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Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

150+ Coming of age Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. No matter how old you are, there’s just something inherently relatable about coming-of-age tales. Discover the best new coming-of-age stories right here!

Coming of age Short Stories – Page 4 of 10

The Timeless Quest in the Land of Plenty

Submitted to Contest #334

Once upon a time there was a village that had everything you could ever want. Hillvale was a land of plenty. Everybody was happy except for one person named Flynn. A warm morning breeze threaded through the village, ripe mangos swaying in the trees. Flynn, jet black hair and hemp clothing, walked side-by-side with their companion Gaterbot. ‘We have everything you need right here,’ Flynn’s mother had said. ‘You can paint, sculpt, build tree shelters, whatever you like…’ ‘Thank you,’ Flynn said. Polite as ever. ‘But I want something that fe...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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A Recipe That Was Never About the Ingredients

Submitted to Contest #333

Shopping ListSea saltSageBlack tourmalineRose quartz crystalRose petalsLavenderChamomileCinnamonBlack pepperCayennePeppermintCoffee beansApple cider vinegarAloeHoneyVanilla extractI folded the list once.Then again.Then again, until it was small enough to disappear into my pocket.And still, I felt like I was missing something.Maybe not an ingredient.Maybe a permission.PreparationBegin on a night when the moon is full, or when your chest feels similarly crowded, swollen with things you never agreed to carry but somehow kept anyway.Clear the sp...

12 likes 1 comment 1
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Appetite

Submitted to Contest #334

He first noticed her on an afternoon that should not have stayed with him. He had finished work early and stopped at a café near the bus terminal, choosing a small metal table close to the curb. Buses hissed as they pulled in and out. Someone argued on the phone. A delivery truck blocked the intersection long enough for one horn to sound, then another. Nothing about the moment suggested consequence.She stood across the road, just beyond the pedestrian crossing.She did not look at him, yet her stillness set her apart from the surrounding move...

13 likes 4 comments 4
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One Last Chance

Submitted to Contest #334

Familiar reed beds swept by, the lethargic current of the waterway carrying Tien ever closer to his past. He helped himself along with lazy kicks of his great taloned feet and held his long neck high. The meandering streams forked and twisted across the whole area, yet his memory of the place was sufficient to find the path. No matter how much he wished it wasn’t. It would be so much easier to get lost and turn back, but as it was, they would arrive on time. Habitually he shook his thick white feathers, shedding droplets of water everywhere,...

18 likes 6 comments 6
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Chicken Curry

Submitted to Contest #333

Brown the onions, and don’t fry them like last time.Fahim stirred the cubes of onion, watching them slowly take on the warm brown hue his mother always insisted on. Behind him, his phone buzzed– unanswered– as messages poured in:Fahim, are you coming today?No hear from you in long time.Come soon. I know you have off today.Suraiya was sharp– she always remembered his schedule, even when he hadn’t responded in weeks. He did plan to visit today, just later than usual. And he’d never show up empty-handed; that would break one of the first tenets...

15 likes 3 comments 3
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Scorched Rice

Shortlisted for Contest #333 ⭐️

“It’s burnt.”Of course it is. “It’s because you wait too long”, a reply laced with the tone that only a parent could have toward their child. I follow my father’s hands, worn with years of hard work, as they mix my bowl of bibimbap.“You eat like this. Now the rice will be crispy if you don’t wait too long”. Bibimbap — a Korean dish of rice and spicy mixed vegetables — is not only delicious, but occasionally served in a dolsot, or hot stone bowl. If you wait just long enough — but not too long — the rice at the bottom will have the perfect am...

27 likes 24 comments 24
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violence is another form of toxic love

Submitted to Contest #333

This story includes themes of consuming blood, withdrawal, and bloodlust. Being a vampire is grueling. Being a vampire around humans is even worse. We’ve been discriminated against since the start of time, and before humans even had power over us. Vampires have always been seen as hungry creatures. We’re most commonly associated with bloodlust, the hunger or lust for blood. But for me, I’m hungry for vengeance. “Are you here for the interview?” The man speaks to me. He’s short and wide, with square rimmed glasses and brown hair. His suit is...

10 likes 0 comments 0
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What Sustains Us

Submitted to Contest #333

The inhale James took fed him before what lay atop the kitchen table. Pot roast tended for hours by Mama’s patient hand; its meat slowly giving way to heat, now soft and supple, the tension pulled from the muscle like a peaceful dream does in fitful sleep. Savory steam exhaled from the iron pot at the center of the table, filling the quiet space between the Bolton family with comfort. Shoulders grazed politely, hands palmed lower backs as they moved past one another in the small kitchen. Silverware clanked softly against plates as Baby Girl ...

25 likes 8 comments 8
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Pink Slips

Submitted to Contest #333

An alarm clock sounds and my eyes open. The first light of day leaks through the blinds. Too early. I sit up and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. I press my fingers into my eyes, and try to massage the sleep away. There wasn’t much to massage away, I had only been able to cobble together a couple hours. The room is quiet, stagnant. There’s a windowsill overlooking an alley, shedding white latex paint. A couple of curling Tomb Raider and Soul Caliber posters overlook the bed, while soda bottles and notebooks and t-shirts cover the floo...

39 likes 18 comments 18
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BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU HUNGER FOR

Submitted to Contest #333

“ Be Careful What You Hunger For” Hunger, what a subjective word. I used to think it was only for food but then I grew up.There was never enough food when I was a kid. You’ve heard that story a million times, I’m sure. Poor kid, parents were losers, Mom an alcoholic and Dad was on any drug he could get his hands on. If they grew up in a big city in a bad neighborhood you wouldn’t think twice about it, I grew up on a farm in Nebraska. You’re probably thinking I just made this up but honest it’s the truth. I was one of four boys you can ask an...

10 likes 0 comments 0
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Overpriced Ingredients, Same Results

Submitted to Contest #333

“An’ don’t g’back heeuh til yuh goddit all. Take yuh sistuh w’chyuh.” Nadine slammed the door and went to doll up more. The autumn air complimented the freedom Valentino earned. Antonia was at his side with her arms crossed, looking slightly down at him. He held the map to his memories closely.“She didn’t lemme change,” small splats of pomodoro base danced on the front of her long sleeve shirt and jeans.“Quit whining,” he focused the cursive stating: butter, parmesan, mozzarella, heavy cream, milk, bay leaf, parsley, sage, olive oil, lasagna...

6 likes 0 comments 0
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Just Desserts for the Chivalrous

Submitted to Contest #333

“There’s nothing to be worried about. It’s a banquet like any other at Blount Manor,” Mabel shouted over the squawks of the chicken dangling by its claws. She deftly bludgeoned it against the table before wringing its neck. Catalina blanched, feeling as faint as the fowl in the kitchen maid’s hands. She scanned the room to take her mind off the massacre that would become her dinner and the one that awaited. The kitchen’s sharp, pointed instruments swam in her vision so she focused on pitting the cherries for the evening’s final course. “ ‘Co...

9 likes 6 comments 6
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Umami Kiwa — The Edge of Reduction

Submitted to Contest #333

The smell reached her before the sound.It wasn’t smoke — not yet — but the broth had tightened, the umami deepening into something heavier than it should have been at this hour. Pork bones, kelp, soy. A richness leaning toward bitterness. The kind of smell that meant someone had lingered too long.She crossed the kitchen without urgency. Service was still an hour away. The shop was quiet except for the low breath of gas and the apprentice hovering over the pot, watching it as if attention alone could control time.She reached past them and tur...

10 likes 0 comments 0
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Villa Capri II

Submitted to Contest #333

What it said:It isn’t anything fancy. If you are looking for good, fresh pizza, Villa Capri II is a good stop for a pie or a slice. Okay parking and decent prices. Quick service… but be sure to get a garlic knot while you’re waiting. Would come again.What it meant:You will spend some of your most meaningless Tuesdays here.Sundays after soccer, shin guards still half on, socks stiff with dried grass and sweat. Your cheeks are flushed from the cold, or the heat, depending on the season. New Jersey weather never fully committing to one thing or...

11 likes 0 comments 0
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In The Summertime

Submitted to Contest #333

Furci. To my 9-yr old ear, the name sounded Japanese. But it was a town next to my family’s ancestral hometown of Santa Teresa di Riva, Sicily, near Taormina. Furci, Pronounced Foor Chee. That is where Gioanna Garufi lived with her parents and younger brother Fillipo, who they called Pippo, in a high rise on the 7th floor overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Gioanna would be my little sister Grace and my babysitter that August night in 1971 when our parents went out for the evening with her parents. Gioanna was the 15-year-old chestnut haired ...

6 likes 3 comments 3
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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