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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about someone who returns as an adult to a place they last visited as a child.

Posted in Adults on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 83 stories

“King of the Castle” by Julie Meier

Submitted to Contest #11

Slowly decomposing leaves, playground dust, and sweaty palms on bare metal - my nose tingles in response to the flood of memories.If I close my eyes and take a deep breath, I am five years old again. I’m wearing my favourite paisley printed pants - I was so proud of those god-awful pants.  My hair is slicked back into pigtails, held in place by elastics with pink bobbles on each end.We are playing on the merry-go-round, Jason and I.  Jason hops off and pushes it lightning quick, around and around, until the world is nothi...

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“Blue Eyed Angel” by Amber Eccles

Submitted to Contest #11

I adjusted my microphone, mentally practicing my first song. When I was a little boy, every Thursday I performed at the little park down the road. It wasn't much, and I'd much rather be performing on huge stages for huge audiences, but I loved it.I knew exactly who watched my set every day.There was the lovely old woman who always made me muffins. I guess she knew how lonely I was.There was the moderately attractive young man in his 20's, who always came just to flirt with the teenage girls who hung out nearby.There was the middle aged coupl...

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“Castle In The Woods” by Lloyd Semmens

Submitted to Contest #11

The castle in the woods, not much more than a folktale, the kids on the street jested that it was haunted, or an evil wizard’s castle, but the old man smiled; He knew better. He walked through the forest, breathing in the same air as he did a child. Watching the squirrels dancing in the trees, smelling the strong scent of wild garlic that was surrounding him, and listening to the small stream as it ran alongside him. His old bones felt young again walking through the woods, feeling the mud beneath his boots and cane. But the old man finally ...

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“The Necessity of Traditions” by Tiffany Wetherington

Submitted to Contest #11

She couldn’t remember a time when these hallways were loud. The light bluish grey carpet dampened the sounds of footsteps and voices, naturally. But, even now - walking alone in the empty corridors- Spencer could hear her own footsteps. She couldn’t remember a time when the hallways were loud, but she couldn’t remember a time when they were so quiet, either. The hallways were brightly lit. That remained the same, and all the rooms were where she remembered. Each room’s assigned number was stenciled to the right of the door in a bright red t...

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“The Reunion” by Sandra Lester

Submitted to Contest #11

As Adalia Jennings drove along the familiar roadway, memories were flooding back into her mind. With the window open, she could smell the same scents as she’d experienced before.  It had been nearly twenty years since the last time she’d visited her favorite place. Even though it had been a long time, it still looked nearly the same as it had looked then.    Adalia was ten years old the first time her parents brought her to the campground she was heading to. Quickly, it had become like a...

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“Echo” by Jules Santamauro

Submitted to Contest #11

You know the way that October leaves a bite on your skin? It just nips at ya. Breaks ya down enough to grab a jacket and surround yourself in warmth. Better yet, sip on a cup of coffee from your old favorite shop, convenience store, gas station if you dare. You take a giant gulp of delicious heaven. Warming. You take in a deep breath. Icy. I remember the days my best friend and I used to come out here and mess around. This lake was our place. A lake spread across what seemed like miles of land, surrounded by the green of the forest...

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“On the Streets of “Suburban” Philadelphia ” by Donny Fritz

Submitted to Contest #11

“You’re shorter than I’d thought you’d be,” said Dan with a smirk. The 90 mile trek from New York City had not been kind to my joints and in the past process, my foot had managed to fall asleep. My limp was noticeable. “It‘s good to see you,” I said as we somewhat awkwardly embraced. It had been nearly 24 years since we last saw each other. A dear childhood friend, Dan had reached out to me on Facebook to see if I would be interested in helping him with a project for his Master’s degree. The assignment was simple enough; interview old acqua...

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“My Childhood Room” by Katelyn Sherwood

Submitted to Contest #11

I remember it like it was yesterday. The over-imagination of a child filling in the gaps of a broken reality with a glittery world and sparkly people who wanted nothing more in life than to be your friend. It was behind the brown couch in the front room, etched into the wall. I found it when my parents first started fighting during the day. It was also the same time when my dad first started drinking during the day. I crawled behind that big ugly thing searching for comfort and silence, but found something wonderful.A hole, small enough just...

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“Smile Pretty Mount Hatton” by SJ Hunter

Submitted to Contest #11

Scorch marks wormed their way up the side of the Mess Hall walls, the lumber that was harvested from the Mount Hatton Camp trees accepted the branding. Like ink it stained deep, seeping into the good spots, into the nooks, into the crevices. Fouling it. The fireplace itself – the carved stone - was still intact, still holding strong. Flames reached out, trying to scorch more, burn more, pervert more. It was still the same. Above the fireplace was an array of camp photographs: sepia toned smiles. There was one particular one that Aimee had al...

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“the painting” by Rosario Yap

Submitted to Contest #11

The Painting By Rosario Patino-Yap The last of the moving van left. I had spent the morning running around the bungalow that had been home to Harold and me. I wandered through the house to see if anything precious was left behind. No, nothing was forgotten.  Except for the potted mums that lined the curving pathway. They were newly-watered and weeded. Looking up the heavens in colorful blooms.    My “sunny side up” house echoed in silence. The sunshine yellow house earned that monicker because of ...

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“Thomson Island” by Nia Zylstra

Submitted to Contest #11

I walked up to the plane. The best feeling came to me as I my seat, it was like I was going home! When I was 8 my parents took me to an Island in Canada, we sailed there on a rented boat, and hiked to the very top of the little island. My parents told me before hand that there was no reception or electricity, so it would be good time to take a break and spend time in nature. That is the exact I am going back now 30 years later, I'm all about work on my laptop at home, this trip will help me remember to take a break. I would take the plane to...

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“Bedtime Brats” by Chastity Rylan

Submitted to Contest #11

“Come on little ones!” Their mother calls through the hallway. “Time for bed!”The two girls run through the house and hides. You can hear their snickering echoing because of the walls. Hearing the two girls playfully laugh in the same house that she grew up in brings a smile to her face.“Mommy, why are you crying?” My youngest daughter asks me in a quiet concerned voice.“Just thinking about all of mommy’s memories here.”“What memories,” my older daughter chimes in.“The tales of two sister Gemini’s. They were thicker than thieves. Inseparable...

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“Tears on a Tombstone” by K. M

Submitted to Contest #11

This is it. I sat in my car and took a deep breath as I promised myself to keep a calm composure. I couldn't make a habit out of crying, no matter how badly I needed to. I looked out of the window at the rusty, metal sign that read Northern Hills Cemetery. My mother wanted to bury him in a Catholic cemetery, but she didn't know my brother like I did. Although twin telepathy isn't real, it may as well have been, because there wasn't anything we kept from each other, and I knew he always preached about his belief in Atheism. I broke out of my ...

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“Crybaby” by Rei Torres

Submitted to Contest #11

Euden felt a lump form in his throat as he stared at the large rusted steel door in front of him. He was barely eleven years old when he last saw it. Beaten and caged like an animal, he had vowed not to come back here; but fate always liked to watch him writhe. Pressing his palm onto the cold steel he pushed the door open with a loud screech. He was instantly greeted by the scent of rot and decay mixed with the smell of blood and urine. A scent that he had grown familiar with years ago. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He could fee...

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“The Concert Hall ” by Catherine Kennedy

Submitted to Contest #11

It was the first Sunday in October. It was crisp but sunny; a typical fall afternoon in the Midwest. We had moved north to the city a few months ago. My father’s transfer had given my mother the chance to accept a position with a large symphony.  My mother had taken a train to the city this morning. My father had parked our car blocks away from the concert hall. As we walked the distance, the wind turned my cheeks as red as apples and tugged at my dress. I walked with my hands pinned to my sides to keep my dress from blowing upward...

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