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

“Elvish Empire” by Sara Blanch

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same and to be honest she wasn't sure if that was for the better or for the worst. After running away from her homeland nearly a quarter of a century before she had only returned at her father's intense insistence...it was time to face the music she had been fleeing so hard from. Her brother's selfish abdication a mere few months before had meant that Anastasia was now the only heir to the Elvish throne, a title that seemed to only grow heavier the longe...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Leaving home” by Mohaddesa Alarakhia

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 recall the stooping figure of her mother's waist in their backyard garden caught there like a piece of sheep's wool. Despite being tired and weary from a long flight from California, she felt a surge of energy within her. All her childhood memories came flooding back. She was back home. Nothing seemed to have changed. The bright rays of the Arabian sun stung her eyes as she rang the same old rusty doorbell. Tears welled up in her ey...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Belonging ” by Tanja Cilia

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same, in a manner of speaking.Of course, you wouldn’t expect paint not to flake, and shingles not to fall, if a place had been uninhabited for almost a quarter of a century – but the building still stood, erect and proud, on the top of the hill, and a lot of the way inside it, with a labyrinth of corridors that ran crosswise, and, for safety reasons, had cleverly designed exits in all four points of the compass, albeit at different levels.Now, all she ha...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Haunted Inheritance ” by Amber Brownlee

Submitted to Contest #68

          It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same, she swallowed hard as she stared at the old, dilapidated house. You would think that after all this time they would have done something with it but then again, her uncle was never one to pick up a hammer or anything really. Jesse could not believe this mess was all that he had left her, so much for being his favorite niece. She remembered fondly how her uncle would tell her ghost...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Junkyard Home” by Tre’Oshula McCullough

Submitted to Contest #68

Trigger warning: mental illness   It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. Junk filled from the floor all the way to the ceiling. It was a horrific sight. There was never any room to move around and people were never invited over. It would be too embarrassing to invite people over, they would find out that she lived amongst filth, and would think poorly of her.   The bathrooms reeked of urine and mold, they hadn’t been cleaned in over 2 years. The trash cans were overflowing wit...

2 comments 2
Read story

“A Victorian Scare” by Emma Griever

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. With the ever changing climate surrounding the old, rustic, building, you’d think it would be weathered down a bit. She sauntered over to the threshold that revealed a staircase, leading to the next floor.  A slight creaking noise came from above her, she glanced up at the bare ceiling. She heard the sound echoing throughout the old Victorian house again, as it sounded similar to a rocking chair being used against old wooden floorboards. ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Twenty-Four Years ” by Mackenzie Hebner

Submitted to Contest #68

Twenty-Four Years By: Mackenzie Hebner It’d been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. I suppose that is how death works after all. Six feet under always stays at six feet, neatly chiseled stone stands tall with its tell-all engravings, grass grows and is cut in routine motion, and flowers fade but the colorless stems still rest as visual aids for what once was.  It was another life back then. They were young, passionate, and invincible. Traipsing through the days fueled only by the whim...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Kadeeja Manzil” by Sara Abdulla

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she had last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. Kadeeja stood on the veranda and looked at the pale golden name plate on which was inscribed ‘1920’. Underneath was the name ‘Kadeeja Manzil’. Slowly she walked in through the huge wooden doors bound with great iron bars. The high ceilinged rooms, the ornate metal fans, the embroidered tapestry on the wall with scenes of fantastic tales, the colored glass panes and the floor of red oxide spoke of a bygone era. Her father Ibrahim had bought the ol...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Incense ” by Moon Spirit

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 smell the burning incense from a mile away, the euphoric scent of soil after a swift rain. The ground below her were soft and they sloshed under each step, her eyes shifted to each area, trying to see if anyone had followed her here. Thankfully, she saw no one. This was good. She wanted to be alone with him. A smile creeped up her lips as she sighs. Looking back to the path she was passing by, she could see the spray painted sigils on eac...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Notion” by Faith Foster

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same, exactly as the voice was describing it. What is going on? I must be going crazy.Vera replayed the last two minutes in her head.“Can anyone hear me? Can anyone hear me?!”Yes, Vera had heard them. The voice had been quiet and distorted, as if from the other side of a window, but so near that it could have been coming from over her shoulder. Vera remembered gazing around the room – three walls of bookcases and the desk she was sitting at – no place fo...

5 comments 5
Read story

“A Small Reunion” by Kelly Brackett

Submitted to Contest #68

      It had been twenty-four years since she had last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. It was the middle of the day, the sun glaring down on her brown hair and pale skin from overhead, the hot summer sun reminding her of the reason she came back. Clarissa had worked hard to avoid any and everyone she went to high school with, but now, here she was, standing right outside the high school gym. Now, she was a different person, though back then she was not. It had taken some time, and a lot of growin...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Palm tree memorial” by MD ABU OBAIDA ZISHAN

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. She checked her wristwatch. It was 3:00 pm. She decided to wait for 30 more minutes. And this would be the last 30 minutes she is going to wait for him. Not a minute more. “Not even a second”, the thought echoed in her mind. She sat down in their usual spot: a bench by the palm tree. For some inexplicable reason, the tree always seemed sick. The gardeners or government staff responsible always overlooked it.   The tree had green leaves...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Long Road Home” by Debbie Persichetti

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same.  Veronica had left home at 18 years old and never looked back.  She traveled as far away as she could, taking a full time job as a waitress in a greasy spoon.  Rented her first apartment, a room above a tattoo parlor in town.  Not even missing Jake, the boy next door, her first boyfriend, first and only love was enough to bring her back.  Now, at 42 years old she’s standing in front of the house her mother left her.  H...

0 comments 0
Read story

“A One Bedroom in Brooklyn” by Melissa Mahoney

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she'd last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. Pictures of special friends and crazy adventures hung near the bar.  Stacks of vinyl albums and books displayed neatly in rows on the Ikea shelving, an old record player rests in the place of a television. Her eyes locked on the book she gifted him on his 40th birthday, it was in the same place the last time she was here. She had just met him a few weeks earlier, she wasn't sure the gift would be well-received however when she saw it she knew ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Cabin” by Hannah Miralo

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. As same as it can be since the night she left.  The cabin is small, beautiful in aesthetic, and perfect but looks destroyed beyond compare. It looks like it’s been set on fire for a few hours before someone had eventually put it out but the damage had been done… that’s because it is. It wasn’t always like that. She doesn’t remember it being always like that. It used to be clean and whole, strong and sturdy.  Even looking at it from af...

5 comments 5
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 ⭢