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Write a story that starts with someone returning from a trip.

Posted in Character on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 111 stories

Poison of Humanity

Submitted to Contest #44

The last remaining human has been destroyed. The galaxy would once again be at peace “Zeltrex Mission Log 6Я5: Planet Tryzion year LX92, Day αMδ General, operation ‘Apocalypse’ is complete. I have destroyed the remaining civilisations on their home solar system, and I’ve taken no prisoners. As ordered, I’ve kept their terraformed planets in-tact to allow your survivors to seek refuge. The radiation left by the bombs on some planets and moons; including Mars, Triton and Europa may be too high for your people to safely settle. But co...

69 likes 23 comments 23
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"The Last Time"

Submitted to Contest #44

He had called me that afternoon to let me know he’d be back in town for the night. His flight landed at Logan at 5:30 pm. But now, it was already time for the Late Late show. I checked the flight status online. ‘Arrived.’ I turned off the television and went to the bedroom. I had text him just once, no response. I slipped off the black silk robe that I ran out to buy right after he called me. I hadn’t worn it all night, though.           I had started the evening in a navy blue Ralph Lau...

62 likes 20 comments 20
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Ander in Larttleight (Sequel to Ander's New Cable Knit Sweater!)

Submitted to Contest #44

Ander woke up with a start, his head still spinning from the trip down the portal to the underground planet Larttleleight. He still wasn’t wearing a shirt, and the ground was cold. He looked around the dark planet, but the whole place smelled like dirt; maybe a side effect from being an underground planet. Ander touched his hands to his nose. Warm blood seeped between his fingers and he yelped. Ander hated blood outside the body, especially when it was his own. “What is this place?”  “The underground planet Larttleleight, boy!” A voice ...

55 likes 29 comments 29
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A Strange Tale

Submitted to Contest #44

The rusted train screeched to a stop as it reached the end of the railroad tracks, causing everyone aboard to groan in annoyance. The train made a horrible sound as the conductor pressed on the break, an ear piercing sccccrrrEEECHHHH. All the passengers covered the ears, including one curious little boy. He covered his ears with both hands, pressing hard, and looked at the people around him with probing glances. He wore a scruffy shirt with dirt scattered amongst it and matching dirt covered trousers. His mousy brown hair was hidden inside h...

48 likes 27 comments 27
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She's Gone

Submitted to Contest #44

Ding-dong! I got up from the couch and walked to the front door. I looked out the little peep hole, but I didn't see anyone. I shrugged and opened the door. "I'm home!" It was Grace! She popped up from the right side of the door. She was finally home from The Bahamas! "Oh, my God! I missed you!"I yelled. I wrapped my arms around her and held tight.  “I missed you, too,”Grace replied. She let go, and I helped her bring in her bags. “How was it?”I asked. Grace smiled as she sat her bags down on the counter. “It was a lot of fun. But at on...

47 likes 18 comments 18
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Someone returning from a trip – “Sarika and Omkareshwar”

Submitted to Contest #44

             Someone returning from a trip – “Sarika and Omkareshwar”Sarika our neighbor came one fine morning, to give Prasad to us that she had brought from Omkareshwar. We knew that Sarika was very fond of travelling and had visited most of the places in the world both in India, as well as abroad. She believed that “Travel” is the most effective way to grow mentally, physically as well as emotionally. When we asked her about her trip, she was more than happy to nar...

42 likes 7 comments 7
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the end of the tour

Shortlisted for Contest #44 ⭐️

   It’s no bestseller, but enough people bought the book for thirteen east-coast bookstores to host me for an evening. It shouldn’t have been a three-month affair, but independent book publishers and piss-poor planning are synonyms. My agent told them yes of course I’d be okay spending five empty days in a Holiday Inn in West Virginia between readings.    Whatever, I’m lucky to get a book tour at all. It was thirty people in the audience on a good day, about thirteen most of the time. By the time I loop bac...

40 likes 3 comments 3
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The Euripides Requiem

Shortlisted for Contest #44 ⭐️

[Note: This story touches heavily on issues of depression and suicide.] By the time we had returned from the beach, the Earth was gone — in its place was an expanding ring of debris like a rusting sickle. We knew, of course. We’d known for months. But we hadn’t been prepared to see it. To really see it. The captain had taken the Euripides into a solar orbit manually. The AI, after trying to find an orbital insertion point around a missing planet, had fallen into a hopeless loop. In time, the rotation engines fired up, preparing to bring...

39 likes 26 comments 26
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The Phoenix of the Sea

Submitted to Contest #44

The first step onto dry land was bittersweet: the sweet relief of home and the bitter ache of parting.Years had passed but the swaying green of the bluffs hadn’t changed at all. She stumbled her way forward, her legs unused to the steadiness underfoot. Behind her the waves lapped at the shore and she could hear the familiar creak of wood on the wind but she would not turn. She would not crack. She paused at the base of the cliff, eyes caught by the sparkle of a rock pool. Her reflection swam in and out of focus as tiny crabs rippled the...

36 likes 34 comments 34
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Not Enough (Sequel to Goodbye)

Submitted to Contest #44

“I told him I love him and he said it wasn't enough. How am I suppose to live with that?” – Emilia Clarke.                                                        I went through the passport control, and as much as I prayed to be stuck in the queue, no, it went smooth...

34 likes 19 comments 19
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The Man at My Father's Desk

Submitted to Contest #44

The man sat at my father's desk, feet kicked up and a cigarette dangling dangling from his mouth. He wore a cowboy hat that flopped over half of his face, revealing only a long, crooked nose and what was left of a freshly shaved beard. The feet that were carelessly plopped onto the desk wore big, bulky cowboy boots, the kind that clinked when you walked.I dropped my suitcase onto the floor none too lightly, and the man sat up suddenly, blinking rapidly. His cowboy hat fell to the floor, and his cigarette landed on his lap, which he quickly s...

32 likes 3 comments 3
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Space Cadet

Submitted to Contest #44

The Earth is the only known planet that can support life, or at least, as far as humans know, and it is for that reason that the moon loves it so much. Things don't grow on the moon, after all. If only the humans were capable of loving the Earth just as much as the moon did. And yet, humans were still beautiful to the moon, despite all of their flaws and secrets, because of their capacity to grow.  And when humans come to visit, well, the moon can’t help but take a special interest in them. 20:34"It probably looks di...

30 likes 7 comments 7
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The Vacation Getaway

Submitted to Contest #44

I step off the plane and descend down the stairway. The sun’s rays are beating down upon me. I set my foot upon land and shift my carry-on bag from shoulder to shoulder. A parade of airport staff and locals greet us with warm welcomes. I continue on through the sliding doors into the airport. I meander through the crowd to retrieve my luggage. I arrive at the revolving turn-about, and patiently await the arrival of my belongings. I locate a familiar bag with dozens of tags slip through the conveyor system, ...

30 likes 6 comments 6
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The Story of Man

Submitted to Contest #44

There, by the primordial pond, its waters kept pristine solely by isolation, man, at last, made his footprint, a mark that once seemed like such a miracle, a mark that now bears only devilry.“Hello, Mother. Remember me? Your prodigal son has returned.”The pond’s water rippled with thousands of tiny waves, like shivers of the long-anticipated dread finally coming. Autumn leaves, brought by the air like shriveled corpses, danced a hempen jig with the cold wind. Stalks of dry grass swayed with apathy, their withered stems too weak to resist the...

28 likes 24 comments 24
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Buy Another Birthday

Submitted to Contest #44

Alan Alan found himself standing at the gate of a little cottage, completely oblivious to the fact that he’d been killed in a hit-and-run accident seven months prior. There was the sound of a van pulling away behind him, quickly and quietly. He glanced over his shoulder at it, but it was already halfway down the road. The brief glimpse he’d gotten of it revealed it was entirely black — windows and all.   He turned back around, frowning. He looked at his hands, turning them this way and that. Alan looked around, up and down the street he...

28 likes 3 comments 3
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