Set your story in a playground: two characters are having a serious conversation while on the seesaw/in the jungle gym/on the swings.

Posted in Angst on Apr 12, 2024

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✍️ 82 stories

“The Accomplice” by Lauren Sowers

Submitted to Contest #246

"Glad you could make it," Griffith spoke, his voice low as Lilith joined him at the playground. Lilith gave him a small, simple nod of acknowledgement but said nothing. She sat across from him on the seesaw and the two began slowly going up and down. "Why did you tell me to come here?" Lilith questioned, examining their surroundings as she did. The place was abandoned and clearly had not been used for many years. The seesaw made creaking noises as it went up and down, the chains of the swings we...

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“Secret Crush” by Serena Vigil

Submitted to Contest #246

Eddie Ray, star pitcher at the local high school, popular and charismatic. But he had a secret. The most popular guy in school had a crush on the least popular girl in school. Selena Wilson was a wallflower, the picture of grace and beauty but not unto the naked eye. She was president of the debate team, loved dissecting things in biology and her favorite topic to talk about was her relationship with God. One day, Selena was walking home from school when a beautiful lightning blue mustang pulled up beside her. As her eyes focused on th...

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“Never Swing Too High” by Leslie Cieplechowicz

Submitted to Contest #246

Never Swing Too High Fen and Tyrn sat curled on the curved seats layered with rusty fuzz, their ghostly bodies flickering every time a breeze stirred their perches. Their swings dangled on two sinewy ropes, mounted to a cylinder, bleached like aged bones. The apparitions’ fingers wrapped around the cords which cast stretched shadows across the small clearing hugged by mottled trees. “If only I had sticked the landing. If only,” moaned Fen. Tyrn sighed. Not again. How many d...

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“The Truth Within The Swings ” by Emma Jean

Submitted to Contest #246

“I signed them.” The vocal cords snapped the frailness of the woman’s throat. Her cold hands gripped tightly onto her own, each singular joint seemed to pop and crack with even the smallest of movement the women procured. Once having tan skin that was kissed by the sun has grown paler and paler; hugged sympathetically by the moon now. The disheveled man, scuffed up by time as it ticks through his endless, sleepless nights, comes to sit next to her and listen to the creakiness of the struggling swings. For a moment he could make out the ...

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“Graduate” by Grayson Chilcote

Submitted to Contest #246

Mikey sat on a swing set in his cap and gown, letting the light of an ending day envelop him as he slowly rocked back and forth. The swingset was located in the park that he grew up around. Placed at the center of his neighborhood, it had always served as a gathering place for the kids in the neighborhood. A playground and jungle gym with three swing sets all set upon a raised patch of mulch, it was the ideal place for any bright eyed kid, a perfect place to make memories. But now it was nothing but a memory itself. Mikey stopped rocki...

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“Champagne makes everything a party” by Laura Ethington

Submitted to Contest #246

Sarah yelped as lightning cut across the sky. A loud boom followed, breaking the silence on the playground. Rain was pouring down on her as she slowly rocked back and forth on the swing she had been perched on for the last 30 minutes. She barely noticed she was drenched. She felt numb; she didn't even have the energy to go over everything from that evening. "What time is it?" Emily asked, swaying on the swing next to her.Reality slowly returned to her. Sarah looked down at her watch. "It's almost 2 a.m.," Sarah said. Unsure what they were wa...

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“A Lesson Never Learned” by J Appos

Submitted to Contest #246

Sensitive content warning: references to racism. A Lesson Never Learned 12:46. Victor tried off his phone screen, trying to avoid watching as the seconds ticked by. The accompanying click told him he’d accidentally taken a screenshot. With an irritated grunt, he deleted it. What a moment to memorialize. His chronically-late daughter, tardy again to a meeting with her father. If she decided to show at all. It had been at least two years since Becca had even spoken to him. He’d stoo...

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“When Love Forgot to Play” by Adam Leverett

Submitted to Contest #246

“You can really feel winter in the air today, can’t you?” Scott said, turning up the collar on his jacket as he looked over at Dan. His words hung there like desperation in the still, cool air of the park on that Sunday morning, still damp from the autumn rain that had fallen the night before. He was trying for something – anything – to break the spell of silence draped over them like a heavy shroud. Even though they were walking side by side down the path, it felt like they were continents apart.October had come, but the days were stil...

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“Leaves on the Wind” by Ryne Wemhoff

Submitted to Contest #246

“Do you regret anything? I mean, do you have any regrets…you know, places you didn’t visit, things you…didn’t quite manage to get to?...”, the man in the worn, dark brown pea coat and matching ivy cap asked, shifting his weight in search of some comfort, however fleeting, on the weathered, wooden bench upon which he found himself seated. The park he and his companion found themselves in was largely empty by this time of day. The local schools had since resumed classes after their fall sabbatical, leaving only the scattered families from out ...

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“The Ups And Downs of Life And Love” by Brian Underwood

Submitted to Contest #246

The frozen gate latch to the entrance of the chain link fence was a torturous testament to all that had changed. The icy grip on its internal mechanism was a wry reminder of both a painful past, and the pernicious present that lie ahead. A final pent-up blast of energy to the lever shattered the frozen crystals into a hundred shards, paling in comparison the thousand pieces of her heart that he left on the floor months before. The metal barrier separating their past and present now vanquished, there was no going back. Now, only the sea...

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“A swing at the life of a Yakuza” by Dhruv Agrawal

Submitted to Contest #246

It’s a sunny day at the Hitachi Seaside Park. Children are running around, playing with each other. A cool breeze is brushing past Kiryu and Daisuke, as they slowly swing on the swings. Although they tried to avoid looking at them, the kids at the park all look at Kiryu and Daisuke with judging eyes, attempting to pierce the cold souls of the individuals gently swaying. Kiryu, in his black coat and pants, turns towards Daisuke, revealing his dark red dress shirt tucked neatly into his pants. His face is long and thin, with short black hair, ...

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“I was seeing them” by Negin B

Submitted to Contest #246

It was a few minutes before sunset when I started noticing them. They weren’t showing their faces yet, but I could hear them or see a leaf moving strangely here or there. After that, It only took a few minutes for them to come out of their hiding places and slowly coming towards us – towards me, it felt -. Roger was sitting on one of the two swings in the park, and the other two musketeers – George and Eric – were sitting on the grass, right in front of him. Of course, no one would dare to use the other swing. I decided to get closer to the ...

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“Runaways” by Jazmin Quito

Submitted to Contest #246

Trigger Warning: Car Crash For years it was all just a joke, something stupid we said to pass the time. Daydreaming of a life that was yet to come. “It’s all fun and games” We said deep down we knew it was something more. Something pulling us in. We convinced ourselves that it was a joke until that night. Something clicked in our minds and the pieces of what felt like a lifelong puzzle were put together. We sat on the swings outside of my old elementary school. The summer breeze sailed by as the sun set and the street lamps turned on....

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“Appearance” by Lauren Normac

Submitted to Contest #246

Pryce put his hands on his hips. "You want me to what?""I think I was pretty clear.""Do you know who I am?""Of course I do. That's why you can swing with me."Presumably she meant she was safe, that she wouldn't make assumptions.When he didn't respond, she sighed. He couldn't read her expression for more. She had an invisible face. And invisible everything else. He could only look at her clothes to see her.Right now, he saw the heels of her shoes dig into the ground, bringing her swing to a halt. In fairness, she hadn't been swinging very har...

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“That Broken Swing” by Isabel Payne

Submitted to Contest #246

*This story mentions and contains the death of a character. Tom’s dress shoes scraped against the gravel. He examined the playground that hadn’t changed at all within the week, and yet, it was completely different from what it was a week ago. The once open park that was filled with children was now completely barren of any presence and was roped off by traffic cones with bright yellow caution tape. Tom read the bolded black lettering against the bright yellow plastic tape. CAUTION: DO NOT ENTER A sign was also taped to one of th...

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Set your story in a playground: two characters are having a serious conversation while on the seesaw/in the jungle gym/on the swings.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 82 stories

“The Accomplice” by Lauren Sowers

“Secret Crush” by Serena Vigil

“Never Swing Too High” by Leslie Cieplechowicz

“The Truth Within The Swings ” by Emma Jean

“Graduate” by Grayson Chilcote

“Champagne makes everything a party” by Laura Ethington

“A Lesson Never Learned” by J Appos

“When Love Forgot to Play” by Adam Leverett

“Leaves on the Wind” by Ryne Wemhoff

“The Ups And Downs of Life And Love” by Brian Underwood

“A swing at the life of a Yakuza” by Dhruv Agrawal

“I was seeing them” by Negin B

“Runaways” by Jazmin Quito

“Appearance” by Lauren Normac

“That Broken Swing” by Isabel Payne

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that includes the phrase “It’s all fun and games…”

Write a story about someone participating in a seemingly innocent game that suddenly takes a turn.

Write a story about someone who takes a joke way too far.

Write about a character who treats everything like a game and struggles to be serious when they most need to, or vice versa.

Contest #246

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

245

Contest entries

99

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: