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Write a story titled 'A Tale of Two Cities'.

Posted in Adventure on Apr 26, 2024

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✍️ 33 stories

A Tale of Two Cities

Submitted to Contest #248

It was the day before the golden city started starving and Kallimn was on duty patrolling Houndstooth.Houndstooth was a huge concrete dam cleaving an unfathomably deep valley in two. On this side was Tkalia, cast into shadow this time of day by the dam. The terraced, marbled city was built in a V up both sides of the sharply sloping valley, the buildings like two frothing waterfalls frozen in a cascade into the waters of the Klatkitch down below.The looming of Houndstooth meant that their glass lamps were already lit, bathing the entire slop...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Submitted to Contest #248

A Tale of Two Cities Dusk had settled in Berlin as Fraulein Meuller walked outside in the fields, watching the sun set over the western hills, trying to keep her mind from going back to the terror that she felt and the nightmare that she had previously endured. Herr Goebel, a man of about 50, sighed as he walked towards her, knowing full well that he could not talk her out of anything. She had come to them some few months ago after miraculously making it over the wall and while this was good, she was not happy. "I knew I would find you ...

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Dreaming through Despair: A Tale of Hope and Resilience in Depression-Era New York and Los Angeles

Submitted to Contest #248

In the bustling streets of New York City, the echoes of dreams fainted away like an old photograph. The year was 1929, and the Great Depression loomed ominously on the horizon, casting a shadow over the dreams and aspiration of many. Families were struggling, wealth and jobs begin to wither away, and hope was a rare commodity.The moonlight splashed down, its white-silver glow sparkling across the deep, calming waters of Manhattan's harbor. In the distance, the cool breeze swept through the bustling streets of the city. The city streets becom...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Submitted to Contest #248

Lazarus pulled a petal off the small dandelion flower in between his index finger and thumb, he examined it. Sniffing it, taking in its tainted fragrance. He blew it away and continued to stare at the passing clouds. Lazarus lay on his back on the outskirts of the wheat fields. There was a small pasture just beyond the brush. Lazarus would take the livestock to these pastures early in the morning. He would watch the sunrise and wonder. On his back, he imagined he was flying with the clouds, traversing their thin matter taking no thought of e...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Submitted to Contest #248

In the far reaches of space, there lies a planet so small, only two cities are able to rest upon its surface. The two cities made an agreement long ago that only they would be the sole residents of this planet, no more and no less, and thus named it Ilostor.  On one side lies a city named Ichirite, and on the other there is Unoqor. Both cities lived separate lives away from the other, only ever convening once per rotation to celebrate another successful cycle. They called it the Festival of Gold, and it was a glorious time. Both cities ...

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A Tale of Two Cities, October 25th of 1948

Submitted to Contest #248

“Why . . . is everything . . . so stinking . . . difficult . . . in . . . Alaska?” Reverend Hugh Gregory complained between gasping breaths. He was hiking, as he had every day since arriving in Birbour, to visit the locals. The rain pooled in his shoes, completely soaking his socks as it ran into and over them. The weather was fighting his mission, Gregory speculated, and was trying to sweep him back into the ocean. The steady incline of twenty or so degrees proved easy enough the first day, but as the weather continued to sour so did the Re...

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A City of Two Tales

Submitted to Contest #248

I stood at the top of the tallest building in the loneliest place I had ever been, and pondered on my deepest question.  When am I going to get a raise?  No, I’m not shallow. Considering the work I do, I really should be getting paid more.  My current predicament was perfect evidence of this. Last month, another Anomaly escaped the local Dun. Before last night, it had been regarded as a simple Class-E Puppet Being named the Warmwood, incapable of harm or much rational thought. After the hunter sent after it was ...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Submitted to Contest #248

Only two cities were left after the devastating nuclear war, Atlas and Ward. For now their great transparent dome shields hold firm from each other's remaining rockets and bombs, keeping their civilians alive and away from the fallout that covered the land around them. It wasn’t only the other city the great shields had to protect its civilians from but also the large grossly mutated creatures that used their mighty strength to try and find a way through. The war had lasted centuries that most, if not all people had forgotten what sparked th...

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A Tail of Two Cities: Alpha & Omega

Submitted to Contest #248

Alpha and Omega were two cities that stood opposite each other, mirroring each other's architecture and design. Yet, they couldn't be more different. Alpha, the city of the rich, was a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors, with towering skyscrapers and luxurious, well-kept mansions. Omega, the city of the poor, was a stark contrast, with black and white buildings that seemed to fade into the background. They had big mansions too, but the buildings were broken, slanted, and full of addicts who helped ruin the paint. In Alpha, everything was perfec...

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A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Submitted to Contest #248

Two cities. One dream. Which one is real? The city with the beautiful ocean. The one with the beautiful green grass and the smiling people. Or the city that is dark with dark gloomy skies. No ocean and no green grass. No smiling people. Only sadness and despair. I open my eyes and see my reality. The reality that I live in the worst place known to humanity. This is my reality. Grand Junction, the city I call home is a horrible place to live. Life in Grand Junction is not peaceful. Fights breakout almost every day for stupid reasons. Robberie...

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' A Tale of Two Cities.'

Submitted to Contest #248

“The Tale of Two Cities” Seattle: The Rain and the Muse Ami Larson cocooned herself in her cramped Seattle apartment, where the persistent drizzle sang in harmony with the distant hum of traffic and the rhythmic tap of raindrops against the window. Once a software engineer at a leading tech giant, Ami had abandoned the binary world of code to chase the whispers of stories that serenaded her during walks along the misty Puget Sound. The cries of gulls and the tang of salt air ignited her imagination, compelling her to trade algorithms for na...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Submitted to Contest #248

I was born in Staten Island, New York. I love where I come from. Some of the best parts about me are because I'm from this city. People say New York is the city that never sleeps and its honestly not far from the truth. There's an energy in New York that you won't find in other cities. As a writer, I have the advantage of living almost anywhere I choose to. It was soon after college that I realized to stay in this city would require me to get a second job if I was to live here comfortably.I knew just about everyone from my old neighborhood. ...

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A Tale of Two Towns

Submitted to Contest #248

Warning: Contains substance abuse and violence."The most divided town in the country" is a common saying in these parts. We believe it wholeheartedly - just like all the others who claim the same. In its retelling we reinforce it, perpetuate it and have made it manifest in our physical and emotional geography. Ours is truly a tale of two towns. There is no fraternity, and few neutral spaces save those that straddle no-man's-land. Places where we forget what divides us for a time to indulge in our vices. The warning signs of segregation are w...

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A Tale of Two Cities

Submitted to Contest #248

Next page, skimming, top to bottom, left to right. Remember the budget after this summer. Maybe this old map of Italy, maybe that one of the African colonies. Perhaps the one of South America would fit in that space near the window display. It was a normal start to her day when the small bell over the door signaled with its familiar clang the arrival of a potential client. With one hand on the pages and another mindlessly twisting a lock of her silver hair, Eleanor was busy perusing the catalog of some Danish merchant based out of central Eu...

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A tale of two cities

Submitted to Contest #248

A Tale of Two CitiesAn occupied city He woke up to find himself locked in a darkened room.  Was it night or day now? There was no way of knowing. His watch had gone as had all his money and his identification papers. Rubbing his head with his grimy hands he tried to remember what had happened to him the day before. His mouth was so parched, his stomach growling with hunger that it was hard to concentrate. This was Paris 1940. Indeed, this was occupied Paris. His beloved city, the city of light, now taken over by Hitler’s army. He r...

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