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Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

Inspirational Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. From tales of the miraculous to stories of extraordinary people overcoming incredible odds, you’ll always find something uplifting in our collection of inspirational short stories.

Inspirational Short Stories – Page 10

Love From the Shadows

Weekly Contest #357

I could feel my heart pumping as Eric banged out the intro to “Summer Hues” and Marty started strumming the verse on his battered Martin acoustic. The first note from my P Bass resounded with dissonance throughout the venue. My brain was screaming, “Does not compute,” until I noticed Marty had placed his capo on the wrong frets once again. No problem, I was getting good at this. I smiled at Eric while I transposed the song and faded back into the pocket of his drumming. The audience started bopping to the rhythm pouring out from my heart. I ...

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Hope Arrived on a Thursday

Weekly Contest #357

Hope arrived on a Thursday.Yellow Converse.Flowy skirt.The kind of smile that suggested she knew something the rest of us didn't.I hated her immediately.Which was unfortunate, because she was there to replace me.Not that I had anything against Hope personally.Well.That's not entirely true.I had plenty against Hope personally.For starters, no one should be that cheerful before coffee.Second, she arrived carrying a mason jar full of wildflowers.Who brings wildflowers to a reassignment?A funeral, maybe.A birthday party.Not a reassignment.Especi...

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Season 9 Addition

Weekly Contest #357

The first thing I noticed when I walked into Ballroom C of the Parsippany Marriott Convention Center was that someone was selling framed, autographed photos of television dads beside a table covered in loose Funko Pops and homemade beef jerky.Not official beef jerky either.The handwritten sign said:SMOKEHOUSE MEATSAS SEEN ON FACEBOOKWhich somehow felt exactly right for a convention called:“90s Sitcom Reunion & Pop Culture Experience.”The carpet had that geometric casino pattern every hotel in America used between 1987 and 2004. Somewhere...

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ELMA

Weekly Contest #357

ELMA Ziana was a gorgeous girl. When she was born, everyone loved her. People were stunned by her beauty. Even the nurse was shocked. “Oh my God, she is so beautiful,” she said. That sounded a bit weird, but she really was beautiful. Everyone adored her—her dad, mom, relatives, and family friends. She was like a celebrity. Every moment was captured: her first walk, first talk, first bath, and first haircut. Everyone in the family wanted to play with her. She was not just gorgeous but also very smart. She started talking early and reached ma...

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Field of Dreams

Weekly Contest #357

Captain James Wolfe’s heart leapt in his chest as watched the Earth-like blue and green planet Trappist-1d come into view when his spacecraft exited the wormhole. So reminiscent of Earth yet also very different. Emotions came flooding into his mind. Humanity has gambled everything on him and his crew to find a new home before Earth gives out completely. First indications were that this planet was the most likely candidate and from what he could see from space it looked very promising. The ship’s CPU was calculating atmospheric conditions, de...

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The Giant, the Dragon and the Little Unicorn - unique bond

Weekly Contest #357

In an universe where all things are possible and all creatures are real, and very bizarre encounters happen…and unlike bonds are made; it’s where this story happens.In this “mythical world” still made by, the Incredible and Unexplained Force that creates, transforms and watches…- there was once a beautiful dragon, but as all dragons, she didn’t think she was beautiful, because all that fire sometimes, many times, destroys and burns all things, insignificant and important although its hard sometimes to know which is which, depending on how yo...

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Single Mama Drama: New Beginnings

Weekly Contest #357

With one hand on the steering wheel, the other brings my Starbucks cup up to my face. I inhale the sweet scent of my mocha, the smell of survival.Coffee first. Meltdown later.That is my motto for today.It has been one of those wonderful months where everything that could go wrong does. I have been trying my hardest to keep my thoughts positive. All those "Law of Attraction" and "your thoughts become your reality" YouTube meditations I've been watching, a desperate attempt to get my life together, constantly run through my head.Today, my real...

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The unscrupulous lady knight

Weekly Contest #357

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve dreamed of becoming a knight.I’ve always pictured myself wielding a sharp sword, fighting the villains of my kingdom or defending the people like a true heroine.Too bad I’m a woman…It’s common knowledge that women couldn't become knights, but it was my dream, and I’ve never had any intention of giving up.For years, I trained on my own to become strong and powerful.But there have always been those who thought I was delusional for believing I could do it.That’s why one day I decided to sneak into the castle...

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The Greater Sacrifice

Weekly Contest #356

People often say with their words that grief cannot be measured… and yet, they say otherwise with the words they dare not speak aloud, except, sometimes, while in company of similar thoughts. Sacrifice is another one of those “things” that ought not to be measure or compared, and yet so often is. It is evaluated, applauded, criticized and compared more often than we care to admit. Of course, one must judge motivations behind the subject sacrifice so as to be wary of ill-intent… or, should we? Cannot motivations be layered so deeply that the ...

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Mother to Mother

Weekly Contest #356

“Thanks, Dad. What is this?”“It’s a letter from your mother. She wanted me to give it to you if you got pregnant, and if not, before I passed away. I’m so grateful I can give it to you now, while I’m still young enough to spoil the little girl you’re expecting. I’m as excited to have a granddaughter as I was when your mother and I found out she was pregnant with you. Your mother is just as excited.”Jordan’s eyes filled with tears at the thought of the mother she only knew through the endless stories her family and parents’ friends told her a...

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The House That Held

Weekly Contest #356

This contains mention of gunshots: Mara learned that sacrifice did not always announce itself as a grand, shining thing.Sometimes it looked like a woman standing barefoot in a dark kitchen at 2:17 in the morning, rinsing a coffee mug she had no memory of using.Sometimes it looked like answering the phone when every nerve in her body begged her not to.Sometimes it looked like staying calm while the world split open.The night her son was shot, time did not stop. That was the cruelest part. The microwave still blinked. The dog still scratched a...

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Igniting a Spark: Soggy Sandwiches and Steak Dinners

Weekly Contest #356

What is the point if I cannot make something of her last gift to me? Her gift was not wrapped in a pretty bow and set under the tree for me to see on Christmas; it was not covered in balloons for me to see on my birthday. It came on a random Tuesday in July, and I know I do not deserve it. My mom once gave me a $100 gift card to my favorite steakhouse, just for existing. Just because she knew I was having a difficult day, and I did not feel like I had earned it. How am I supposed to feel when my best friend gives me her life, and it's not ev...

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Lost, Then Found

Weekly Contest #356

I sat down to have lunch at a cafe with bacon toast. Summer will start soon. Above me is the huge sail of an umbrella; it looks like ancient frescoes: dust and rain are unhurriedly painting a centuries-old canvas on it. Light jazz is playing, and around me, people buzz like a beehive in different languages. Opposite me are two elderly Italian couples, to the side are girls from Austria, their language expressive and a bit dry, like an oatmeal cookie. And the majority around me are Slovenians.Sometimes it's not us who own things, but things t...

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The Love Note Café

Weekly Contest #356

The Silver Twilight Refrain The tone of each note rose and fell perfectly imperfect, as the dancer was accustomed to at such concerts.The cool hard floor against her bare feet. Her raised fingertips effortlessly tickle the hot humid breeze floating above her. The drunken stumbler coughing on a cigarette. The smoke mingles with frankincense and sage—nag champa and amber. The fragrant blend sticking to her and to the whole audience.The musicians turn pitch into wine and she drinks it in all along the arpeggio.Something deep is pulling her down...

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The Air We Share

Weekly Contest #356

I pushed open the door, its hinges announcing my arrival with a squeak that echoed through the stone stairwell. Carlos, the hostel host, had sent a poorly transcribed text message earlier with instructions for the lockbox and a cryptic note warning there would be "another guest." He hadn't elaborated on age, nationality, or sex, which I was choosing to interpret as charmingly minimalistic rather than ominous, mostly because my legs were too tired to care. The apartment was small but had high ceilings and plaster walls that held the cool moun...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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