Write a story in which someone returns to their hometown.

Posted in Adults on Oct 28, 2022

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✍️ 81 stories

“A Devil in Hell: Notes on Coming Back To America” by Bryan William Myers

Submitted to Contest #164

There are vicissitudes in everyone’s path to hell. After all, hell is often thought of as a solitary place in the realm of one’s own mind. And that is true. But here at the beginning, the middle, and the end — everything happens simultaneously — as I scuff my green Converse sneakers in a Japanese airport. I wrote those words and promptly forgot about them. I figured if I was going to write anything about my trip back home, the first one after being away for three years, it would have to come out unabashed and wholeheartedly. It couldn’t ...

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“She Says” by Lily Ratzlaff

Submitted to Contest #164

I jump at my ringtone, wiping the drool from my cheek. The stack of papers on my desk almost collapses in my sudden motion. The phone continues to ring. "Diana! Answer the phone!" Oliver calls from his office. "Yes, sir!" I pick it up. "Hello, this is Diana at Peach State Paper Supply. How may I help you?" I stifle my yawn and attempt to rub the sleep from my eyes. "Diana?! Oh, thank heavens I finally got you." ...

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“Just Go Home” by Hannah Journey

Submitted to Contest #164

She is home…Even though nothing here feels familiar, this was home to her twenty-two years ago. The flight was short. It was a little too easy to travel from one world to another. The weather is rainy and humid. Destroying straight hair and creating annoying frizz. The roads are packed with cars driving too fast and honking too much. She meets people who have known her since she was a baby. She travels on streets she has been on before. She stays in the apartment building she was brought to as a newborn. This place was her home. Even if only...

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“Moving Back, Moving On” by Judy Nickles

Submitted to Contest #164

Moving Back, Moving On Judy Nickles She never planned to go home again, at least not while she was still breathing. “If you don’t want to fertilize a tree with me, just dig a hole and drop me in. Don’t make a big deal of it.” She paid for everything in advance, had a marker placed in the last space of the family plot, and called it done. She wasn’t sure when she began to think about returning upright and breathing, but the idea grew like a runaway weed. Six months and one monumental garage sale later, she found herself passing the city ...

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“Maybe” by Emi Hernandez

Submitted to Contest #164

Being gone for 15 years can change your view on a place you grew up. You notice things you never did before. You see people differently. You, yourself, are different. You act differently. You look different. In the time that you left, all these people stayed there, while you moved on, you changed. And now you come back home to show everyone who you became. “Michaela!? Is that really you? While I live and breathe. Girl get over here,” my old hairdresser, Bonnie, says, taking me into a huge hug. “Hi Bonnie. How has business been?” I as...

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“In the 'Pool” by Paul McDermott

Submitted to Contest #164

In the Pool “I never thought I’d see things change so much since I first sailed away as a kid. It’s true what they say: you can take the Boy out of Liverpool, but you’ll never take Liverpool out of the Man,” “And then there was what me Da used to say, an’ his Dad afore him.” “What’s that?” “When my Da said ‘in the Pool’ he meant ‘in Liverpool’ – or more exactly, in the Town Centre. He wasn’t talkin’ about having webs between y’r toes, or learning to swim before you could walk. Nowadays, all y’ have to do is look at Birkpool, across the...

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Write a story in which someone returns to their hometown.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 81 stories

“A Devil in Hell: Notes on Coming Back To America” by Bryan William Myers

“She Says” by Lily Ratzlaff

“Just Go Home” by Hannah Journey

“Moving Back, Moving On” by Judy Nickles

“Maybe” by Emi Hernandez

“In the 'Pool” by Paul McDermott

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character saying “Where I come from, …”

Write a story about coming of age in a big city.

Write a story where a local takes a newcomer under their wing.

Think of someone who stood on the periphery of your childhood memories (a classmate, a teacher, a neighbor) and cast them as the main character of your story.

Contest #164

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

235

Contest entries

91

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: