Theshortys2025 Stories

Submission to #Shortys2025 Flash Fiction: When cartographer Mela discovers his grandmother's atlas bleeding saltwater, he follows mysterious baboon tracks into False Bay's moonlit waters. Beneath the surface, he encounters an underwater parliament of baboons who challenge him to see beyond colonial boundaries and map the true geography of relationships. In this haunting tale of magical realism, ancient wisdom meets modern exile as Mela learns that some territories exist only in the heart, and the most important maps are drawn with love, not ink. Set against the backdrop of Cape Town's contested landscapes, this lyrical magical realism story explores belonging, indigenous knowledge, and what it means to truly know a place. This story is dedicated to Mela, to K, to S, to A.

An anthology of short stories, narrative poems, and flash fiction.

Welcome to the Annual Short Story & Poetry Writing Contest, where words ignite imagination and creativity takes center stage. Whether you're a storyteller or a poet, this is your chance to captivate, inspire, and share your voice with the world. All genres, all styles-one platform to shine. Let your stories speak. Let your verses rise.

Welcome to the Annual Short Story & Poetry Writing Contest, where words ignite imagination and creativity takes center stage. Whether you're a storyteller or a poet, this is your chance to captivate, inspire, and share your voice with the world. All genres, all styles-one platform to shine. Let your stories speak. Let your verses rise.

Merrill, a nun, she faces doubts and pain hopes to find who she really is and be free.

New to Chicago and hiding from a toxic past, Natalia answers a text meant for someone else and spins a little white lie that becomes dangerously real. When the mystery woman asks to meet, Natalia must decide whether to confess or risk losing the only person who's made her heart feel less alone.

"A genie presents you with two options to live your new life or live a lie. You choose the lie." Written for The Shortys 2025 hosted by @ShortStory All Rights Reserved © AJ Byers

🐒✨ Twenty-Four-year-old Kanna June, an environmental science student researching Peninsula ecosystem health, discovers that baboon troops across the Western Cape are conducting sophisticated environmental monitoring that human systems have failed to detect. When her mobile glitches during research at Boulders Beach, she uncovers coordinated inter-troop communication revealing systematic contamination assessment that challenges everything primatology understands about territorial behaviour. As wealthy Simon's Town residents mobilise for weekend removal operations targeting 4 troops, 2 southern and 2 northern, Kanna joins the Peninsula Collective - a research network integrating traditional ecological knowledge with contemporary environmental science. Racing against municipal elimination schedules, they must document that baboon environmental intelligence provides crucial ecosystem health data that conservation policy cannot afford to lose. Set against Cape Town's urban wildlife management crisis, this ecological fiction explores collaborative conservation through interdisciplinary research that validates traditional knowledge without appropriation, demonstrating that environmental protection serves human interests through animal intelligence recognition rather than charismatic species appeal. #EcologicalEpistemologicalFiction #SpeculativeFiction #EcoTechFiction #EnvironmentalSpeculativeFiction #MagicalRealism #IndigenousWisdom #BaboonConservation #DigitalShamanism #QuantumCommunication #SouthAfrica #InterspeciesConnection #AlgorhythmicManipulation

* The Shortys 2025 * 𝑰𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. In the city of Ellatis, every heartbeat is monitored, every secret known. Tobias Kane and Allyson Belmont are marked for erasure after discovering a chilling truth about the regime's control. Their escape leads them to the Undercroft, a dark underbelly filled with shadowy figures and rogue tech. Here, trust is a dangerous game. As they navigate this treacherous world, their fight for survival ignites a deep bond. With Enforcers on their trail and a powerful secret in their hands, they must decide if love is worth the risk. Can Tobias and Allyson outrun a fate that's already written? ~ Gattaca meets Bonnie and Clyde ~ ✧ 𝐃𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚 ✧ 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 ✧ 𝐎𝐦𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐎𝐕 ✧ Cover edited by author Copyright © 2025 Lily Mitchell This story is exclusive to W A T T P A D under username @OnceUponALily

This is just a collection of whatever hits me, whenever it does. Could be poetry. Could be short notes. Could be... something I'll regret later. They're not planned, not polished-just whatever spilled out when my brain said, "Write this down before you forget... or before it embarrasses you." Some are two lines. Some might change later. Some might never make sense. (But hey, neither do I most days.) These are a lot more on the brighter side hopefully .. even I don't know but yeah. Last one was from my notes and these are from texts .. (sms, DMs, X posts etc.)

A collection of short poems and rhymes I've written mostly for the people I loved over the years

Through the toughness of life, Through your first heartbreak, Through a dark time, An unfortunate past But also your love, And your "THE ONE" in your life....... This is a collection of poems and compositions, I have written throughout my teenage life. It is not a story but lines of my feelings, so I hope you guys like it Most of them are written by me.

This story is about Roseanne and her father. After many hard years apart, they meet again in their hometown. Together, they heal, forgive, and make new memories. Their love helps Roseanne find hope and strength to move on.

This is just a collection of whatever hits me, whenever it does. Could be poetry. Could be short notes. Could be... something I'll regret later. They're not planned, not polished-just whatever spilled out when my brain said, "Write this down before you forget... or before it embarrasses you." Some are two lines. Some might change later. Some might never make sense. (But hey, neither do I most days.) These are a lot more on the brighter side hopefully .. even I don't know but yeah. Last one was from my notes and these are from texts .. (sms, DMs, X posts etc.)

You are nothing but a tool that serves what you create.

Diary of a Teenager is just a mix of poems, short stories, and random thoughts-bits and pieces of what it feels like to be young, confused, happy, heartbroken, and everything in between. It's messy, honest, and straight from the heart. #Shortys2025 #poetry #prose

This book is for anyone who knows that life isn't just about the big moments. It's for when you look at an old photo and it feels a little too real, or when a simple conversation changes everything. ​These poems are a way to find a story in the silence, to see your scars as proof of survival, and to find beauty in the most ordinary things. ​From a quiet moment in a crowded stadium to a whole new world that begins with a key, this collection is about looking at the things we miss and finding the truth that was there all along. #Shortys2025 #poetry Penned by; _SOA_25