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

Posted in Adventure on Jul 5, 2024

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✍️ 88 stories

“Doppelganger” by Mindy Reed

Submitted to Contest #258

The accumulation of what can only described as “stuff” is incremental. Hardly noticeable until a surviving relative must plough through it and decided what will be saved and what will be demolished. I discovered among yet another box of old papers, a small black cylinder. I held it between my thumb and forefinger and lifted the lid carefully with my thumbnail. It contained an undeveloped roll of film. A label on the container read: “Eliza.” ...

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“Searching for Daddy Dearest” by KathyLynne Marshall

Submitted to Contest #258

“Eighteen lesions in her brain? How is that even possible?” Dr. Rosa Scarlett’s cream-colored office walls were covered with black-framed medical accolades, and a small vase of fresh, crimson flowers brightened one corner of her tidy desk. Our mother, Vera Cartell, sat in a comfortable chair between my sister and me, as we riveted our gaze at the accomplished surgeon whose jet black hair, alabaster skin, and apple-red lipstick, reminded us of Snow White, or a glamorous runway model. Conversely, Mom looked so tiny, so vulnerable. He...

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“Tucked Away and Almost Forgotten” by Pete Gautchier

Submitted to Contest #258

Reedsy Prompt: A forgotten photograph tucked away somewhere is the catalyst for an unexpected journey. Tucked Away and Almost ForgottenThe year was 1965. It was no longer possible to delay the inevitable. It was spring cleaning day at our house, and my wife insisted I tackle the daunting task of organizing and downsizing the mess in our attic. No one had ventured up into that space since the day we moved in back in the early 50’s. I cautiously opened the door but to my surprise there were only a few boxes and a small...

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“My Body Remembers Your Face” by Sophie Goldstein

Submitted to Contest #258

Sensitive Content: substance abuse; mentions child abuse“Look at the camera, Milo,” he says, waving his hands back and forth, “Come on, Milo. Look over here, right here.”3-year-old Milo is entranced with a butterfly, his pudgy hands reaching for it.The man laughs and walks over to Milo, picks him up and they smile at each other, Milo now reaching for the man’s face.At that moment, Lana takes the picture.Thirty Years laterI’m standing on a street corner with the clothes I had on when I was thrown in jail. I’m carrying a plastic bag with the t...

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“Fallen Photo” by Louis Ribezzo

Submitted to Contest #258

Money is insignificant to me, it is merely a necessity for humans. However, tonight I found myself attracted to a wallet of my broken prey. In a desperate struggle to escape it had fallen out his pocket. As my hunger dissipated, I unlocked my fangs from his neck. My odd attraction to the leather object hastened my preparation. Methodically, I peeled off the skin of the man’s neck to erase the bitemarks. This was a common procedure to disguise the human feedings. The neck made a sound of masking tape be...

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“Freshman Year” by Moosh A

Submitted to Contest #258

It’s dark. Pitch black. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that my eyes were closed. The PSE&G report says the power should be back on around 1am, which is 4 hours from now. I hope to be sleeping by then, but I can’t imagine sleeping with the darkness threatening to suffocate me. The thought brings shudders down my spine. In my younger days, a power outage would’ve sent me into a full-on panic attack. Now, it’s more unnerving than anything. I use my hands to navigate my surroundings in search of a flashlight. Flashlights I speci...

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“The Search” by Nevas Mech

Submitted to Contest #258

I’ve been feeling low again. It’s another unimportant holiday where I get to “enjoy” not working. But if I’m not working, what is there to do? Drown myself in alcohol, spend my money on temporary joy? I’d rather just stay home so the feeling of the outside world can’t make the feeling of my inside world even worse.I wish I knew what to do to make it go away permanently, this feeling. I know it’s human nature. You get trauma and you just have to learn to get through it and heal…but how many times can I go through it? Why can’t a few times jus...

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“The Beat of My Heart” by Sofija Ribaric

Submitted to Contest #258

It was a gloomy, dark day in November, the leaves had almost entirely left their homes, trees were barren under the steel sky, which looked like it would remain that way forever. The house at the end of the village seemed lonely, and empty, like it was weeping for a new owner, but no one lived here for decades. As I parked my car in front of it, I couldn't help but think about the warmth it had 30 years ago, when my grandparents were still alive and I was only a small child so thrilled to spend time with them. The former yellow walls and bri...

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“The Waffle Maker” by Chitra Pandey

Submitted to Contest #258

“I can’t see it, Gran!” I shouted at the floorboards of the attic.“It should be in the left corner, maybe on top of the boxes.” She called back sweetly.I cursed myself as I ran into another cobweb on my left. It was my fault that I suddenly craved waffles and accidentally told this to my very old, very sweet Grandma. Now I was on my fours, deep in decades worth of dust and junk, in an attic that has never been cleaned in its existence. I itched to scrub down every inch of it and organize it to my satisfaction. I didn’t even want th...

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“Resolution” by Ampee Minhas

Submitted to Contest #258

Keerat pursed her lips and grimaced. She turned her head to the left and then quickly to the right, doing her absolute best to avoid making eye contact with the camera in front of her. She held a bread pakora in her hand, suspended just above a puddle of deep red chutney on a porcelain dinner plate. The cameraman panned around to everyone else sitting around the table; some gave smiles and threw up peace signs while others continued conversations with those sitting beside them, backs a little bit straighter, gesticulating a bit more delibera...

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“Dear Dad” by Lili Erika

Submitted to Contest #258

Tim McGraw was serenading us through the speakers, small beads of sweat dripping down our foreheads and into the creases of our smiles as Mom and I talked with our mouths full of BBQ ribs. It was the night before I left for college, the car was packed, and we were having our final hurrah of summer together. Between bites of cornbread, she was imparting her wisdom to me at breakneck speed - just in case she had forgotten anything over the past eighteen years. “Remember, pour seltzer water into a red cup at a party. No one will ever ...

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“A Photo Lost in Time” by Kim Dyas

Submitted to Contest #258

With a heavy heart I walk into my grandmother’s house. She has just gone into care, and her big, beautiful house needs to be sold. I have had some of the best times of my life in this big house. It is the family house that we all gravitated too. I can still hear the laughter and fun echoing off the walls. My brother is coming to give a hand today, in readiness for him arriving I walk from room to room and pull a plan together so that we can make the most of the time we have today. Room by room I wander in deafening silence, except ...

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“The Grey House” by Sandra Oliverio

Submitted to Contest #258

The Grey House -Mom's family's reunion was coming up soon. A request of attendees was that we each bring a photo of the past to be shared on “Memory Night.” I had been left with Mom's photo albums, after her passing and combined with my collection I had a lot of past photos to scan through. Several hours passed just viewing photos, sometimes losing myself in the memory they evoked. I was particularly drawn to the old black and white photos from Mom and Dad's era. Mom had made reference to how she loved the times spent with her gran...

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“Life After Death” by Deborah Robinson

Submitted to Contest #258

The tall handsome man in the photograph had sun-warmed bronze skin. Tall though not slender, his statuesque build made him look strong and mighty. On that particular day he must’ve missed the last button of his white short-sleeved shirt and a wind blew that flapped it open revealing the bottom of his staunch belly. The narrow brim of his sporty Stetson framed his square face and directed my focus to his soft brown eyes.With a massive arm laid across my mother’s right shoulder, he towered over her although at five-nine she was some ...

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“OPENING AN ENVELOPE” by Marion Cohen

Submitted to Contest #258

OPENING AN ENVELOPE It had only been three months since Carrie’s father, Isaac Golding, had died, at the age of 87 years. Even though he had lived a long life, married for many years to his loving wife Eva, until she passed away many years ago, Carrie could not help being enormously saddened losing her dad. Carrie, a single woman who taught French at a local high school, lived only a few miles away from her father’s home in southern New Jersey. Her only other siblin...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 88 stories

“Doppelganger” by Mindy Reed

“Searching for Daddy Dearest” by KathyLynne Marshall

“Tucked Away and Almost Forgotten” by Pete Gautchier

“My Body Remembers Your Face” by Sophie Goldstein

“Fallen Photo” by Louis Ribezzo

“Freshman Year” by Moosh A

“The Search” by Nevas Mech

“The Beat of My Heart” by Sofija Ribaric

“The Waffle Maker” by Chitra Pandey

“Resolution” by Ampee Minhas

“Dear Dad” by Lili Erika

“A Photo Lost in Time” by Kim Dyas

“The Grey House” by Sandra Oliverio

“Life After Death” by Deborah Robinson

“OPENING AN ENVELOPE” by Marion Cohen

🌟 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

289

Contest entries

88

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: