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

Posted in Adults on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 141 stories

“Sylvie and Pike” by Sam Newsome

Submitted to Contest #55

Sam Newsome Sylvie and Pike The family was gathered at the New Year. The patriarch of the family, old Sam, was now ninety-five years old and had the entire large family crowded in the living room for the traditional story-telling. “Children, I have a story for you, perhaps it’s more of a confession, but if I don’t tell this now, the entire story may be lost forever.” &nbs...

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“Blood Will Out” by Barbara Eustace

Submitted to Contest #55

Bryony looked in the mirror assessing what she saw. Large, brown eyes, check. Cute nose, check. Cupid’s bow mouth, check. Shoulder length chestnut hair, a nice chin, firm outline, not too pointed, good cheekbones. Check, check, check. And then there were her ears. She was sure they were getting bigger. It wasn’t fair. She moved her hair out of the way, took a selfie, then sighed as she checked it against the ones she’d taken over the previous weeks. They were definitely bigger, more pointed. ...

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“Bennett Family Tree” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #55

Sturdy as an oak as I often heard it described to me at family gatherings. We would make it a habit to gather during holiday at the lake and tell stories of those from which we had sprung from, salt of the earth, backbone of the country, the traditions of our heritage, indivisible and rock solid as anything on God’s green earth. Several of our relations sung in the Anglican choir and if not singing, would gladly minister during Sunday services. As I have often heard told, our quaint community would not be possible if not fo...

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“cash matters” by Philip Ebuluofor

Submitted to Contest #55

He was in year three secondary school when his father died. Not long after the civil war started, his mother took them from Enugu city back to their village to escape House bullet like they usually refer to Nigeria soldiers. They were four in that family. Two boys and two girls. Jude was the elderst of his siblings. After the war just like other Biafrans, many were struggling to make ends meet. To find who to apprentice for was not easy thing then. Many business collapsed and may ceased to exist. Jude was lucky when a friend of his dad that ...

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“Midnight souls secret” by Shilohu Gowtham Karthikeya Pilli

Submitted to Contest #55

Trigger warning: child death Today they are going to cut me down. I am one of the first five trees in this Augustus family property. I have been living here nearly for a century or less. I saw the flowering of three-generation and the shriveling of one generation. After I wake the sun is at my fifth branch that means it almost 1'o'clock in the afternoon. They are gonna cut me down at 2'o' clock so, I am going to make it quick. I am a mahogany tree who doesn’t obey mother nature and the only...

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“The Cottage” by Lizzie Brown

Submitted to Contest #55

The cottage was closing in on Kathleen. Its four walls surrounded her like a prison. Then she was stepping out of the door, teetering on the edge of a great precipice. She was sinking under the veil of water. Lotte was calling to her from a distance, but she found herself unable to answer. She could picture it all so vividly. Right there in front of her was the great mystery of her life. Kathleen awoke quite suddenly, trembling and drenched in a cold sweat. She threw off the covers and tore herself from the bed and the dream that ...

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“The Letter ” by Bailee Smith-Garcia

Submitted to Contest #55

The sewing needle slipped out of its package and jammed into my index finger. Three tiny droplets of blood fell onto the dirty wooden floor. “Son of a bitch,” I hissed, wiping the remaining blood on my jeans. “Ay, I’m telling!” Javier, my twin brother, shouted from across the room. Even in the poorly lit room, it was easy to make out his light blue button-down shirt and jeans. He combined his dirty blond hair down just the way mom liked it. “You’re such a momma’s boy. You’re the reason we’re up here in the first...

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“The O’Connor Family Secret” by Becky Katsaros

Submitted to Contest #55

I sat down in Gilbert’s living room. The deep red couch and ottoman stood out against the black and white striped walls. He’d insisted the color scheme was his girlfriend’s - fiancée’s, but it looked so much like him I still suspected Sheila was a prank he was pulling on me. Of course, why wouldn’t he prank me? I’d not visited in over a year and was here only for the afternoon and evening. Barely a visit. Some of the time I’d spent in England. But some of it, I had to admit, I’d spent avoiding him. Mum and Dad wouldn’t be candid, and I didn’...

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“FAMILY SECRETS” by Sivaram Govindaraj

Submitted to Contest #55

I am not clannish but I am interested in knowing about my ancestry. My father and grandfather were the only two who could give me some details. They started by telling me about a big landlord named Satya with two wives Devi and Rani, who had lived over two centuries ago in Tipu Sultan’s reign. I was told that we were all descended from him. I wanted to hear more but they could only give historical details: Tipu was against the British rulers and there were frequent encounters between the armies. British troops led by Col.Jones once planned a...

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“A SECRET THAT SURFACES GENERATIONS AFTER” by K V CHIDAMBARAM

Submitted to Contest #55

My family name Chidambaram does not sink very well with the names of people of the village I live in. It is a family name. Family name, here, which in other words mean, retained from grandfather not father, not from great grandfather, but from great, great, grandfather and so on, in that order, for generations.On little bit of scrutiny, with a little bit of observation, a fair bit of travelling would lead one to come across this name Chidambaram. Some can see this name used not by a person belonging to a particular caste, still others can se...

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“A Surprise Visitor” by Catherine Rose

Submitted to Contest #55

The party is in full swing - four generations of Conrads under one roof. Toddlers, through to nonagenarians, together, celebrating a significant milestone in the matriarch’s life. Nana Enid had reached 90. In itself, that was an impressive feat, rendered even more surprising when you consider the ongoing medical complications and the fact that she was not expected to survive infancy. Bad lungs, but a strong heart and mind; Nana Enid was fighting back and refusing to give up without a struggle. Nana Enid sits in her favourite reclin...

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“My Love, My Margaret” by Josefin Björk

Submitted to Contest #55

You had never seen rain quite like this.It smattered against the window, hard and unrelenting. The estate was old, but the windows were new. Previous storms had smashed their predecessors. When Alexis was only eight years old, there had been a storm, not exactly like the one tonight, but uncomfortably close. She had been cooped up inside, cranky and bored. She had stared out the window, thinking “Surely this is how I will perish”. Alexis had just discovered her older sister’s Victorian novels, and had quite taken to speaking like a frag...

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“TOO HARD” by Claire Tennant

Submitted to Contest #55

“Look, Grandma, I have found something wrapped in brown paper.” Ruby was fascinated with the chest and its contents, pointing to her discovery. Grace put her glasses on and rummaged in the chest until she saw what her granddaughter was referring to. As she feared it was the old family Bible: fragile, the spine broken, the pages yellowed with age, the stories both Old and New Testaments, well-read yet misquoted, and the memories this book evoked. Long summer evenings outside listening to her Father reading the Psalms, Mother le...

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“Aurora” by Malu Belo

Submitted to Contest #55

I woke up to the sound of long sleeves of grass swishing in the grand field outside the bedroom window. Dawn was filled with a damp, dewy atmosphere of fresh beginnings, haloed rays poured directly into my eyelids as I pushed the calico sheets covering me and lifted my torso, giving up on slumber. As I walked, trying to minimize the cracking noises evoked by my steps, I opened the door to the living room and saw, from the little archway that divided the room, grandma swiftly juggling metal pans from the daffodil cupboards directly onto the ...

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“Into The Sea” by Esraa Reda

Submitted to Contest #55

The story I am about to tell, today, belongs to a quite different world. It is my story and I warn you, if you find it rather too exotic or foreign, then you probably need to stop reading here for I have put every possible effort to narrate it as realistically and as horrifying as it is. It is that on the shores of the dazzling Mediterranean, there lies a city called Alexandria. You may have heard about Alexandria which is located on the north coast of Egypt, or as Alexandrians call it “Iskendria.” Long ago, in the early 90s, on the saffron ...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 141 stories

“Sylvie and Pike” by Sam Newsome

“Blood Will Out” by Barbara Eustace

“Bennett Family Tree” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“cash matters” by Philip Ebuluofor

“Midnight souls secret” by Shilohu Gowtham Karthikeya Pilli

“The Cottage” by Lizzie Brown

“The Letter ” by Bailee Smith-Garcia

“The O’Connor Family Secret” by Becky Katsaros

“FAMILY SECRETS” by Sivaram Govindaraj

“A SECRET THAT SURFACES GENERATIONS AFTER” by K V CHIDAMBARAM

“A Surprise Visitor” by Catherine Rose

“My Love, My Margaret” by Josefin Björk

“TOO HARD” by Claire Tennant

“Aurora” by Malu Belo

“Into The Sea” by Esraa Reda

🌟 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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