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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story involving a character who cannot return home.

Posted in Angst on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 320 stories

“Even Iron Can Be Hammered...” by Lennox Ducksworth

Submitted to Contest #98

The open-pit was the vilest, wet and pungent arena Garrett had been in, but then again, he wasn't really one to walk into flesh, tooth, and blood-spattered floors like these. Until today. To paraphrase the shaman Sagewalker, Garrett had to get out of his comfort zone and keep moving out of it until not even Victorious could take him to an element he wasn’t already acclimated to, and Garrett was learning about acclimation fast. He wondered whether it was because of his “accident” that gave him abilities, or the fact he hung around assassins, ...

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“No Name” by Michael Fischetti

Submitted to Contest #98

  Nobody really knew much about Jacobson. Most people even wondered if that was his real name. And that’s where the rumors started. You had a camp who thought Jacobson was the name they gave him on Ellis Island. The man was allegedly Sicilian and there weren’t many Jacobsons living in Sicily as far as I knew. I knew that couldn’t be the case because no one’s names were ever changed at Ellis Island. It’s one of those things people kept saying and that made it true after it was said for long enough. Another camp said Jacobson was a goyish...

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“Lost Girl” by April Lagnada

Submitted to Contest #98

In an early day of April, bloomed the magnificent flowers of earth. A lone tree stood still in a field of flowers, underneath it lies a beauty whose face is in peace, with low breaths, her eyes slowly fluttered open and it was in the of the shade of the deepest seas. It was beautiful, indeed, but it shows no emotions as it is dull. She sat up and looked forth in the horizon, with a few blinks in the eye, she stood up. Wobbling on her thin and weakly legs, using the tree to push her up, she was able to stand up steadily. And as usual, she...

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“No way home” by Lavanya Donthamshetty

Submitted to Contest #98

This is the story of M -, no I cannot say her name. Let's call her Agent M. Why 'Agent'? Because it adds a layer of intrigue to her story and scrapes off a wee bit of the sadness. Now, I met Agent M many, many moons back, when I was a young mum of two, living abroad. Coming from a culture that typifies the "it takes a village to raise a child" sentiment, having no one to fall back on was tough to take. So, when a friend recommended the services of Agent M, I hesitatingly said yes. On a blustery Friday, she arrived at my doorstep. A lad...

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“A New Family” by 지원 장

Submitted to Contest #98

It was a rainy day that day. I lied my body to the sofa, with the body being soaked from the cold, damp raindrops. I turned on the TV, and watched some comedy shows, but it was not that fun like the other days I felt. So I just left the TV screen black and stood up to eat something. There was a pack of zap-n-go tandoori chicken in the refrigerator. The refrigerator was an old one, couldn't carry out its service wholly that the chicken was not frozen. I didn’t know when I bought it and when it started to melt, so I was kind of worried about t...

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“Imagine” by Elanor L

Submitted to Contest #98

Tessa was stumped. She had no idea what to write. Choose an occupation you would like to pursue. Explain why you want this occupation. Tessa didn't really have any interests available in the colony. Baking? No. Whenever Tessa tried to bake, it usually ended in a fire. Cleaning? No. Tessa HATED cleaning. Sewing? Absolutely not. Tessa still had scars on her thumb from two years ago. She liked lock-picking, but she wasn’t about to admit that to her teacher. What could she do? Tessa's mind automatically wandered to astronomy. She loved the sta...

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“Time waits for no man” by Greg Rigby

Submitted to Contest #98

Georgiou is nervous sitting in the capsule, looking out through the toughened glass windows. The team have completed the experiment a hundred times, first with metal, then a series of inanimate objects. This was followed by a variety of organic materials and more recently they had used animals. Each time the experiment had worked perfectly. On the first occasions, when they had gone back in time, the capsule had appeared alongside itself, then the original capsule disappeared at the beginning of the experiment. Then, the reverse had happene...

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“A Beast of The Mirabella” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #98

Silver starlight leaked through the old wrought iron window of the Odhran Estate. Sitting at the old piano, wrapped in her thick woollen blankets, Lady Odette Lécuyer watched wide-eyed at the snow flurries that fell against the solarium windows. In the forgotten wing of the estate house, the only sounds to be heard were her uneven prodding of the piano keys and the chips of ice hailing against the window. The solarium was rarely ever used, and to Odette's delight, it held a small grand piano, a few old armchairs perfect for napping, and a fi...

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“Unlock Your Door” by Lexi Meyer

Submitted to Contest #98

The first thing on my mind when I woke up was the fact that I couldn't breathe. Calm down. Slow down. Slow breaths. They don't have to be deep. Just slow down. They're not here. They're not here. The second thing on my mind was my family. I tried to push them out of my mind, but their voices were echoing through my head. What do you mean you like girls? Are you telling us you're a homosexual? How could you betray God like this? This will make a mockery of our family. I forbid you from entering a relationship with a woman. I shut my...

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“Heart's Desire” by Katie Drake

Submitted to Contest #98

Heart’s Desire “You wish to obtain the Key To The Heart?” Lady Diane questioned, standing behind her desk in the spacious study of her estate. “After all, why not? The Key should be ours. A treasure of that value is of no use in the hands of that recluse,” the portly Baron seated on a nearby settee concluded. His statement was cheered on by the echo of agreements of the fellow noblemen and noblewomen of the land. Diane placed her hands flat against the rough surface of the desk. “You cannot acquire the Key. It does not belong to you,...

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“Chosen Fate” by Jessica Yehl

Submitted to Contest #98

I had always thought I stayed out of obligation. The farm seemed older than the land it was built on. The screech of the rusted hinges of the barn sounded just as natural to me as the crickets did in the field. If the question had ever been asked, I would have said that the wood of the barn had started rotting before the first nail was hammered in. Folks had always said we were lucky, a farm had everything you ever needed for a family to survive: a garden to sew for food, animals to harvest for meat, shelter from the worst of storms, and...

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“Well Done” by Emily Waldner

Submitted to Contest #98

She looked back. Nothing could be changed now. She couldn’t return.  The road ahead was winding and long, straight and narrow. The voice in her head said it would be okay, but she didn’t know how to trust it, or if she even could. Sophia looked up. The sun was bright and shining. She began to get a little anxious, and swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the fear creeping in the back of her throat. Yet, somehow, she stood tall, the fear departing and confidence overtaking her. She took hold of the straps of her heavy bag full of the...

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“It's Been a Long Time” by Anvi K

Submitted to Contest #98

It’s Been a Long Time “Hi Liza. I just found out that you are going to open your own café. That is amazing!” I said. Amazed at how fast the news spread, Liza said, “Yes I am. How did you know? I only told Abby till now.” “She told me. We just came across each other.” “I have called a one of the staff from a very famous company that helps people start a business. She will be here any minute now. So, how is teaching? Are the kids easy to handle?” Liza asked. “They are having fun. I plan activities to help them understand the topic.” “That is a...

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“Not now; not ever” by Julie Williams

Submitted to Contest #98

      The winding dirt road is harsh on my bare feet. But I can’t turn back, not now; not ever. I hear the engine come alive just up the path at my house. Panic sets in. Sure, I’ve been running for five minutes but it won’t take long for that truck to catch up. It’s risky, however it’s my only option. I steer off the beaten path and into the forest surrounding me. It’s darker somehow. More daunting. I feel claustrophobic. My back is pressing against a tree trunk as I try to catch my breath a bit. Not being activ...

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“Vilagom” by Lilia May

Submitted to Contest #98

“The house-plant in the front room is dead. My plant, remember, the fern. I’m sorry, I know you helped nurture it for years, but it’s old and dry and, well you know, it was its time.” The letter, blue ink on thin paper, was matter of fact in its delivery. Csilla sat and stared, her hands trembling. House-plant was code for grandparent. Front room meant grandmother, the sitting room meant grandfather. My plant - it was her mother’s handwriting, which meant her mother’s mother was dead. It was ironic, somehow. Her mother had lost her mother an...

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Ended on 23:59 - Jun 18, 2021 EST

Won by Mary Sheehan 🏆

Title: Blessed Home

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