Write a story involving a character who cannot return home.

Posted in Angst on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 320 stories

“Thread & Birds” by Julia Seaton

Submitted to Contest #98

I stand above the void, toes curled tight against the damp black edge. Drops of water hitting the rock walls echo for far too long, but worse still are the drops I know are falling and never hit a surface. You’re lost, I tell myself, for the thousandth time. There’s no going back. My brain screams at me to look back and follow the thread tied to my ankle, the thread that winds sideways and upwards for a mere one mile before it breaks into daylight. But it’s not the daylight of freedom. This is my choice: here is my freedom.I debate climbing ...

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“The Pirate Queen” by Kathleen M.

Submitted to Contest #98

She was a queen, but not in the conventional way. She wasn’t born into a royal family, and she would never marry one of the many princes or princesses searching for love. Tilde was a queen of the seas. The pitiful boats the navy boasted splintered under the weight of her beloved ship Doppelganger, a sleek vessel that hid as many secrets as its captain. Tilde dealt in blackmail like a politician dealt in half-truths. She was as rich in knowledge as she was in gold, but only one of those things could fully bend a person’s will, and certain bri...

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“The Ocean Will Not Take Me Back” by Amalee Bowen

Submitted to Contest #98

The ocean would not take me back. The depths had lost their luminescence for me. Now their waters were dark and murky. I fought against the force of the water pushing me up towards the surface, trying to claw and kick my way through with my frail limbs. Even as I struggled to swim down deeper, I could feel the air being crushed from my lungs and the further down I swam the more I could feel the pressure in my ears, around my fragile skull. Saltwater forced its way up my nose, until I was choking on the smell of seaweed and preservation sent ...

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“Bartender Banter ” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #98

“Hey Miss! Hey, excuse me. Young Lady!” Jerry’s gruff, whiskey soaked voice echoed through the empty room.The bartender, who was holding her phone out in front of her like it was going to melt her ear off if she used it properly, turned the other way and carried on her conversation. Jerry cleared his throat dramatically.“Excuse me! What do you have to do to get a drink round here?” The bartender stopped talking, and shot Jerry a look that probably could have melted his ears off.Jerry waved a note in the air at her. She slid from her stool an...

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“Banished ” by Alia More

Submitted to Contest #98

There was once a boy named Alejandro. He was born in Colombia in 1958 and stayed there for half of his life. His father told him to always be a proud, strong and honest man. No one knew that he liked boys and wanted to become a girl. He knew he had to hide it from everyone, especially his family because they didn't accept people like him. No one understood how he felt. He had to lie to protect himself even though his father told him to always be honest. Over the years he became a handsome and an intelligent man. He always had the highest gra...

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“Forgotten Song” by Cannelle L

Submitted to Contest #98

They say 1 in 7 kids between the ages of 10 and 18 will run away at some point. I wondered if someone would appear out of the corner of the gloomy streets, yanking me backward, scolding me for daring to climb on the bus. I felt a sharp pang as I realized that, with Bangkok's fast pace, no one would ever slow down, let alone look for me—not even when I needed them to. I thought of a place to go, knowing I wouldn’t last a night in the loudness of the city. The lights were always too bright, the people were always too intoxicated, and I was a...

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“Hiraeth Fodern” by Dhruv Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #98

The only waitress at Marvin & Friend’s diner was accustomed to spending the late hours of her shift smoking a cigarette and listening to Hall & Oates on the old, crackly speakers. She didn’t know who Marvin was, or why he’d opened the diner, nor did she care. There was no cook behind the small window into the kitchen - on the rare occasion that a trucker or drug addict came into the diner late at night, the food was packaged and ready to be heated up. She just went back into the kitchen, threw it in the microwave, and played with her...

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“Wanderlust ” by User Name

Submitted to Contest #98

From beneath the shadows, every night, a cloaked man emerged, his face white against the black contrast of his attire. Every night, he walked through riverbanks and mountains, valleys and forests, villages and pastures, surveying with great detail. A curious little beeping instrument was attached on his temple, as if burned into his skin. Its light blinked red on interval, like fireflies. At times, especially on tours to the forests, it beeped more occasionally, more frequently, it was then that the man stood perfectly still. When finally, t...

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“The Route Untravelled” by A. Padhye

Submitted to Contest #98

What are origin stories and what emotions do they convey? Origin stories are bumper jackpot of emotions. They can give you each and every emotion according to your desire. If you are happy, it will tell you the tales of victory. If you have incurred loss in your life, the storybook of origin will tell you the tales of struggle and subsequently the path for victory. In short, it will motivate you in free. Just ask the eldest member of your house and you will get to know the origin story. People are mad to spend money and attend classes of a m...

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“The Letzeburg Journals” by Eric D.

Submitted to Contest #98

It was a particularly melancholy night before I left my living sectors for the first time in months. I laid there on my bed staring into the ceiling my arms crossed above my head. I couldn't sleep the night before either, I had vivid dreams about life before the great war that left our beloved earth deteriorating in radiation. We were the lucky ones as they say, only a small fraction that made it out alive. But, life in the red planet wasn't living, it was surviving, I know it sounds inconsiderate but sometimes it felt like a tedious ex...

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“Keenan's Footsteps” by Rachael Lee

Submitted to Contest #98

His life was fine until they found out about his so-called ‘curse’. He’d heard of curses like his, been told he was the one unfortunate boy out of millions in decades to be ‘chosen’. He’d heard of magic here and there even before he’d known about his curse but it was rare in his time. It used to be flowing, in the air everywhere, but not so much now. He wondered why. His particular curse, he’d found out, was called the Astrophy curse, meaning, everywhere he went, the beautiful innocent flowers would bow to the ground and crumple, smeared wit...

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“Seven Minutes” by Euan Lim

Submitted to Contest #98

TW: car accident The hospital hallway is white. The floor’s slapped with the occasional red and brown tile, the grout the lightest gray, though nobody’s looking except for Creed. “Hello?” he yells, stumbling down the bright corridor, light glaring off the walls. “Hello, excuse me! How do I get out of here?” There’re double doors in front of him, and he hopes they lead out, because he’s been in here for too long: he doesn’t know how he got here, only that he’s not supposed to be here right now. Before he reaches the doors, they slam open, and...

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“My Struggle ” by Mathic M

Submitted to Contest #98

What was my home? Was my home where I lived or some other place? I Thought my home was my family, but boy was I wrong. My real home was the military or maybe I should say the battlefield was my home. I was drafted at age seventeen, a prodigy they called me. I didn’t know what that word meant, but I knew one thing for sure and that I needed to join. I needed The thrill of war because it fueled my desires. One of my favorite parts of war was having my comrades side by side with me. I do have to say my favorite memory from the war...

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“Bound to Earth” by Flora Bell

Submitted to Contest #98

Raylyre - pronounced - Ray-Ly-Re Onyxixs - pronounced - Onyx-sis ----- The city was alive with the hustle and bustle of thousands of people and cars, going about their daily business. The shadow of the tree danced across the grass, the wind blowing softly, carrying the sound of the park. Chains rattled as wings stretched, the pristine white feathers glittering in the light drifting through the leaves. "It's far too bright out here for my liking," a deep voice grumbled, crouching back further into the tree trunk for shade. "I want to go back ...

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“Bound” by Austin Fuller

Submitted to Contest #98

Part one This wasn't what the movies made it out to be. Things are supposed to work out, and end happily ever after. You're not supposed to be living in your car, struggling just to barely get by. At least I have my car, and I'm not completely homeless. L.A is full of homeless people. Jaya put the thoughts out of her head, as she looked at the paper in front of her. This script was five pages, more than she had ever had to cold read. Her anxiety was getting the best of her, as she felt a rush to her head, making it hard for her to breathe...

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Write a story involving a character who cannot return home.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 320 stories

“Thread & Birds” by Julia Seaton

“The Pirate Queen” by Kathleen M.

“The Ocean Will Not Take Me Back” by Amalee Bowen

“Bartender Banter ” by Phil Manders

“Banished ” by Alia More

“Forgotten Song” by Cannelle L

“Hiraeth Fodern” by Dhruv Srivastava

“Wanderlust ” by User Name

“The Route Untravelled” by A. Padhye

“The Letzeburg Journals” by Eric D.

“Keenan's Footsteps” by Rachael Lee

“Seven Minutes” by Euan Lim

“My Struggle ” by Mathic M

“Bound to Earth” by Flora Bell

“Bound” by Austin Fuller

🌟 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

751

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: