared was non-electrical in nature. Mr. McFanry and his daughter Elizabeth were outside of their house. His little daughter was struggling from e...

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Something horrible lives on the edge of the lake.

Luke George

Weekly Contest #365

“Dad wake up. I heard a noise upstairs” The child was gripping his father by the shoulders, straining to shake him awake. The man was lying spread out on his double mattress, under soft cotton sheets, and was snoring gently. He awoke with a cough that startled the boy and then opened his eyes wide in the midnight of the room. “What’s the matter lad?” he whispered apprehensively. “I heard a noise above my room. It was like creaking or groaning or something.” The boy’s whispering was loud, and his breathing rapid. “Oh, that.” The father replie...

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Hiccough

Weekly Contest #364

Hiccough, Hiccough, Hiccough. Pause. Hiccough, Hiccough, Hiccough, pause. What was that sound? I’d been counting breaths for months. Weeks. Days. Hours. They’d gone from 20, to 18, to 14, to 12. My sister said she wanted to be there. Make sure I call her immediately. She wanted to be there. My brother flew in from out of town. He wanted to be there. Make sure I wake him. My mother gave a kiss good night and said be sure to wake her. She wanted to be there. I was the only one who said I did not want to be there. I told him I would tak...

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Sandman

Weekly Contest #364

The door made no sense. It was hiding directly behind the open door to my newly assigned bedroom. A door behind a door.Shorter than the ceiling by about a third of the way down, it was askew on its frame, as though it had been popped into place as an afterthought, then tried to settle in but never quite completed the journey. A misfit for sure, as far as doors went. To me, it just seemed uncomfortable—and that made me uncomfortable.Since my dad had died, my mom had tried to “keep things normal” by renting a cottage for my sister and me every...

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The Night Storm

Weekly Contest #363

Gigi's house always smells like fake flowers and dusty cotton curtains. I’m kneeling on the back of her sofa watching the tail lights on Mom and Dad's car grow smaller and fade into the darkness. We don't usually go to Gigi's at night, but Dad pulled me out of bed, still in my pajamas, and said we had to go because the baby is coming.Mom says the baby is in her belly, which seems scary because, how will it come out? I think the doctor will have to cut it out.Boom! Thunder shakes the windows, and a few heavy droplets of rain splash against th...

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A Lost Sheep

Anna Feng

Weekly Contest #363

Once upon a time, there was a sunset. And the clouds were melting.It was not a hint of the vast, open space. It had nothing to do with it. Instead it shone its stars and fluttered its gills. The bright, starlight scene splashed with short bursts of light. Small and delicate. A constellation in a jar.There used to be a horse and a kid. The horse galloped around, when or wherever it goes, it leaves. And when it leaves, it’s gone. And then the young one, the little child, was left to fathom the starry night, wondering why, oh why, did he leave....

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The Blue Gazelle

Elena Vikman

Weekly Contest #362

I occasionally scan the Internet for the recipes of borscht, just out of curiosity. I wonder what people write about it. None of the recipes I encounter are right. Some people fail to mention you need a homemade chicken broth to start a borscht. Others forget to include cabbage, which is vital. Also, if you add cabbage too early in the process your borscht will inevitably become a shchi - and this is a different dish. I never make shchi but I could probably produce a decent Ukrainian borscht with my eyes half-closed. I'll let you in on a se...

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