Write a story in which a certain food makes your character travel back in time.

Posted in Character on Dec 8, 2023

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✍️ 51 stories

“Dad's Cereal” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #228

My daughter found a hat in one of the boxes collecting dust underneath my bed yesterday. Out of boredom, she had asked me if she could “investigate” the contents of this unknown space, a place in the house that she had not yet explored. If it had been December, I would have quickly said no, frightened by the possibility that the truth of Santa’s workshop would be revealed at too early an age. But in the middle of fall, the thought of purchasing presents and stowing them away felt distant and hidden. I had been busy with other things, perhaps...

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“Chronocroissants” by RJ Holmquist

Submitted to Contest #228

Marcel’s tall white chef hat leaned slightly askew as he turned from the red glow of the oven to face me. “Voila, here we are,” his french accent was smooth as the steam wafting off the pastries he pulled fresh from the inferno, “now you are only a few bites from the truth you seek.”“You are certain they are safe?” I eyed the confections.Chronocroissants he had called them and he’d promised me they were the key to seeing the past, to finding the answers I needed.“Safe?” Marcel gleamed his teeth and tilted his head, “come now Mr. Proust,...

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“Thursday's Child” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #228

Thursday's child has far to go. &n...

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“Two Million Scoville” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #228

It turns out the way to travel through time was sitting in front of us all along. In the same way as water is a liquid that suddenly bursts into boiling steam; humans just needed the right jolt in their quantum energy to reach the tipping point. The one where time flows like water. And the Trinidad Moruga Pepper at a scorching 2 million Scoville units does just the trick.Not that I understand the science, and right now, I’m a bit preoccupied with my older brother Mike glaring at me like a maniac over the family dining table.“I hope you stepp...

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“Gingersnaps” by Connie Whitely

Submitted to Contest #228

“Just let me off here”, she urged. The yellow cab pulled abruptly to the curb. Ginger stepped out into frigid slush, thoroughly sopping her ankle height boots. It had been a gruelling day. Wet ankles and pelting rain provided zero improvement. Grandma had not lingered. For that she was grateful. A life well-lived. She ruminated to keep the dull pain at bay. It simply had to wait until after the holidays. Christmas Eve, eve. She and grandma loved the holidays and there was no way that Ginger was going to let her down.Arriving at her...

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“6 Months Of Tears ” by Khadija S. Mohammad

Submitted to Contest #228

Natalia's last words echoed through her head. I have no one to stay for. And the pain she had felt when her brain added Not anymore. The future held more knowledge than she could dream of, and a chance to explore and develop it - what more could a scientist want? she tried to tell herself, but there was one thing missing that she couldn't get back."Brace for time-warp," came the pleasantly nonchalant voice of the spaceship - shuttle, Natalia corrected herself. She had a lot to learn.She braced herself, straining her ears and t...

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“Thyme Again” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #228

This time, Max tried some bay leaves and more thyme. Even had he known to remove the former at the final stage, he knew it was yet another fail. He rose dejectedly from his knees before the pale jade Crane Mauretania that had at the beginning of his convulsions been a jet-black Kohler Highline Elongated Comfort Height Two-Piece, and started down the narrow staircase. It was the first time he’d left something behind, and Max wondered vaguely about the consequences of puking across the temporal rift. Grandma’d introduced him to Ray Bradbury an...

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“Yeasteryear” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #228

There is still magic in the world. I thought it had died a death whilst everyone was busy thinking they were clever. In an age where people have access to more information than they could possibly take in, there is more ignorance than there has ever been. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise to me when I stumbled upon my own piece of magic. But a surprise it was. And a shock to boot. I suppose that I was never going to be immune to the ignorance. After all, there’s a lot of it going around these days and we have this knack of surviving. When...

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“Clementine Cake” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #228

I have always known about food nostalgia. Food has the power to take you back to a moment long ago that had almost fallen into the recesses of your memory for good. One bite and bang: you’re back in that moment, tasting the flavour you associate with something you weren’t even conscious of. For me, it evokes more than a feeling of wistfulness for bygone times. Clementine cakes are the taste of my childhood. My grandmother used to bake them for every family celebration we had. They were little cakes that contained a powerful flavour, like lit...

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“A Grocery Store Memory” by Tori Winterrose

Submitted to Contest #228

Arthur yanks on his mittens and quickly rubs his palms together in a pathetic attempt to generate some warmth. He wonders (for at least the hundredth time) why he hasn’t moved away from this godforsaken town with a windchill that makes Antarctica look like paradise. His car door creaks open as the cold December air sucks his breath away and freezes his nose hairs. Careful not to slip on the black ice in the parking lot, he places his boots firmly onto the ground and hoists himself up out of the car. A mother and her three you...

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“What Was in That Batter?” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #228

I sat with anticipation in the West Ocean City Breakfast Club, waiting for Sam, my waiter, to make his entrance with a plate of fluffy, steaming goodness topped off by the rich, brown sugary liquid designed to lift me out of my late summer funk. Every year on the Saturday before Labor Day I had made it my tradition to end my vacation on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with a trip to the area’s best morning eatery and treat myself to a heaping platter of Delmarva pancakes. This time, though, my annual journey would lift me into a world I could nev...

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“Feed Your Head” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #228

Feed Your Head In a dreary, gray, official-looking room was a small group of unsmiling people who were about to change where and how one of their number was going to live. That person was a man named Jim who was in his early mid 70s, and was seated in an uncomfortable chair, while all the others stood. He had a blank stare on his face. The others were those who had made the decision for him. They included a doctor, a counsellor, a nurse, a female psychologist, his wife Alice and a young man, their son, George. They ...

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“Chicken Katsu Memories” by Leahcim Ejibat

Submitted to Contest #228

Hawaiian chicken katsu, Brian was thinking, as he stood with anticipation in the food truck line at the Pure Aloha Festival in Las Vegas. This particular food truck was boldly named “No Ka ‘Oi” or “The Best” in Hawaiian.Brian traveled from Hawaii to attend this festival in search of the perfect Hawaiian chicken katsu. He was particular with his chicken katsu and wanted to see if the chicken katsu from this truck was really “No Ka ‘Oi” or just meh. He has traveled to California, Oregon, Washington state, Utah, Arizona, and now Las V...

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“The Rat of Justice in a Pioneer Adventure” by Joseph Lupton

Submitted to Contest #228

Sometime in the distant past, long before TV and infomercials: “Save us, Sir Squeaksalot!” cry the mice. “We don’t want to be served with a side of mashed potatoes!” “Oh, don’t worry, my tasty little morsels,” cackles Hisstopher Meowlumbus. “You can be served with fries instead!” “I shall protect you, my ...

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“The Snack Man Cometh” by John Howard Hatfield

Submitted to Contest #228

Man, can this guy eat! He never seems to slow down. I have no idea where he’s putting it all. I just happened to have come across the greatest snack eater I’d seen in the past forty years. At the time, my wife was the Vice President of Human Resources for a credit union organization in Austin, Texas and as such, she attends a conference every now and then to remain up on the latest trends. One summer, one of the board of directors recommended that she attend the HR conference taking place in Maui; literally forcing a brochure into her ...

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Write a story in which a certain food makes your character travel back in time.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 51 stories

“Dad's Cereal” by AnneMarie Miles

“Chronocroissants” by RJ Holmquist

“Thursday's Child” by Delbert Griffith

“Two Million Scoville” by Scott Christenson

“Gingersnaps” by Connie Whitely

“6 Months Of Tears ” by Khadija S. Mohammad

“Thyme Again” by Martin Ross

“Yeasteryear” by Jed Cope

“Clementine Cake” by Keelan LaForge

“A Grocery Store Memory” by Tori Winterrose

“What Was in That Batter?” by Bob Faszczewski

“Feed Your Head” by John Steckley

“Chicken Katsu Memories” by Leahcim Ejibat

“The Rat of Justice in a Pioneer Adventure” by Joseph Lupton

“The Snack Man Cometh” by John Howard Hatfield

🌟 Similar prompts

Start or end your story in a bustling street food market.

Include in your story a scene about a family's last meal before a significant change.

Write a story in which a character eats something that they shouldn’t have eaten.

Write a story in which a character cooks up something to impress someone.

Contest #228

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

232

Contest entries

89

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: