Write a story about an old family secret surfacing generations later.

Posted in Adults on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 141 stories

“The Queen of Hearts” by 𝕊𝕦𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕚 🤍

Submitted to Contest #55

“It’s three in the morning. Why are you up?” my mother said in a tired voice.“I’ve got homework! If you’d helped me when I asked you to, maybe I’d be sleeping right now!” I shot back. I know, it’s wrong to speak to my mother like that. But she’s been so distant lately. I guess I can’t blame her. A few months ago, my parents got a divorce, and my mom hasn’t been the same since then. My dad hasn’t even called to see how I’m doing. He’s probably living in some fancy apartment somewhere in New York, partying every day. But that’s not the on...

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“A heron cries ” by Mary Rothery

Submitted to Contest #55

The window was as large as any you have seen. It stretched out across the entirety of the living room wall, opening the room up to the wilderness of the highlands. The water spread out beneath, a mirror of grey glass, birds soaring above and within. A lone grey heron, in his feathers the depths of the sky, stood on the near edge of the water. Solitary and still. Her eyes moved across the scene in front of her. It changes constantly. She would say, her favourite feature of the view. Like the muddied peat of the swelling hills beyond, he...

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“You can't pick your relatives.” by Catherine Stevens

Submitted to Contest #55

Who is this angry man in front of me? He's not the same man who left to see his father a week ago. This man is tense and moody. Not cheerful and upbeat. I think back to the night before he left, we were so happy.I lean back against Keith’s chest. His chin settles on top of my head and his arms wrap around me. I am a tall, big boned woman, at 5’10” and 142lbs. But in Keith’s arms I feel tiny and fragile. He is very tall; he stands 6’6”. I don’t know what he weighs but I can tell you its pure muscle, and in a month it ...

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“Life As A Telenovela” by Bianka Nova

Submitted to Contest #55

The room was quiet. I could hear a dog barking in the distance, the neighborhood kids playing on the street, the leaves of the big beech tree in my front yard rustling against the glass windows, animated by the playful breeze that had decided to grace us with its presence on this hot October day. All familiar sounds that used to bring me so much joy just until a month ago. It was my house, my living-room, the life that I – that we – had built in the past twenty years, yet I wished I could run as far away from it as possible. I was ashamed. I...

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“What Lovely Antibodies You Have, My Dear” by Joshua Scott Hotchkin Wordpress.dungherder.com

Submitted to Contest #55

5/27/2019 Dear Mr. Edmunds, I recently signed up online through a prison pen pal agency, and was given your name and address as a potential match, as determined by scores indicating mutual temperament and personal interests. I hope that over time we can find common ground and become friends and confidantes. In the meantime I will allow you to respond, so as to indicate the nature and depth of the pen pal relationship you are seeking. I look forward to hearing back from you soon. Authentically, Jayden Dickinson <-/(*)\-> 6/2...

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“The Youngest of a Generation” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #55

All adults do is file taxes, complain that eating hot chip upsets their stomachs, and lie.Take today for example. Mom and Dad told me we were going to have fun today as we got into the car.They lied.So I stayed in the car, tightly gripping onto my seatbelt because for once it was actually useful—it kept Mom and Dad from forcefully scooping me up and taking me into Great Aunt Margaret’s mansion.Yeah, that Great Aunt Margaret. The one I was named after. The one that’s like a hundred years old.P.S., that’s why we’re at her mansion, for her hund...

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“A Cannibal's Cookbook” by Inkstained Introvert

Submitted to Contest #55

“This is so cool.” My older sister and I were poring over my Gran’s old cookbook. Technically, it had belonged to our grandmother’s grandmother, but Gran had contributed so much over the years that the book was more hers than anyone else’s. Jade and I had grabbed the musty book out from where Mom kept it hidden, at the very top of the bookshelf in the living room. The cookbook had only been ours for a few weeks, ever since Gran died. We’d been cleaning out her house for several days following the funeral when Mom found the cookbook in the ...

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“The Librarian” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #55

Dr. Lavinia Rivers found herself thinking about another Pilar, not the one who was her friend. This time it was the Pilar who was head librarian at the Biblioteca Xeral, the main library of the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. This Pilar held quite a prestigious position, because the university library has an excellent reputation, some of its holdings are extremely old and valuable, and there is still considerable respect for higher education in the city, as in a good part of Europe. Today Lavinia was hoping to go back to speak...

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“Grandma's Secret” by Mustang Patty

Submitted to Contest #55

Sometimes it’s the people you love who shock you the most. If anyone had told me the truth before that hazy summer day, I would’ve sworn they were wrong. How could this even be? Certainly not her, right? As is the case with most deep, dark family secrets, ours was buried deep in the oral history passed down from generation to generation. I’m proud of my heritage. I’m a third-generation Italian. My great-grandparents sailed across the Atlantic while Nona was pregnant with my grandmother. Mary Lista was born in New York City just ten days...

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“Secrets Inside The Box ” by 🄼🄹 🅂

Submitted to Contest #55

I climb hand over hand on the dusty rungs of the ladder, leading to the attic. Micah’s hands find my hips and he steadies me as I push the trap door open. The door creaks quietly on the hinges and hits the wooden floor. I hoist myself up into the humid air and my hair frizzes on the spot. He climbs up while I fumble in the dark for a lamp. I hear his footsteps behind me and a moment later his arms wrap around my middle. I should be used to it now. The heat of his bare forearms against my exposed stomach, but I still shiver even though it’s a...

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“Sister...” by Chimamaka Adeniyi🙅

Submitted to Contest #55

“Issa LIE!”My sister squirmed, giggling uncontrollably as I grabbed her phone and fell onto the rug, headfirst; my large pink t-shirt folding over till it exposed the bottom of my bra and my bare feet propped on the floor so that I looked like a gymnast about to do a weird-looking somersault.Muna continued giggling; I let my feet prop my rear end higher, almost into her face, as I tried to hold her cell phone away from her.A thunderous slap echoed on the thick flesh of my large bum.“OUCH! Munachi!”We both giggled dangerously, tackling oursel...

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“The Deepest Secret” by Tiffy H

Submitted to Contest #55

“Ugh,” Rose groaned. “Why do I have to visit grandpa during my summer break? Going there will be so boring.” “Rose, I don’t want to hear it. You’re going to visit your grandfather for the summer and that’s final. The two of you will find something to do. Besides, it’s only for two weeks. I will pick you up in two weeks.” Her mother said before she paused to quickly glance at her child. Rose pouted while she started out of the car’s window. Her mother was driving her to her grandfather’s house. “You know you’re blessed to still have your gra...

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“Simmering Secrets” by Peggy Gerber

Submitted to Contest #55

Rachel burst through the door and tossed her bulging bags of dirty laundry on the living room floor yelling, “Becky, I’m home. Come down and help me carry my stuff upstairs, you lazy bum.” Rachel was happy to be home for spring break, but also quite a bit nervous. She had a big secret, and she felt as if the weight of that secret had been burning a hole in her insides like hot lava. She would try her hardest to act normal for Becky even though she felt as if her brain was in danger of exploding. As soon as Becky heard Rachel’s voice, her f...

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“THE SECRET BEHIND THE NAME” by Devanshi Garg

Submitted to Contest #55

He was walking towards Stratford school, San Francisco when someone from behind shouted, "Dhruv" and on turning back he saw it was his best friend 'Max'. Talking together, they again started walking towards the school. On entering the school grounds someone again shouted his name but he didn't turn back for he very well knew the possessor of that sneering voice. It was his least favourite person, Alex Goyle with his pale and pointed face. Alex and Dhruv had been enemies ever since they had met on their first day of school. Although both of...

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“Long Shadows” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #55

When I was eight years old I turned, more or less overnight, from someone who kept a secret to someone from whom a secret was kept. Of course I didn’t know at the time. At the time all I knew was that Calvin was a TV personality, but that I wasn’t to boast about it because that was bad manners and didn’t make you popular, though I wasn’t to lie if anyone asked. Calvin sometimes called my Mum Auntie Nina, though more often than not he called her just Nina, but he wasn’t my cousin. That puzzled me a bit, but Mum explained t...

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Write a story about an old family secret surfacing generations later.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 141 stories

“The Queen of Hearts” by 𝕊𝕦𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕚 🤍

“A heron cries ” by Mary Rothery

“You can't pick your relatives.” by Catherine Stevens

“Life As A Telenovela” by Bianka Nova

“What Lovely Antibodies You Have, My Dear” by Joshua Scott Hotchkin Wordpress.dungherder.com

“The Youngest of a Generation” by Lily Kingston

“A Cannibal's Cookbook” by Inkstained Introvert

“The Librarian” by Kathleen March

“Grandma's Secret” by Mustang Patty

“Secrets Inside The Box ” by 🄼🄹 🅂

“Sister...” by Chimamaka Adeniyi🙅

“The Deepest Secret” by Tiffy H

“Simmering Secrets” by Peggy Gerber

“THE SECRET BEHIND THE NAME” by Devanshi Garg

“Long Shadows” by Deborah Mercer

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a meeting of a secret society.

Write a story that either starts or ends with someone asking, “Can you keep a secret?”

Write a story involving a conversation that’s packed with subtext; the characters aren’t quite saying what they mean.

Write a story where the readers are in on a secret that the characters are unaware of.

Contest #55

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

896

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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