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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 4

Ming and The Magical Midnight Sketches

Weekly Contest #368

The cowards and the cynics of the world would have you believe that there is a finite amount of love and kindness to dole out. They, of course, would be wrong. Quite wrong! No matter, we would make sure they got their comeuppance when the time came.  In the meantime, we were much more interested in lending our gifts to those who were deserving. We had grown especially fond of Ming. Even in her most sleep-deprived, grumpy state, she still smiled at babies and held the door open for old grannies who didn’t have a cane but surely should. W...

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The Places Between Us

Weekly Contest #367

“I need you, Kenji.”Aiko’s voice was barely a whisper.Kenji closed his eyes and leaned back in his office chair. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, Los Angeles glittered beneath him, thousands of lights stretching toward a horizon he rarely had time to notice.Damn it.The timing couldn’t have been worse.“Aiko, I have a presentation on Thursday. We’ve been working on this account for—”“I know.”Something in her voice stopped him. Kenji rubbed his forehead.When their mother died fifteen years earlier, Aiko had packed her life into two suitcase...

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Behind Closed Doors

Weekly Contest #367

Behind Closed Doors 1942 wordsMaya cautiously closed the bathroom door behind her and turned on only one set of lights instead of the two. That would draw less attention.She opened the small white bin where she kept her feminine products and dug beneath a box of tampons until she found the test she had hidden at the very bottom.She was two weeks late. She sat on the closed toilet seat and stared at the little plastic stick in her hand. Two weeks, only two weeks. No big deal.  She tried really hard to process what could b...

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Untangled

Weekly Contest #367

The rat was watching her again. Kiara did not know for sure if it was the same rat, or if the little buggers had gone out of their way to establish some kind of rotating rodent guard. The image of miniature legions of rats marching through the halls in custom-fitted suits of armor appeared in Kiara’s mind, and she fought back a shudder. What she did know for certain was that every time she perched on the bathroom countertop to brush and braid her hair-before leaving the house, before sitting down to do her homework, before helping ...

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EVAPORATION - THE VANISHING ACT

Weekly Contest #367

The first thing Solange did was learn how to become nobody.Not metaphorically.She meant it literally.She wanted to wake up one morning and have no name that anyone could call, no apartment that anyone could enter, no bank account that her husband could check, no familiar café where the owner would say:” You look tired today, Solange”.She wanted to become a blank space.For eleven years, she had been Damien’s wife.For eleven years, everyone had mistaken that fact for an explanation.They lived in Japan because Damien’s company did a lot of busi...

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Life Line

Weekly Contest #367

I find it refreshing to be disconnected from social media, but I must admit I am connected more than I’m not. With all the noise on social media, it seems everyone has something to say, and while their words may be true, there are only so many ways to say something. It’s exhausting at times to be so connected in this world.  Rarely do we hear someone say, “There's no going back now.” The point of this story is to encourage you to be vulnerable enough to ask for help when you need it. I understand how difficult it can be to reach out to ...

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The Woman Who Will Not Let Things Slide – There's no going back now. - Never Go Back

Weekly Contest #367

PreambleThere is no going back. Months of relentless trial have already rewritten the landscape, leaving just one choice: move forward, one step at a time, trusting in grace to bear the weight and reclaim what was always hers. What follows is a reflection on fierce resilience—a testament to the profound exhaustion and quiet courage of walking a heavy road alone. It is an honest look at weathering financial strain, holding firm to boundaries without losing compassion, and refusing to let circumstance strip away one's dignity or faith.OutlineT...

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The flowery envelope

Weekly Contest #367

Mary hesitates. In her hand is a pink flowery envelope which hovers at the small slot on the red post box. Why can't she just post it? It has taken almost 30 years to make the decision to contact her dad. Writing it down on paper is one thing, but it needs to arrive at it's destination. It won't be a confession if he doesn't read it. So many years of mental conversations, turmoil and anxiety, trying to work out what to do. You can only feel guilty for so long, and quite frankly not owning up to her crime had ruined her life. She should never...

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More Than Clutter-The Junkyard of My Life

Weekly Contest #367

Prompt: Start or end your story with a character closing a door, literally or metaphorically.   More Than Clutter- the Junkyard of My Life The APS agents were at my doorstep. With the security chain link still attached to the door, I cautiously cracked it open. I knew why they were here. One of the agents said, “Mam, we’re here from the Adult Protection Service. You are being served an abatement order to clean up your property outside your house. You have one week to comply with this writ or else face fines and possible evicti...

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Unfamiliar

Weekly Contest #367

The door was unremarkable and yet as he closed it on the world it was his shield. It was the final element of the fourth wall that encased him in the novelty of safety. Even so, he did not dare to breath freely. He noted this as he would note the library of knowledge that he now had access to by virtue of the choice he had now at last executed. The tightening of his chest as though he were bound tightly was a reality he had been oblivious to until now. The enormity of his decision weighed heavily upon half of him. A choice that was a lifetim...

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The Door of My Heart

Weekly Contest #367

The key turned in the lock with a sound that felt final, a metallic click that echoed through the empty hallway like a period at the end of a sentence. I stood on the threshold of my grandmother's house on the island of Korčula, my hand still resting on the cold iron key, and I knew that this was a door I could not open again. Not because the lock was broken. Not because I had lost the key. But because I had made a decision that could not be undone.My name is Paula. I am thirty-four years old, and I had just sold my grandmother's house.The h...

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The Trajectory Door

Weekly Contest #367

With a heavy thud the steel door of the American embassy in Frankfurt shut behind her, pulling her senses to a sudden stop when she realized what it actually meant. It was a door that she could no longer seek refuge in if she needed to, God forbid. Rose had made an unusual decision several months back. She renounced her American citizenship, a decision that changed the trajectory of her life. In 2011, after divorcing her abusive German husband of 29 years, she knew she could earn better money and see a beautiful part of the world workin...

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Momma's on a Mission

Weekly Contest #367

It’s been two years since a drunk driver killed my 17-year-old son, Freeman. Two years of anguish. Two years of meaningless existence trying to figure out where I belonged, what my purpose was. Today would be different. I parked my car and walked toward the building. The heavy prison door closed behind me. I was in. Between the rush of air behind me and the force of the door pushing my back, it gave me no choice. Damn, these doors were heavy. The institutional smell struck almost immediately. Concrete and iron. The distant sound of inmates ...

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Coda

Weekly Contest #367

Set down by Anne Ashcombe, Editor, from the memoirs and journals of Lilac Ashcombe, mariner and captain, sailing His Majesty’s seas and beyond--Ashcombe Manor, 7 August 1793 The door of my study has always been a stubborn thing. It swells in damp weather, as doors do in old houses, and requires a firm hand upon the latch. This evening, after many hours among my sister’s journals, I find myself unwilling to close it.Perhaps this is because closing a door is not always an act of ending. Sometimes it is an admission that one must step away from...

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Transliminal Selflessness

Weekly Contest #366

I wake up before my alarm. It should be Sunday. The first thing I think of today is when my mommy was preparing lunch for us and made her sandwich with the heels of the loaf so I could have the soft bread without another thought and without mention. I must have been nine years old; my first understanding of unconditional selflessness. The image is so clear to me. She is standing at the counter, soft and kind, ready to offer me whatever she can give. My chest is concave and scalding with poison.  My mom died two weeks and one day ago. It...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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