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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

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 320 stories

“The Spaceman” by Nitya Misra

Submitted to Contest #98

Gagan was starting to feel an itch on his right arm, that spot inside the elbow but there was no way he could reach there, he would have to make do with a kind of scratching through his space suit. He tried, but it was wholly unsatisfying, the slight friction through the thick material. He tried to distract himself by going over the details of the task ahead of him, but his mind kept slipping, a badly behaved child.  Time stretched ahead of him, as did space, Gagan a little speck in a space suit, a little heartbroken speck in a spa...

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“Freedom ” by EMILY MASK (Student)

Submitted to Contest #98

“Freedom” By: Emily Mask   “You are like a flower,” Milo once told me, “Delicate and weak. But after you open up and bloom, you shine in the sunlight above the grass exotically.” I have never been one to fit in the crowd. From my amber hair to my slow comebacks, I have heard all the slander there is to hear. “Kids are brutal these days.” My mom would always reply with. I didn't discover major stress and anxiety until high school when Hailey would come up to me and taunt me at lunch. She would whisper mean things in my ear callin...

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“I Need to Say Goodbye Before I Can Say Hello” by Lauren McLaughlin

Submitted to Contest #98

I Need to Say Goodbye Before I Can Say Hello  "Who was that on the phone?" Nancy asked reluctantly Jim sank into the chair next to her and sighed. "That was our Realtor, telling us that she really couldn't give us any more time and wishing us well in finding our new home." "I really can't blame her, Sweetheart," Nan admitted. She's worked very hard for us. I'm not surprised she gave up on me. I'm just surprised you haven't." "I love you, Nan. You know that. And I can see this –whatever the hell it is – is tearing you apart. I'm not givi...

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“Acceptance” by Leonardo Alexandre

Submitted to Contest #98

The furious men chased after me. I didn’t look back once. I ran. Didn’t know where I was heading either. I just ran. The never-ending green bamboo thicket made it hard to traverse, but it also helped me to avoid my pursuers. The cuts in my right arm still burned from the cane leaves and the sky was completely hidden from how tall those plants were. It must have been at least an hour until I realized nobody was behind me anymore. The samurai could not catch up to a young person with that set of armor on. There was finally a moment to recover ...

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“Seitz-Bunau ” by Chris Jones

Submitted to Contest #98

“Seitz-Bunau” I stared at the lad. “I’m sorry?” My father laughed at him.  “I’m the prince of Seitz-Bunau.” he reiterated crossly. “And sure enough you’ll take it no more seriously than anyone else on this god forsaken island, but I am a Leftenant in the King’s navy also, and that should be worth at least the delivery of a service paid for.”  “You don’t look like a prince.” said my father. I jabbed him with my elbow.  “You do look like a navy man.” I said. He did.  He didn’t respond to that. Maybe he liked bein...

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“The Final Letter” by Valentine P Schneider

Submitted to Contest #98

The night draped over the neighborhood like a glittering black veil, covering all in a quiet, vacant still. Not a creature stirred, not a car passed through the damp streets, no branches blew. The only movement that existed came from the metronome like drip, drip, dripping of drops of water from the tips of leaves and edges of rooftops that glistened in the clear of the night. Not a light stood lit in any house. With the exception of one small, oil lamp in the upstairs bedroom of #9 Fawkes Avenue, where a spindly man sat hunched over a desk ...

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“Tell no one” by Cosmic Cassi

Submitted to Contest #98

Delilah was a rugged-looking girl. The hot sun and traveling many miles by foot through an uncharted wood can do that to ya. The only possession she had was a tattered brown satchel and the clothes on her back. That bag had only the things she could quickly grab before leaving home. A small bottle of alcohol in case of injury, a kitchen knife smeared in blood, and a nearly empty bottle of water. There may have been a few coins as well, but they were useless in the dense forest. A few coins would not be enough to buy salvation. With little ...

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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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“The son never shines on closed doors. *” by Vincent Guillemin

Submitted to Contest #98

[This follows “Microcosm” and "Hebrews 13:1-2”] The light breeze blowing the curtains apart cannot offer Aaron a much-needed shelter from the stifling heat of the night. He dares not moving his naked body, sticking to the unentangled sheet, for fear of breaking a sweat or disturbing Jack's peaceful sleep rhythmed by a regular and discreet breathing. The smell of melting asphalt is wafting up from the deserted street and further hinders his search for oxygen. The thickness of the air cannot prevent the distant sirens of a polic...

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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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“The Healer” by Zahra Monib

Submitted to Contest #98

When Lua, the moon, waxes into something full and mighty, the message is clear: The new year has begun and something stirs in the depths of Hoodoo Sea. Under her glowing light, the tides tremble and surge to monstrous heights, scraping the sky to wave hello. And the people of the sea, brave or misfortunate enough to sail across its skin, fight to keep their lives under the watchful gaze of Lua, sitting on her bed of clouds. There, she can convince the tides to turn and twist, push the lost people of the sea to where they deserve to be. Good ...

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Ended on 23:59 - Jun 18, 2021 EST

Won by Mary Sheehan 🏆

Title: Blessed Home

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