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Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

150+ Contemporary Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. All the newest modern day stories to thrill and inspire, all in one place.

Contemporary Short Stories – Page 8 of 10

To See If They Glow

Weekly Contest #357

To See If They Glow The MC's footsteps faded across the cobblestone as the sun started to set. The village square went quiet as he strode into Mabel’s Inn. Rowan turned back to his table. The evening restock was the same as every evening. He checked his vials and potions against his mental inventory, replaced what was sold, consolidated what wasn't. His hands moved through it without thought, uncorking, checking levels, resealing, repositioning. He had done this enough times that his hands knew the order before he did. He picked up the last ...

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Along For the Ride

Annalisa M

Weekly Contest #356

Along for the Ride She stood on the 7th floor in between a tall potted fern and a half-empty water cooler. Or perhaps it was half full. Was she an optimist or a pessimist when it came to five-gallon water jugs? The elevators in this building were slow, so she stood listening, in spite of herself, to the chitchat of the secretaries behind her. She never was entirely comfortable while waiting for the elevator. Nowhere to look but straight ahead. It was going on lunchtime, and she was carrying her sack lunch to bring to the park across the stre...

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Cold Does That Sometimes

Weekly Contest #356

Cold Does That Sometimes By one in the morning, Nara had read the breakup message often enough to memorize it. The message had arrived at 11:07 p.m., so calm it almost felt cruel. “I think we’ve been trying to save something that already ended a long time ago.” It was strange how three years of loving someone could end in such a quiet sentence. After reading it the first time, Nara had set her phone facedown beside her on the bed and stared at the wall for nearly twenty minutes without moving. Sometime later, she cried until breathing itse...

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Condition: Used. As seen on Facebook Marketplace

Michelle Oliver

Weekly Contest #356

FOR SALE-USED HUMANS$1000 (ono)Individual prices listed below. DescriptionI have a selection of used humans for sale. Some have only seen light use, while others show signs of heavy wear and tear and have been discounted accordingly. 1. Nosey neighbour. Although this might seem like a poor investment, this model is very observant. She is able to maintain a vigilant neighbourhood watch and has her finger on the pulse of all that is happening in our street. She can save you money on private investigators, so I believe she is well worth the ask...

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The Emergency Contact

Erin King

Weekly Contest #357

By the time the hospital called about the third person, Mira had begun to suspect she was a service. Not a person, exactly. More of a municipal feature. Like a drinking fountain, or those blue emergency poles on college campuses no one touched unless they had been in danger for three blocks already and wanted the university to have paperwork about it.She was eating cottage cheese from the container, over her sink, when her phone rang at 11:42 p.m., which was how she knew immediately it was either death, fraud, or someone who had confused com...

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It Takes Time

Alejandro Montero

Weekly Contest #356

5/17Fuck this. I am grateful that I got gifts today. I am grateful for all of them except this fucking gratitude journal. This journal is a fucking chore. I am an adult I have enough chores. P.S. Do not tell anyone I referred to myself as an adult. 5/18Day two. I am grateful that I found my favorite pen. Look at the shape and style of these words I am writing right now. Look at how even and smooth my letters are. You should be jealous that you will never be able to form loops and lines as beautiful as these. I am grateful that I have made y...

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Cotton candy bed.

Eninca Mshighati

Weekly Contest #356

It isn’t true that my mattress is made of cotton candy, I have poured water on it a lot of times to prove the point, yet I find myself needing to prove it again and again.“Are you sure? why don’t you check one more time?” the voice of doubt speaks to me.“No” I shake my head.“Yes” it protests.It makes me uneasy, somehow I get physically ill, going in this back and forth I get nauseous, I curl into a ball pulling my arms and legs together, I shut my eyes and immerse myself into the darkness.But then it makes the voice more scary, and the room ...

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Full Mississippi's

Adam Guzman

Weekly Contest #356

What is this extra second? The cadence is off. Usually it’s a good one Mississippi, two Mississ, three Mis, release. But you didn’t. And I didn’t because you didn’t. Par for the course, you lead, I follow. These are full Mississippi’s. I remember a couple of other full Mississippi’s. But not in this context. There was that time in Florence. I’d never travelled solo before. I didn’t tell anyone that I was. I didn’t think I needed to. It was only for two days. And half of it was travel time. I landed in Rome. Staying for the night and hoppin...

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Wild Placement (A Story About Survival And All That Was Lost)

Weekly Contest #356

*Disclosure: This work contains mature subject matter related to the adult entertainment industry, emotional trauma, and personal identity. which may be uncomfortable for some readers.* The director screams, “Cut,” and my model liaison rushes to my side. She offers me water and recommends a makeup touch-up. She’s there to make sure I’m doing okay. I mean, I am the most important part of this set. She hands me a sweating bottle of water. The coldness brings me back to being a child swimming in a pool. It doesn’t make much sense considering w...

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The Little Things That Matter

George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Weekly Contest #356

Rupert Gettis was walking through the sloppy rain, as he knew it, on his way to his weekly with his probation officer Nick Adams. Rupert had nothing against Officer Adams, but he was a by the book kind of guy which irritated Rupert. Walking into the cramped officer that always smelled like mold, Rupert greeted Hazel Manfred who was the receptionist with a nice figure, but she was addicted to Diet Coke. Lots of her empties cluttered her desk. “Hey there Rup.” She greeted him, “Sign in.” “Sure.” He picked up the pen and scribbled his name on ...

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The Relaxing Day

Carol Rogers

Weekly Contest #356

The Relaxing Day May 28, 2026I decided to get up earlier than usual one morning so I could go for a walk and enjoy the peace and quiet of the day. I wrapped my hand around my coffee cup as I looked out the kitchen window, thinking about where I wanted to go. It had been a long time since I had gone anywhere this early in the morning, and so many things had changed that I wasn’t sure which would be better, the park or the forest path.I took a deep breath, pulling the...

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Jacky Bach

Augusta Reed

Weekly Contest #356

It smelled like her. It smelled correct. Like bread proofing and cawl on the cast iron stove. Like wood smoke and peat and the mineral tang of wet stone. It smelled like beeswax and sweet, soapy old oak. He dropped his bags and pulled the door shut behind him. He ducked beneath lintels and beams with the practiced ease of someone who'd grown up with them. Grown into them. The kitchen was a still life. A dishrag crumpled on the slate worktop, an ellipsis. Like the person who'd been using it had just stepped out to take a call. A bowl of wrink...

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The Advertisement

Donna Power

Weekly Contest #356

‘More coffee, sir? Alfred the butler, or man servant as he preferred to be called, attempted to gain his employers attention.‘Sir?’ Alfred receiving no response from his employer, began pouring the coffee into the half full cup.‘Alfred, oh thank you, listen to this’ his employer Mr John Brown, cleared his throat and prepared to read from the National Times newspaper. He was inclined to read out every headline, every morning to Alfred.As luck would have it the doorbell chose to sound its piercing ring before John Brown could begin his reading...

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The Trench Poets of The Somme

Charlie C. Gould

Weekly Contest #356

The Trench Poets of The SommeIn memory of the million men killed at the Somme River. War never changes, humanity can.Marching off to battleCadence Poem By Private John HobbesMarching off to battle! Marching to battle! We are we are marching off to battle!Isn't it beautiful to go! Why I'll never know! We are we are marching off to battle!Left our families home! Hell am I alone! We are we are marching off to battle!Will my wife be cheating? Will my children be eating? We are we are marching off to battle!Why did we do this, though? Bombs' fier...

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Monster under the Bed

David Poslad

Weekly Contest #356

“I can’t sleep”Standing in the doorway with her pink teddy bear, Jonathan’s sister rubs her eyes. Sitting on the plain burgundy sofa, Jonathan’s mom pauses mid-sip, putting her glass of sauvignon down with a clink. “It’s okay, darling. Just put on an audiobook.” Their dad not even listening, instead highly invested in his online shopping, Jonathan fiddling with the ropes of his jumper, Abigail’s gaze drifts past all of them and lands on Rafaela, searching, almost pleading. Rafaela freezes. She’s not used to that look, especially by a child....

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