Write a story involving a character who cannot return home.

Posted in Angst on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 321 stories

“Someone to Talk To” by Sjan Evardsson

Submitted to Contest #98

My mother used to say, “There’s always someone who has it worse than you,” and I used to believe it. It was so long ago, but I could still see how the sun made a halo of her blonde hair around her long, pointed ears, and her large, brown eyes seemed soft like velvet. The young woman across the table held my hand. “I know it doesn’t seem like much, but maybe tonight you’ll talk about it.” She was a human, maybe t...

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“Fifty Years Past” by 64sg1 Wexler

Submitted to Contest #98

FIFTY YEARS PASSED For fifty years the road stood unchanged. The road upon which an old man appeared. It was a cold day, gray as the man himself, who stood fixed upon the near ancient gravel glowering at the brownish cottage with white trim standing upon his right hand. His eyes turned away but his step failed to advance. He simply stood immobile, as if lost in thought, his weathered face and n...

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“The Red House” by Stephanie Albright

Submitted to Contest #98

The Red House The red house had been there for a very long time. No one had lived there in at least fifty years, and no one could even remember who owned the place. It was a three-story Victorian made of brick, blood-red bricks. The yard was overgrown and surrounded by a six-foot iron fence. The shutters were all closed tightly, except for the window on the widow’s walk, some claim...

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“А потом они пришли за мной” by Ben Hulme

Submitted to Contest #98

The moon’s glare fell across the ripples as the Dons waters lumbered around the river’s bend. Yana saw it before she heard it. A flash of light, that erupted up into the sky, to be absorbed by the clouds. Then arrived the dull bang. Then another bomb fell. Voronezh burned. They will be here soon, thought Yana, pulling a golden strand of hair from across her face. &nbsp...

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“Home Again, Home Again” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #98

To market, to market, to buy a fat hen, Home again, home again, jiggety-jig. To market, to market, to buy a fat hog, Home again, home again, jiggety-jog. When my mother used to sing all the verses to this Mother Goose rhyme to me, neither of us knew it actually came from 1598 (if not before), from Florio's A Worlde of Wordes, or Most Co...

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“The unknown journey of Cody” by Roberta Henley

Submitted to Contest #98

I always knew that this day was coming. I could feel it in my gut. I knew that I couldn't stay here forever. My job of being a leader and president of us stuffed animals is over. So, I decided to what I thought was right for our people by retiring to Paris, France. I know that it was a hard decision and I didn't want to do this. I hated to leave everything and everyone that I know and love behind, but I didn't have a cho...

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“Scorched” by Jubilee Lubov

Submitted to Contest #98

home (noun): the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.__‘Home.’ Ha. What a funny word. What even is ‘home?’ Is it the place where you feel safest, the place where you laugh with family and friends, or is it simply the structure in which you live? Is ‘home’ even a place at all, since the very definition of home varies from person to person and place to place? If you really think about it, has ‘home’ ever ...

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“Infanta Gone Astray” by J J

Submitted to Contest #98

When I was born everything had already been planned out. From the first press conference and photo shoot to my education and spouse. Nothing was left to chance. My whole life had been decided for me before I was even conceived. Unfortunately, they didn’t weigh in my own wishes and desires, and lack thereof. Growing up, I was told ...

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“The Birthday Gift” by Sarah Reilley

Submitted to Contest #98

I never thought it would end up this way. I went for a walk to cool my head after he blew up at me. I made a wish and walked out the door. It was stupid. So stupid. And now I’m stuck. I hadn’t loaded the dishwasher, and I’d told him I would. It wasn’t like he was controlling me, though. He’d been asking me to do it for a week. But I kept forgetting. Somehow, my brain stopped functioning. It was like I was l...

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“Part of the Family” by Tommie Michele

Submitted to Contest #98

I shouldn’t be here. It’s the stubborn thought that hasn’t left my mind for the past month. One month since the family of my dreams caught a glimpse of me outside their window and invited me inside. Bram, Lori, and Nell. Bram, with his strong and gentle fatherly spirit. Lori, who’s made me dinner every single night. And Nell. With her auburn hair and sea-green eyes that make me ...

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“Lady Hotaru” by Marici W

Submitted to Contest #98

I was on a tour in London when this had all begun. It was July 6th of 2030, and it had been pouring since 8 o’clock in the morning. The thunderstorm woke me up at 8 but I went back to sleep after the thunder came in at such a frequency that it established a soothing rhythm. When I finally got out of bed at noon I rushed to the Rivoli Ballroom to get ready for the performance in the evening. It was still...

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“apartment 23” by Anderson Lemus - Del Cid

Submitted to Contest #98

I pushed the door of the bathroom, my shoes tapped against the ceramic floor of this empty bathroom. I used the urinal. I did not flush as the water seemed like it would overflow if I did. I walked over to the sink, washed my hands, looked at my hair, my tired eyes, the zit that had recently brewed itself. I dried my hands with my shirt — there weren’t any paper towels. I walked out of the bathroom and returned to the sa...

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“The Warning” by Alexa Mae Pecora

Submitted to Contest #98

“The three of them,” something inside me breaks. “They just stood there-” “Lee, calm down-” “24 days,” I remember the way the man had spoken with fear. “24 days! They’re coming-” “Hey, calm down-” “The three of them. 24 days,” I wrench my arms from Mira’s grasp and fiercely run my fingers through my hair. “Oh my gosh!” I moan, “24 days, 24 days-” “Harley!” <...

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“The Battle of Love” by Sidney Lauro

Submitted to Contest #98

I came out to my dad yesterday. A southern boy, growing up in Kansas, he'd worked in the fields since he was six. His dad beat him with a whip whenever he misbehaved. He went to church weekly but prayed daily. He'd briefly gone to school, but had dropped out when money was tight. And now, he was single, my mom having left him when I was four. I've been in love with her--Maria--for a few years. Ever si...

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“The Fishing Trip” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #98

They picked a beautiful day for it. On that weekend, the weather was perfect for anyone willing to spend their time on a body of water that shimmered like a beautiful mirror, under a sun that was not too hot in a bright blue sky, and with hardly anyone else willing to travel out that far to go fishing. It was a small vessel, running with a motor but with an option to use sails when the need to save on gas was hig...

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Write a story involving a character who cannot return home.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 321 stories

“Someone to Talk To” by Sjan Evardsson

“Fifty Years Past” by 64sg1 Wexler

“The Red House” by Stephanie Albright

“А потом они пришли за мной” by Ben Hulme

“Home Again, Home Again” by Kathleen March

“The unknown journey of Cody” by Roberta Henley

“Scorched” by Jubilee Lubov

“Infanta Gone Astray” by J J

“The Birthday Gift” by Sarah Reilley

“Part of the Family” by Tommie Michele

“Lady Hotaru” by Marici W

“apartment 23” by Anderson Lemus - Del Cid

“The Warning” by Alexa Mae Pecora

“The Battle of Love” by Sidney Lauro

“The Fishing Trip” by Kendall Defoe

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a family with a long-standing tradition, whose members all have conflicting origin stories for it.

Start your story with a character having a premonition, but no one believes them.

Write about someone who’s desperately trying to change their luck.

Set your story on (or in) a winding river.

Contest #98

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

754

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: