Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Start your story with the line, “It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same,” and end it with, “[…] and that was all that mattered.”

Posted in Adults on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 178 stories

“...and that was all that mattered” by Lisa Wentworth

Submitted to Contest #68

Start your story with the line, “It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same,” and end it with, “[…] and that was all that mattered.” It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. Being a small-town American girl was something Lillian wanted to forget. In looking around the room of this 25 year reunion, she was clearly the only one that felt that way; same couples, same hairstyles, same lives and the new breath of desperation in the air was ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Memories” by Courtney Cloud

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The same green shutters. The same paint peeling off the walls. The same look of peril that always haunted her old foster home, Sunny Days. That was the name of the home that brought Gina some of the worst days of her life.  “Gina, are you okay? I told you we didn’t have to stop by here just because you were invited.”      “I know. I wanted to stop by though. I need to get over my fears and finally leave this place beh...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Persephone's Tea Garden” by Violet Waters

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. A wrought iron table, graced by two swirled iron chairs. Even the kiss of the sunlight filtering through the flowering hedge was inarguably a mirror image of the one she’d seen years prior. However, most paintings tended to stay the same, no matter how many years they stayed in a museum, so that wasn’t of much notice. What made this painting exquisite, irreplaceable, was not just the level of details and brilliant paint colors; but the people....

2 comments 2
Read story

“The dilemma of love” by Ankana Chakraborty

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been 24 years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The sun was shining meekly and the slow breeze of evening felt fresh and the sky looked clear. She stood at the doorway for quite some time observing her surroundings. Samantha was visiting her house after 24 years. Her grandmother died last month. She could not visit back then as she had certain personal issues. Samantha, she is a successful entrepreneur and lives in another city quite far. She is a quiet and shy lady. She was never quite attached to th...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Plum She Never Tasted ” by Natosha Beighley

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she had last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. She had moved away and moved around and grown up and returned back to her original birthplace. She hated this place for so many reasons and swore she would never return. Yet here she was trying to find out where it all began. Everything and everyone had changed so much, including her, but the fruit stand still stood in the same place as it had all those years ago. In the late 1980's, there was a small shopping mall across the street, but that wa...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Incoming” by Melody Kepler

Submitted to Contest #68

It’s been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looks exactly the same. The dust has settled a little thicker, and nature has taken back its place between the foundation cracks—but underneath all that, it’s like a picture frozen in time.Anja Volkov walks down the alleyways between crumbling buildings. Rubble scattered about the pathways. This is where it all began. Training for citizenship was something she always wanted to do—at least, ever since her father told her of the freedoms the country offered in exchange for six...

4 comments 4
Read story

“The promise is real” by Sue Catrama

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she'd last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The first 16 years of Regina's life she wishes were a blur. She hardly had any friends and was never allowed out during the day. Her parents homeschooled her and kept her away from family. She didn't even know her grandparents were alive nor had any idea how big of a family she had. Regina believed her father was an orphan, her mother an only child who's parents tragically died in a car accident. She believed this until she snuck to the loca...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Eyeconoclast” by LiV Stickmann~Pollard

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. Although in possession of a full set of keys to the house she had remained for some time on the front porch where the heavy front door still held a mosaic window of lead-jointed obscured glass. The window permitted light but so distorted the shape of any person on the door’s other side that identification was quite impossible until the door was opened. Once the antique bell pull had been drawn down, it was only possible to tell that ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Remember Me” by Amethyst Violets

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The woman with the wrinkled, pale skin gave a thin smile as she gazed up at the single, framed photograph on the faded wallpaper. The girl in the photo smiled back, eyes alight with youthful joy.Marie CoulterViolin-----------------------------------------“The building is to be demolished tomorrow morning, ma’am. The manager of the demolition company would like you to sign this to confirm the payment date and other terms that you have agreed over.” ...

5 comments 5
Read story

“Maria's Cabin” by Jade Orien🍀

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she'd last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same.The velvet curtains that hanged above the window, her portraits on the wall that she had painted when she was 16 years old.Maria had started painting at just 4 years old. Maria's father was a painter himself he would make money by selling his portraits to the people of his town. Growing up she would watch her father paint all-day-everyday. Maria never knew who her mother was rumor has it that she left when Maria was a day old. One day Maria's father...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Lilya's Goodbye ” by Cameron Garrido

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same, cold and desolate with smoke covering sky. Her eyes watered and the air was thin. She began coughing violently and collapsed on the floor, her body was beginning to give out. Taking short breaths, she reached into her pocket and removed a small item covered in rags. She kissed the mysterious item and put it back in her pocket. She knew it wasn’t much further. She began to crawl and grasp the cold gravel under her hands. She had to ma...

0 comments 0
Read story

“MUM'S LAND” by Aash Ramadeen

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The long, muddy driveway leading up to the huge litchi tree right in front of the main entrance of the main house, with plumpy, red fruit gravitating towards the fence-less balcony on the upper floor. As she stepped out off her cousin, Sid’s, 1994 Toyota Corolla (the first new thing she identified), her foot went: “puch!” Her new Puma takkies were initiated with chocolate coating of the puddle she stepped into. “Oh, well,” she struggled in annoyanc...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Deliverance” by Ruby Galvez

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The boarded up windows gave the impression that the buildings lining the street were not habitable. Katie smiled and nodded at the curious eyes peeking out from the slats of wood as she passed them, knowing that her blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair complexion got the locals excited. This old motel strip in the seediest corner of Metro Manila, Philippines had been both a place to hide and recuperate, and the best venue for secrets. Why she went b...

2 comments 2
Read story

“NO TIME FOR REVENGE” by Claire Tennant

Submitted to Contest #68

It was twenty-four years since she had seen it but it looked exactly the same…creepy. An old double bricked manor house converted into a convalescent home, but instead of promoting good health, there was something sinister about Chadwick. Even now, Moira could feel the chilling tentacles of despair, of fear and repressed emotion, even from the comparative safety of the road. The climbing roses once a feature of beauty now a tangled mess hiding cracks, insects and most likely vermin. It was a sad reflection of a bygone era; of ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Past, Present, Future maybe” by Hope Mwaura

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty- four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. She could still see herself running through the corridor to her room. She could still smell the familiar lavender and mint scent that she came to love. Walking through the house brought back memories. Bittersweet as some would call it. The kitchen’s wallpaper hadn’t changed either nor did the couch set that sat in the middle of the living room right in front of the chimney. She didn’t realize till then how much she missed it.  “Is anything mi...

7 comments 7
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with two characters watching a sunrise and end it with one of them seeing the moon reflecting off a lake.

Adults – 301 stories

Start your story with someone admitting a secret and end it with someone telling a lie.

Dramatic – 180 stories

Start your story with someone robbing a bank and end it with two people driving on an interstate.

Dramatic – 86 stories

Start your story with the line, “This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives,” and end it with, “By then it was too late.”

Sad – 132 stories

Contest #68

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Meet in the Middle

$50

Prize money

877

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 20, 2020 EST

Won by FJC Montenegro 🏆

Title: Silence

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢