A forgotten photograph tucked away somewhere is the catalyst for an unexpected journey.

Posted in Adventure on Jul 5, 2024

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✍️ 87 stories

“From the Catacombs” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #258

(Content Warning: Violence and Gore)I open my bloodshot eyes and watch the shadows dance from the flickering torches hanging on the cold, dripping bricks. My legs and buttocks are numb, but I can’t deny the annoying sensation coming from my right hallux. I see a pair of tiny red eyes looking up at me. My mind screams in silent terror as a piece of flesh is torn from just below my curved toenail. The rats are unrelenting in their quest for flesh.My long tenure in this malicious prison has eroded the cobblestone floor. Thick iron chains keep m...

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“Focused on You” by Alexis Araneta

Submitted to Contest #258

13 July 2021Dear Lucas,Yes, I know. How did I find out your name?Look, I’m so sorry. I know this may sound a little strange. Part of me wonders if I should just leave this letter in the shadows, shutter off any attempts to approach you before I embarrass myself. I can’t help it, though. Like a moth drawn towards a beam of Klieg lights, I discovered that my entire being just has to hover around you. Ever since I saw your stunning hazel eyes in a post from 2017 on your blog “Frames”, they have been constantly playing in my mind like a slidesho...

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“A Life Well Lived” by Karen Hope

Submitted to Contest #258

Sophie had moved many times during her life: as a child, twice as a young adult, as a newlywed, and later as a new mother purchasing a forever home with her husband and young family. But there was no such thing as forever, and she was now making what would certainly be her final move. They called it an adult living community, with classes and activities and a cozy apartment that was clean and bright and perfect for one person. But it was attached to what they called a skilled nursing facility, and Sophie was keenly aware that this move was t...

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“ECHOES OF NIKUMARORO” by Darvico Ulmeli

Submitted to Contest #258

August 10, 1937.Island of Nikumaroro, Phoenix Islands, Republic of Kiribati In the heart of the Pacific, where the horizon meets the endless expanse of blue, lies the enigmatic island of Nikumaroro. The salty breeze whispered tales of lost souls and forgotten dreams, and the rustling palm fronds sang a song of mysteries long buried beneath the sands. Amelia stood at the lagoon's edge, her aviator jacket worn and frayed, the leather soft from countless hours in the cockpit. The setting sun cast an amber glow on the water, turning it into a s...

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“The Treehouse Family of the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #258

Sonya looked out from the porch of her family’s treehouse home. It rested high above the forest floor in a giant Douglas Fir.Then she nodded to her brother, Terence, who walked across the wooden bridge to the porch, from another treehouse in a neighboring tree."That smells delicious," she said to Ezra, her father, who was climbing the wooden steps that wound around the huge tree trunk. He carried hot coffee and cornmeal cakes, baked over the campfire on the ground.Today they would take more photos.It all began several years ago.*****On a sun...

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“Rollercoaster ” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #258

Rollercoaster The bus was crammed with young women pressed against the windows waiting for their first glimpse of the base. As the driver drew close to the drop-off point, nineteen-year-old Lottie opened her compact, and made last-minute adjustments, not forgetting to apply another layer of the aptly named Strawberry Potion to her already glossy lips. Earlier, she’d sneaked out of her home in a village less than five miles away. She had told her strict church-going parents she was staying over to watch tv with an old school friend...

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“Queen Mab” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #258

August Grand stood on the front porch of what had been his mother’s house. It needed paint. Floorboards needed replacing. Intermittent bumping announced the breeze had found a loose shutter. He knocked the antique knocker three times.It had been years. Memories flooded – not all good.He looked at his daughter, Sage, with mixed emotions. Almost old enough to drive, she wanted to spend time with his siblings. ‘Live and learn,’ he thought.They waited for Ginny, his sister, to answer. The curtain moved and the latch clicked. Ginny opened the doo...

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“Souvenir” by PJ Town

Submitted to Contest #258

My father died, and after the funeral and all the legal matters were over and done with, my mother asked me to help her clear his things out of the house.I’d been busy on a project at work, and by the time I got round to calling on her a few days after her phone call, she’d already put all his stuff in bin bags and plonked them in the hall.“Why don’t you want to keep any of this?” I said, picking my way past the bags.“It’s all up here – all the stuff I'd like to remember anyway,” she said, tapping her temple with a finger. “Do you fancy a cu...

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“The Greatest Generation” by Linda Kenah

Submitted to Contest #258

Eddie hobbled home after his morning walk. At ninety-nine, he struggled to get down the block, but most days he managed to go at least part of the way. Today, his body ached more than usual but he refused to let that stop him. As he arrived back at his house, Nurse Edna took his cane and helped him sit in the waiting wheelchair. That was their routine. A mid-morning walk down the block, only to be greeted with a wheelchair at the end. Nurse Edna watched every step he took, like he was a toddler. Eddie resented ...

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“Shiny ” by Nancy Beretz

Submitted to Contest #258

I couldn’t get out fast enough. The kitchen sink was full, the laundry piled high and the recycling bin overflowed. It was a flight or fight moment, and I chose flight. I had nowhere to go really so I started driving towards the beach. The perky, pony tailed, Lululemon stroller-pushing runner also annoyed the shit out of me. I watched her effortlessly run up the hill that I could barely walk up and of course, she turned onto the street that I had sinfully coveted. A small sign caught my eye. “Estate Sale Today” it read with an arro...

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“The Crescendo ” by Glenda Toews

Submitted to Contest #258

I suppose I should be shocked that he killed himself. Usually there are signs, well, so they say. I should have seen it coming. He should have been dropping little clues and I sit here trying to recall if he did. I conclude that perhaps I was too self absorbed to notice, too busy, too involved with life to know that death was just around the corner. How is it possible to be married to someone for over twenty years and have absolutely no indication that he was planning to die? Yet there I was, standing in front of my dead husband who was...

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“The Truth, Tucked Away” by W. H. Goodwater

Submitted to Contest #258

Emily’s breath hung there, puffs of mist in the crisp air, a fleeting wisp that dissipated as quickly as it appeared. The pine trees loomed tall and silent around her, their branches quietly creaking secrets of a land untamed. Their sharp, earthy was scent a familiar friend. This was her world, a realm of solitude and silence, broken only by the occasional distant howl of a wolf or the sharp call of an eagle. Emily was alone, save for her father who was often absent, his presence a shadow that came and went with the cycles of the moon. The s...

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“Bend in the Road” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #258

When I found the photograph, I could not believe it. Time had suddenly become liquid as I floated back fourteen years ago to a time and a place so very different to where I was when I found the photograph. I had promised Carter we’d keep in touch, but that promise was as empty as the other ones I made back then. I have trouble remembering things sometimes. The doctors told me that I can blame it on the explosion, but I don’t like to think about that either. The photo was stuck in a book titled The Road to Kabul. Back ...

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“A Question of Logic” by Anne Perry

Submitted to Contest #258

“I hope you realize that I’m a goddess, not a mortal,” she whispered as he nuzzled her neck and planted tiny kisses just at the top of her spine, causing her to shiver with delight and anticipation. “How will this affect our relationship?” he responded, with characteristic logic. “Oh, wonderfully,” she answered, giving in to the sheer pleasure of his sudden touch upon her breast. But she did not know this man at all. How could she see then that he would never see the goddess wi...

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“Esther” by Malcolm Twigg

Submitted to Contest #258

The thing is, when you start researching family history, like it or not, you often find that you end up knowing far more about your ancestors than you do your close family. Not that my own family is particularly close, for various reasons best not explored.I’m sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Bailey, Robert Bailey, and the story I am about to tell is, quite frankly, weird … if not disturbing.As I said, my immediate family is not very close, stemming from the fact that my father was illegitimate with all the stigma that attracted ...

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A forgotten photograph tucked away somewhere is the catalyst for an unexpected journey.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 87 stories

“From the Catacombs” by Daniel R. Hayes

“Focused on You” by Alexis Araneta

“A Life Well Lived” by Karen Hope

“ECHOES OF NIKUMARORO” by Darvico Ulmeli

“The Treehouse Family of the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

“Rollercoaster ” by Helen A Howard

“Queen Mab” by John K Adams

“Souvenir” by PJ Town

“The Greatest Generation” by Linda Kenah

“Shiny ” by Nancy Beretz

“The Crescendo ” by Glenda Toews

“The Truth, Tucked Away” by W. H. Goodwater

“Bend in the Road” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“A Question of Logic” by Anne Perry

“Esther” by Malcolm Twigg

🌟 Similar prompts

Center your story around two strangers who bond over their shared love of photography.

Write a story where a photograph could change the course of history if it’s delivered to the right (or wrong!) person.

Start your story with someone who has lost everything but finds solace in photography.

A photographer captures an image of something unexplainable. What happens next?

Contest #258

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

287

Contest entries

88

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: