Write a story about a character who misses a train, for better or worse.

Posted in Adults on Oct 28, 2022

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✍️ 33 stories

“Haste” by Tomris Qaradagli

Submitted to Contest #168

Come on, Wendy thought desperately, her boots pounding against the concrete sidewalk as raindrops flew around her. Thunder shook the world and lightning slashed across the sky as Wendy shivered from the cold. As she pulled her coat closer to her soaked, shaking body, she glanced down at her watch and looked at the time. I have two minutes to get there, she thought with determination. I have enough time, I’m sure of it. I can make it. Two minutes to get to that blasted train station. Two minutes to make sure that blasted girl didn’t leave ...

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“Luck” by Anna Frayer

Submitted to Contest #168

“No, no, no, no, no!” Jack cried, the panicked desperation in his voice rising with each word as the train chugged out of the station in great white clouds of billowing steam. He ran along the platform, arms outstretched as if he might catch hold with his fingertips, but it was already out of reach. “No!” he screamed once more, this time in anger, and pulled up short where the platform dropped away. He snatched the hat off his head and twisted it in both fists as he watched the train disappear around a bend, taking with it all of his dreams....

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“Dreams of the Dark” by Angie King

Submitted to Contest #168

“Time for school Sam”, his father yelled up the stairs. “You don’t want to be late again do you?” “No dad”, Sam sluggishly replied as he stumbled down the old creaky stairway from his room in the loft. Sam rubbed his eyes as he took a big yawn, displaying his exhaustion. “Another bad night's sleep?” his dad questioned with an eyebrow raised. “Yeah, I guess”, Sam replied, not wanting to say much more. He hasn’t slept much lately, especially the last few nights; tossing and turning in his sleep due to similar recurring dreams ...

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“Darkness Hides Your Broken Pieces ” by Jaye Hunter

Submitted to Contest #168

-------------------------------------------------- Trigger Warning: Death, alcohol use -------------------------------------------------- Summer erases what you used to be, packs bags of long-lost truth Sunrise kills immortality, matures a wasted youth For seven years, you haven't stopped running. At sixteen, you stopped looking back. A product of spite and apathy and the American South, you could've had things so much worse. Still, you made the choice that a different life would be better,...

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“Derailed ” by Harriett Clarke

Submitted to Contest #168

Derailed By Harriett M. ClarkeThe grisly bodies dismembered from the horrendous impact lay bare and exposed before his brown eyes. Perched on a dirt mound above the dismantled body parts he stared wide eyed into a precipice of darkness below never beheld by most boys his age. He tried not to focus on the pungent smell of feces, urine and raw blood as he felt himself tilt forward falling as he gasped for air, clawing at the swiftly moving space between him and the dead bodies giving his stomach a heave and a hoo, lurching into an abyss of not...

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“Defiance Station” by P. T. Golden

Submitted to Contest #168

Content warning: this was written 24 hours before the drone attacks in Ukraine.Tomb-like darkness embraced the city streets. Flashes of outgoing anti-missile fire illuminated the broken skyline. The car raced, dodging the many craters and molten debris."God, please, just get us there safely!" Daniel Devaile held his wife Maria's head in his lap; hunched over her, he peered over the edge of the window, his finger exploring a bullet hole in the door. "American? Don't worry; this is my twelfth trip tonight, and nobody has died ye...

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“One Ticket” by Maya Smith

Submitted to Contest #168

I hadn’t planned to jostle my way through a congested afternoon crowd at the train station today; trying to catch a train long since departed from the platform. If I’m being honest with myself, I would have guessed about every other possible outcome before I considered the well-worn tracks that weaved through the city in every direction but away. Yet looking at it now, it plays out differently in my memory. My life for the last several years had become a pond...

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“The train” by Allard Van Gent

Submitted to Contest #168

In a slow walk, head tilted forward and arms limp along his body, the man moved through the main hall of Amsterdam's Central Station. His glasses threatened to fall off his nose with every movement, but just in time he managed to prevent that with his right hand. With his eyes almost squeezed shut, he hurried to platform 8. Nervously, once he reached the top of the platform, he walked towards the waiting train. But just before he was about to board, his gaze fell on the board indicating the time of departure and the train's final destination...

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“Charlie’s Race” by Liam Sheehan

Submitted to Contest #168

“WATCH IT!” Charlie exclaimed as he steered his bicycle swiftly to the side, where he was thrown off, and watched helplessly as his prized possession skidded into the street, only to be quickly trampled by a passing box truck. Charlie had been riding down the sidewalk of the big city when he was startled by a man who appeared out of a doorway very abruptly, causing him to swerve and crash. “NO NO NO!” Charlie yelled, disheartened by his demotion to a pedestrian status. Charlie was on his way to catch a train across town to a prospective new ...

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“Lovely Pain” by Samantha Evelyn

Submitted to Contest #168

The wind whipped past his face as he tore his way through the bushes. The briars pulled at his clothes leaving little pieces of him in his wake. The tears whisked away from his face as soon as they began to fall. How could he have let her go? How could he have let her walk away from him? How could he continue on when the very reason his heart beat was now on her way to be permanently gone from him? Her face and frame came into his mind and it was almost as if she was standing right in front of him. He saw her beautiful, dark rich skin with h...

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“Better late than never” by Jenn Bauer

Submitted to Contest #168

"No, no, no, no, NO!" I ran onto the platform, utterly out of breath. So far that morning – no, only since arriving at the 'L' station – my skirt caught in the turnstile, my bag ripped, my quarterly reports flew into the slush and snow, and my tights were stained. I clutched my laptop for dear life, but even that felt tenuous at best. I watched as the train, the last rush hour train to the marketing firm I worked for, sped off. Not only was I late, but I was also screwed. I'd rescheduled this presentation so many times wit...

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“The Backup Train” by Marie White

Submitted to Contest #168

Forty people, the news anchor announced, had died in the bombing of an apartment complex less than five miles away. Bryanna had passed the building countless times when going to the grocery store. The bank. The hair salon. The office, when she still had an office. Her coworker, Virginia, had lived in the complex. Loved dogs. Hated scary movies. Baked cookies with candy cane-shaped sprinkles and butter cream icing for Bryanna and her colleagues every Christmas Eve. Had she peri...

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“On The Right Track” by Michele Squeo

Submitted to Contest #168

I sat on the platform, anxiously bouncing my leg. Mass transportation was never my thing, but now there was an added source of worry. Another doctor’s appointment, but this time it was in New York City. Although I had loved The City in my twenties, the excitement of my youth was since replaced with the awareness of a woman who’s experienced enough to know the risks. Okay, so I’m a worrier by nature, but life has given me a lot to worry about. Segue back to my appointment. I once read somewhere that the things we...

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“Outdated, Useless” by Ali Colic

Submitted to Contest #168

An ice cold pinpricks jolts Arthur. He lifts his eyes up from the concrete and glances around. The clouds had apparently started spilling some rain, and he stands with his lips still parted as stray drops dot him. Others were moving further under the roof, but he stays. The sensation isn’t pleasant, but it’s something. The occasional drop on his cheek and nose soften the redness and tension there. He tries to move his arm and the sheet of paper it’s gripping further under his shabby coat, but he’d already been pressing it to himself so firm...

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“Two Directions” by Desiree Moores

Submitted to Contest #168

Two Directions By Desiree Moores Alexa walked into the airy Salt Lake train station and bought two tickets. It wasn’t clear which way she was going. What was clear is that her four year relationship would end if she went east...

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Write a story about a character who misses a train, for better or worse.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 33 stories

“Haste” by Tomris Qaradagli

“Luck” by Anna Frayer

“Dreams of the Dark” by Angie King

“Darkness Hides Your Broken Pieces ” by Jaye Hunter

“Derailed ” by Harriett Clarke

“Defiance Station” by P. T. Golden

“One Ticket” by Maya Smith

“The train” by Allard Van Gent

“Charlie’s Race” by Liam Sheehan

“Lovely Pain” by Samantha Evelyn

“Better late than never” by Jenn Bauer

“The Backup Train” by Marie White

“On The Right Track” by Michele Squeo

“Outdated, Useless” by Ali Colic

“Two Directions” by Desiree Moores

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone looking out a train window.

Write a story about a character who is moving on, literally or figuratively.

Make a train station an important part of your story.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “Bon voyage.”

Contest #168

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

105

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: