Now, as an adult, your character looks back on this summer as the summer when they grew up.

Posted in Character on Sep 1, 2023

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✍️ 41 stories

“The Brave” by Jeff Veyera

Submitted to Contest #214

Indian summer always turns my thoughts to my father. All men have a season; his was late summer; the days often blistering hot but the nights turning cool and promising the relief of autumn. I remember the hay bales and corn husks starting to tower in the green fields. I remember cookout smoke, pop-tops sssshing open, and the deep laughter of men. Most of all, though, I remember my father, quietly brooding am...

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“Dog” by Michael Mackenzie

Submitted to Contest #214

Malcolm crawled over to the window and peered outside. It was past two o’clock in the morning and this was the fourth time in the last hour he couldn’t resist peaking to see if anyone or anything was outside in front of the house. The lights of the living room were off and the house was silent. Outside, the streetlamps flickered and the cold wind pounded the door. He raised his head above the windowsill. He fingered his wedding ring, whispering to himself. Everythi...

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“Hazy Memories and Cold Streams” by K Quinn Van Develde

Submitted to Contest #214

Everyone has moments in their lives where things change. For Elijah, a lot of those changes happened in summer. Maybe it was because his birthday fell at the end of August. Maybe it was because he’d never been a big fan of summer. Probably, it was just a coincidence. The summer he turned ten had been one such change—a turning point, really. At nine, he’d seen himself as more mature than the other kids his age, but really he was just shy and content with spending time alone. He liked to read and paint. He didn’t like talking to other ki...

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“Not Everyone Grew Up That Summer” by Douglas Goff

Submitted to Contest #214

“Go! Go! Go!” I screamed at my younger brother Ken, as I shoved him towards the bright sunlight of the open door, with many hands grasping and pulling at my clothes! My three sisters, Julie, Joni, and Lisa were trapped behind me, my body blocking the aisle. Ken was only a couple of feet from the wide open door with only one obstacle left. Linda the bus driver lunged at him with her large robust body, but Ken was scrappy. He squeezed past her meaty grasp and was out and running for it. It had become a Bus 9...

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“The Home that's Away” by Michael Franchetti

Submitted to Contest #214

I didn't really know what was happening, all that I knew was that I was moving, then I wasn't. So when the man asked, "Do you know how fast you were going?", I was able to respond only because this was one of the few answers that I always had the answer to. "I believe I was going the speed limit officer, but I could always be wrong," I replied, throwing on my happiest face to appease him. He didn’t bite. "Sir can you step out of the car please,” the elderly man commanded. This too I was familiar with, although this test was one I knew was a...

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“The Magic of Summers Lost” by Jonathan Quidangen

Submitted to Contest #214

Whenever my parents read us the stories of Peter Pan, they would always end it by telling my brothers and me to ‘never grow up’. They told us to stay as childlike as possible and that we would never stop seeing the world's magic. Every Summer, my father made it a point to take us camping to new places. We would camp by the beach, in the forest, on a mountain. My brothers and I longed for the family camping trips to escape city life's monotony. Sitting around the campfire, my father would tell us fantastic stories, and the world around us wou...

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“From Porsche to Peeling Paint” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #214

Shannon Myers pressed the flat red button on the large screen. She was dangerously close to losing reception and wanted to end the call as soon as possible. The horrification of hanging up mid sentence on her new boss. They were close to closing their series B funding for their AI driven startup that would revolutionize how any normal person could trade stocks. Shannon’s life seemed to have changed quickly. After attending Penn State, her career started on Wall Street and although her paychecks became rather large, she sp...

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“The letter she will never send” by Margarita Escobar

Submitted to Contest #214

The letter she will never send Elisa was aware she could never send the letter. It was impossible. But the memory of Pablo remained vivid in her mind as if it all happened yesterday. The countryside had a special place in Elisa’s heart. Rivers, forest, the smell of fresh wheat harvest, the aroma of wildflowers, and the scent of ripe fruit took her to a different time, filling her soul with happiness and nostalgia. It was summer a long time ago. As city kids, going to the coun...

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“When I was a Child ” by Deliliah Smith

Submitted to Contest #214

“Okay, everyone, I know you are all absolutely thrilled to be back at school, but if you could all just pause your chitchat so we could get started.” The class fell silent. This was Lauras favourite class. 9A English. Last year when the Head of the Department had presented them to her he had described them as “trouble makers, idiots and a motley crew.” It had been Lauras first year as a qualified English Teacher, she had come into the profession slightly later after completing an undergraduate in English literature and working for a small ed...

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“The Summer I became Me” by Brooke Olivia

Submitted to Contest #214

2030 7th of SeptemberDear Diary, The summer of 2023. The summer I became me. The summer it all changed.I'm ready to talk about it now. 7 years later, here I sit ready to finally admit the truth about the summer of 2023. I remember that summer like it was yesterday. The memories are still engraved into me like an open wound that’s not yet healed. I remember it all too well. Why? Because that’s when I finally woke up. I stopped tolerating life. I stopped surviving. I started truly living and noticing the beauty that’s around me. Love. Isn...

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“A Wild Daisy” by Coralie Cowan

Submitted to Contest #214

A single drop of clear fluid slowly bulged from the tiny hole at the bottom of the bag of poison. It grew fatter and fatter, until it dropped silently into the tube that led to her arm. Another took its place. Life and death measured out in single droplets. Every time she swore she wouldn’t watch them. Every time her eyes dragged back to the clear globes of poison that were supposed to save her life. It was time in a bottle, counting backwards. The squeaks of soft soled sensible shoes passed by in all directions. Wheels bustled past. V...

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“Uncle Meats” by Marc Rothstein

Submitted to Contest #214

Shit, an accident. Of all places, why here? Morning rush hour traffic slowed to a crawl, and my anxiety rocketed. A poor section of suburban Philadelphia displayed a rundown corner bar, pawn shop, and vintage mom-and-pop grocery store to the disgust of angry commuters. Nicknamed West Conshy because Conshohocken was a mouthful, it glared at me through my driver-side window as my car came to a halt. This was precisely where my life took a detour almost two decades ago. Now, as I sat helplessly in traffic, the hazy details of my past re-crystal...

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“The Tutelage of Speedball Horton” by Thomas Ciccarone

Submitted to Contest #214

The Tutelage of Speedball Horton T A Ciccarone The sleigh bells, which were attached to the door, jingled as I entered Mollie's Attic. "You have to go with Wiley today." It was early. Mollie looked up from where she stood at the glass case, making notes in her sales ledger. I usually worked the shop with her on Saturday mornings if I had nothing better to do. This announcement wasn't good news. I had better things to do. What 13-year-old boy wouldn't? It was already shaping up to be one of those blisteringly hot d...

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“A Summer Awakening” by Todd Duddka

Submitted to Contest #214

“Hello Labor Day, I made it!” Saying these words out loud even though I was alone so no one heard them but it felt so good for me to hear. Usually, when the highly annoying iPhone alarm clock emits that terrible noise that signals it is time to rise, I am not such a cheery person. Most days, that sound would make me think, “oh gee, thanks God, another shitty day ahead.” Not today. Today IS a different day. I truly find it hard to believe it’s already Labor Day! Traditionally this is the end of summer e...

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“What Was It” by Lynne Boyd

Submitted to Contest #214

It was my first. I had just turned 19, and before this I thought I knew everything. Turns out I didn’t know a damn thing about life. Or death. It felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to my gut, everything about me felt bruised and battered. My thoughts were racing so quickly I couldn’t speak, unable to grab a single word from my tornado brain. I was frozen, unable to move. This would be the day, the moment that propelled me into growing up, because now we were dealing with events kids should not have had to experience. His name was Chr...

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Now, as an adult, your character looks back on this summer as the summer when they grew up.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 41 stories

“The Brave” by Jeff Veyera

“Dog” by Michael Mackenzie

“Hazy Memories and Cold Streams” by K Quinn Van Develde

“Not Everyone Grew Up That Summer” by Douglas Goff

“The Home that's Away” by Michael Franchetti

“The Magic of Summers Lost” by Jonathan Quidangen

“From Porsche to Peeling Paint” by Madeline Honig

“The letter she will never send” by Margarita Escobar

“When I was a Child ” by Deliliah Smith

“The Summer I became Me” by Brooke Olivia

“A Wild Daisy” by Coralie Cowan

“Uncle Meats” by Marc Rothstein

“The Tutelage of Speedball Horton” by Thomas Ciccarone

“A Summer Awakening” by Todd Duddka

“What Was It” by Lynne Boyd

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story on the eve of the first day back at school.

What was meant to be a great bonding vacation turns sour when an uninvited guest tags along.

Each year, your character's family goes on the most exotic vacations. Finally they discover why — their family are assassins.

It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.

Contest #214

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

203

Contest entries

94

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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