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

Posted in Adults on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 141 stories

“Unavailable Mistress” by Nancy Cooper

Submitted to Contest #55

The macaroni and cheese did not taste right to me. It was not like my mom made it. Carol did not rinse the macaroni but used the cooking water as part of the cheese sauce. My mom said the macaroni should be rinsed with cold water after it was cooked. Her cheese sauce was made with milk. Everything about being in this home was strange to me. There were several children here. I was not sure why I was among them. It felt foreign to me, so foreign that the night I was supposed to sleep over I became sick to my stomach and ...

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“Goddess Of Banyan Tree” by Vani Rajh Rajh

Submitted to Contest #55

GODDESS OF THE BANYAN TREE By: Kogilavani Nagarajah I still remember it all clearly. It was a misty night. The whole surroundings looked mystical and eerie. The cold breeze was more of a torture than comfort. Even the bone inside my skin felt the chill. Sounds of teeth chattering in the cold was music to our ears. It was hard to let go the warm comfort of my bed. But my father was as adamant as always. He insisted me following him to his auspicious Banyan Tree. Or should I call it his precious Banyan Tree. Along the way as usual he said, ...

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“Who the Hell is Frank Mitchell?” by Twylla Johnson

Submitted to Contest #55

Life is good on this beautiful spring day. The birds are singing. My new job as a journeyman meat cutter at the grocery store is going great. But the real reason for my bliss today is that last night Betty and I set a date for our wedding, May 7, 1950. Betty McManis and I have been seeing each other for a couple of years now, but I knew after just a few dates with Betty that she was the one that God had chosen for me to spend my life with. I can’t remember now exactly what I said when I proposed. I was so nervous. I just remember how happy w...

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“The Darkest Secrets Never-Before Told” by Roxie Piatigorski

Submitted to Contest #55

My late grandpa had been hiding a secret forever until he died a few years ago; it was a secret so dark that not even I knew about it until now. Despite having resolved to create a better life for himself with sports, he still continued to get plagued by that secret. His life began when he was born into a once-wealthy family in Chisinau, Moldova (which was Bessarabia back then); his father was a wealthy mechanic who used to buy flowers, designer clothes, boxes of chocolates and even jewelry for his wife until the day the Soviet Communists ...

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“A family tree” by Sandhya R

Submitted to Contest #55

A FAMILY TREE Mrs. Sudha decided to cut the mustard, come rain or shine. She agreed to join as a music instructor in a nearby college. People in the community were up in arms as if it was a crime. It was like a storm in the teacup. The only person who supported was her neighbor Mr. Yogesh. He too was a professor in the same college. And on his recommendation Sudha had an opportunity to join in for a noble cause. Those were the days when social prejudice was taking a toll on women empowerment in India. The chaos was for two reasons. Reason 1...

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“The Book In The Attic” by Jillian Chaltry

Submitted to Contest #55

Humid air combined with the smell of dust and old books practically choked me, I felt like I was breathing in swamp water. Alas, it is my lot in life as the eldest child in the family to be ‘responsible’ and help clean out the attic. So here I am, sitting amongst mildew covered cardboard boxes and my own self-pity. Tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear, I pulled another box over to sort through. It was the cleanest of the bunch and wasn’t ...

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“The Path” by Amanda Zieba

Submitted to Contest #55

Gracelyn stood at the bottom of the hill and looked up the winding path to where the party wore on. And on and on, she thought wearily. One guest looking to make polite conversation had asked her how she was related to the event. Gracelyn had to embarrassingly choke out that she was the bride. She could see her fiancé Finn’s dark hair, a golden halo forming on its crest in the tiny twinkling lights. She told herself he was worth it, worth all the glad handing and fake smiles, worth all the corporate jockeying and office politics....

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“Quest to Achieve- Knowledge” by Trishna Patnaik

Submitted to Contest #55

Knowledge Knowledge is the most irrevocable power. It is the internal voice which cannot be sidelined and it is the standalone voice which cannot be looked away from. It is the repository to make one excel. The strongest formula to make one achieve and the only way to make one concurrently shine. Knowledge if not applied effortlessly and shared effectively to diverse occurrences in life will only bring about a dull and drab outlook towards life in general. It will be the transcending of the inevitable towards the lower realms of existence. K...

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“Cultivating the secret” by Steve Alink

Submitted to Contest #55

Taking a roundabout with five exits put Manon in a prolific mood. This was the second one that she encountered in her trip to her brother. As every year they and their siblings would join each other in respect for their parents. Only once out of the 18 times she had missed the weekend. That was when a storm had split a tree near her house right in the middle. It resulted in one half being on the road and the other half on top of an old shed in the back of her garden. Manon called the organising sibling, for that year it was Cloé her youngest...

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“Sugar Bowl and Creamer” by Debra Jolicoeur

Submitted to Contest #55

I have come home to the family farm due to my father’s recent knee surgery. Mother is not able to do the lifting or keep up with the maintenance on the old homestead. Coming home to the country is a nice break from living in the suburbs of a city. There is always something that needs to be done. On rainy days there are not many chores I could do outside. Inside work is always waiting for you. On today’s agenda was indoor chores due to the rain. I decided the overstuffed built in china cabinet need to be dusted and possibly...

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“Currier Hall” by Casey Gallagher

Submitted to Contest #55

Eighty-three years was a long time on this earth and Margaret knew her time would come soon, maybe even before the night was out. But right now there was still time...Time enough for something so much more pressing than death. It was time for her to ask for forgiveness for the murder of three women. Margaret, whose beloved husband Charles passed away five years before, was the youngest of five sisters. She and Charles had met and falle...

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“Pandora's Box” by Maryann Donovan

Submitted to Contest #55

Today was the day to tackle cleaning out my mother’s room. Much of it had been just as it was three years ago when I had to put her into assisted living. It had been several weeks since she died at the nursing home with me at her side. I have avoided going through her personal belongings and clothes for that would be forcing myself to face the fact that she was really gone. When I opened her closet door, I grabbed a stack of sweaters off the top shelf. The blue Joseph Horne’s shirt box had been hidden there since we relocated to S...

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“Death Doesn't Discriminate ” by Janelle Hammonds

Submitted to Contest #55

“How much longer?” Kaylie groans, her finger absentmindedly swiping up on her phone, nothing loading despite the little icon at the top of the phone swearing it’s connected to the wifi. She tosses her phone aside, tired of watching the little circle spin around itself over and over again. Bennett moves a box from the far corner of the room to the landing just above the stairs. Kaylie huffs, no one paying her any attention. She hadn’t wanted to come in the first place, she was supposed to be at the pool with the girls, putting the finis...

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“Mackie's House” by John Maygrove

Submitted to Contest #55

Old Mackie’s house had not changed in over two hundred years, a fact that the stubborn curmudgeon was immensely proud of. He took to change about as well a cuprolaminophobe, discarding most modern innovations as worthless pennies. On a street lined with contemporary sleek houses, his stood out through anachrony. Cost was never an issue, for the old man was wealthy beyond measure, but material goods never held much sway for him; he was quite content to wander the grounds of his crumbling estate, surveying the moss as it overtook what was once...

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“Can a ring tell a whole story?” by Ana Corciu

Submitted to Contest #55

The sun had just risen. While the whole village slept, Jim was awake, like every other day. The boy stopped for a moment to admire the valley that appeared in front of him. He was living in a quiet village, the same since he could remember, no one new was coming in, no inhabitant was leaving. Everyone knew everyone and did the same thing every day. Jim took the wooden bucket from the house and started his usual trail to the fountain, about 15 minutes uphill. It was a well known journey for him, doing it at least three times a day. Although t...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 141 stories

“Unavailable Mistress” by Nancy Cooper

“Goddess Of Banyan Tree” by Vani Rajh Rajh

“Who the Hell is Frank Mitchell?” by Twylla Johnson

“The Darkest Secrets Never-Before Told” by Roxie Piatigorski

“A family tree” by Sandhya R

“The Book In The Attic” by Jillian Chaltry

“The Path” by Amanda Zieba

“Quest to Achieve- Knowledge” by Trishna Patnaik

“Cultivating the secret” by Steve Alink

“Sugar Bowl and Creamer” by Debra Jolicoeur

“Currier Hall” by Casey Gallagher

“Pandora's Box” by Maryann Donovan

“Death Doesn't Discriminate ” by Janelle Hammonds

“Mackie's House” by John Maygrove

“Can a ring tell a whole story?” by Ana Corciu

🌟 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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