Write about a character who wakes up in the future and learns that their legacy has outlasted them — for better or worse.

Posted in Character on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 32 stories

“Gift To The World” by Delia Strange

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #111

Hors d’oeuvres on silver platters were carried around the room by white gloved hands. Dr Tina Merriman, dressed in a glittering emerald gown and holding a flute of champagne, looked down at the crowd below. Perhaps two hundred people were assembled on the street, punching fists into the air or holding signs with misspelt phrases. Dr Mark Abbot joined her side and glanced at the crowd before tipping his wine glass in her direction. “This is the thanks we get for the gift we gave to the world.” “They’re angry because they’re frightened.” “A...

27 comments 27

Read story

“To Boldly Go...” by Jude S. Walko

Submitted to Contest #111

John and Sarah Burroughs beget David, who beget Tyler, who beget Abner, who beget George, who beget Edgar. It sounded like some humdrum bible verse; the kind a monotone Quaker preacher might drone on with to his congregation, in a musty Massachusetts one-roomed church house, during the dead heat of summer. Sweltering humidity and palpable boredom lay about heavily.But it became a mantra for little Edgar; one that he would recite his entire life. It helped ground him in reality, in that it reminded him from when, and from whom, he actual...

6 comments 6

Read story

“Numb” by Saptarshi Mukherjee

Submitted to Contest #111

“Where am I?”The white painted room with a bright white light blinded him momentarily.“What can you tell us about the pill Necrophilam?” a voice edged with steel threw the question at him. Her face was hard to make out against the blinding light which created a halo around her head.“What?” he asked her. “What is that?”“Ok. Let’s try this again. Do you know of the compounds moxizypin and edenovora?” she asked.He tried to think but the headache made it all but impossible.“What?”Without showing any visible signs of exasperation she repeated the...

5 comments 5

Read story

“Black, Violet, Green, then Yellow” by Nicholas Castine

Submitted to Contest #111

Ten years of sleep will make you cold. The liquid nitrogen sees to that. It cools your bones, muscles, and mind. It was clear to her that there was a connection between heat and memory. She lay on the aluminum table trying to understand the questions the doctors asked her, but she was too cold, her memories hadn’t yet thawed. “Mrs. Trudell, do you remember anything from your time before?” a doctor asked, his face still blurry to her. “It’s Miss Trudell,” she responded, struggling to push the words through her dry throat.&nb...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Don’t Transport Me to the Distant Future I’m Only the Piano Player” by Ol Bezza

Submitted to Contest #111

I don’t think I was meant to go this far forwards. They’ve changed the years again, which means I’ve gone far enough that the old ‘common era’ contrivance had obviously gotten too unwieldy for them or they had just lost track. I found this out much later, I might add—when they woke me up I had more pressing questions than whatever the year was, contrary to what the movies might have you believe. When they first woke me, my thoughts were a singular question mark, everything else a shapeless mercury sea around its peculiar form, floati...

3 comments 3

Read story

“A Future Frozen” by Sean Hanson

Submitted to Contest #111

The ice surrounding Dr. Raynovic had begun to thin and melt. The man could feel the water beginning to accumulate on his skin and the frozen cocoon around him opening. With tremendous difficulty, he stretched his hands and feet, attempting to wake them and remind his body how to operate. His limbs slowly began to twitch, then shift, and finally move within his confined space. A loud beeping became deafening to the ears of Dr. Raynovic, and he grimaced in frustration. When the annoyance finally abated, the doctor opened his eyes. The same e...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Time is a circle” by THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GAY

Submitted to Contest #111

This is an era of great change. It is always an era of great change. Time is a cycle and reincarnation is a true gift few remember and when they do it makes them throw up. I miss so much and so many which is strange really because this is the point where I forget once more. My life, my mind in many bodies. So many pairs of hands. God, the things hands can do. You most likely want a lesson from a dying soul. You probably want to know all the things hands can do. Beautiful and terrible things. Like I said that one time a terrible beauty is bor...

0 comments 0

Read story

“So Little Virgin Blood” by Elizabeth Fenley

Submitted to Contest #111

So Little Virgin Blood By Elizabeth Fenley The newborn babies are easy to silence while I drink their blood from their savaged necks until I feel it go sour as their hearts stop beating. I stuff tiny bodies into a red box attached to the wall in this too bright room. I am able to suck three dry this time ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Bees” by Clark Graham

Submitted to Contest #111

“There you are. Hey, Vinney, it worked.” “Why did you waste the energy bringing her here?” “I wanted her to see what she’s done.” Dorothy focused on the grey metal walls around her. “Where am I? How did I get here?” A man in a white coverall smiled. “I’m John. I brought you here.” “Brought me where?” She tried to stand up but the low ceiling prevented her. She sat back down. “This is the last ship out. Take a look.” He pointed to a round window. “Earth?” “Yep, it’s Earth. Of course, no one lives there anymore because of you. I brought you he...

4 comments 4

Read story

“The Pause” by Coltrane Rogers

Submitted to Contest #111

The square room was of white walls, white canvas and white light.From each corner hid no shadow; not a mote of dust lingered, and not a sound was heard.A cryogenic bed was fixed in the middle of the room with a digital counter atop the glass frame.The last minute of the timer fell and as the numbers showed zero, a door on the far side of the room opened.The bed unlatched with a wheeze and a naked man sat upright.“Dr Fischer,” spoke a voice, “another year has passed. The procedure will be resumed.”“Did you destroy it?” he said out of pure ins...

2 comments 2

Read story

“What Happened to Yesterday” by Jewel Paul

Submitted to Contest #111

As I wake up in a bed that isn't mine, the winter breeze compliments the cracked window in front of me. This house doesn’t look the same as when it was when I fell asleep. The more I explore the house that isn't my own, the more I realize how familiar it seems. It was my grandparent’s old home that no one used. This house served as a safe haven for our family. But why would I be here? Out of all the places in the world. I travel outside with my grandfathers’ favorite slippers. There has to be a reason why it's winter. When I fell asleep it w...

6 comments 6

Read story

“Well in Time” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #111

CW: Reference to autism, self-harm. All it took was a touch. To see that the concept of time and space is an illusion of the mind. When Fiona James woke up, she didn’t remember it though. She always woke up 5 minutes before the alarm went off. It was her routine to mentally go through the day’s schedule while still in bed. It was not a casual tabulation but an hour to hour if not minute to minute visualization. She believed in being thorough. This was one of the qualities that had propelled her to head one of the most coveted researc...

4 comments 4

Read story

“I Just Wanted to See You” by Charline Desrosiers

Submitted to Contest #111

There was an explosion. There was darkness. Then, there were lights. Hospital lights. I recognized them instantly, for they feel different than other lights you encounter. They are whiter, sharper, harsher than the ones you find in your living room. Already, my brain was in “search” mode, trying to remember how I had gotten there. I was laying flat on my back on a hospital bed, my retina stabbed by the shards of halogen. “James” a smooth voice sang. “It worked.” My eyes jumped to the corner of the room. At first, I did not recognize th...

0 comments 0

Read story

“War of the Words” by McKeon Gardella

Submitted to Contest #111

The year was 2052 when Ms. Opaula Troutwine-Casper-Braun began hosting the popular children’s television show called Wordless. For thirty years, Opaula had a great following of young families watching her sentencing words to their death. She told the audience that words could be harmful to people’s feelings. To Opaula getting words removed from dictionaries and published works was a worthy crusade. Opaula’s partner in the crusade was Tab. Tab was a green and yellow colored Parrot. Perched in a cage shaped like the letter O, Tab squawked “Off...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Gone, But Not Forgotten” by Katherine Davis

Submitted to Contest #111

The first thing Jaime felt as she came to was drops of water brushing her cheek. Still in the steep slumbers of sleep, her conscious mind gradually lifted through the heavy dream-like clouds that tempted her eyes to stay closed. Breathing in the fresh air, her lungs filled with cold and crisp clean with just a hint of scent. Lavender? Rose? A bit of both? She couldn’t quite decide, and curiosity got the best of her. Opening her blurry eyes, she was met with gray clouds amid dark, rainy ones. Adjusting to the sudden brightness her head turned...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

An intelligent young girl solves a big problem, but becomes frustrated that no one wants to believe her. Write about what she does next.

Teens – 15 stories

Set your story in eighteenth century London, including a casual reference to something that changes the course of history.

Historical Fiction – 21 stories

Write about a child who carries on their parent’s work or legacy in some form.

Teens – 40 stories

Write about a group of friends who hope to use their combined skills to better the world.

Middle School – 16 stories

Contest #111

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: What Endures Through Time

$250

Prize money

124

Contest entries

110

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 17, 2021 EST

Won by Charlene 🧙‍♀️✨ Boyce 🏆

Title: Flour and fire

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Write about a character who wakes up in the future and learns that their legacy has outlasted them — for better or worse.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 32 stories

“Gift To The World” by Delia Strange

“To Boldly Go...” by Jude S. Walko

“Numb” by Saptarshi Mukherjee

“Black, Violet, Green, then Yellow” by Nicholas Castine

“Don’t Transport Me to the Distant Future I’m Only the Piano Player” by Ol Bezza

“A Future Frozen” by Sean Hanson

“Time is a circle” by THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GAY

“So Little Virgin Blood” by Elizabeth Fenley

“The Bees” by Clark Graham

“The Pause” by Coltrane Rogers

“What Happened to Yesterday” by Jewel Paul

“Well in Time” by Suma Jayachandar

“I Just Wanted to See You” by Charline Desrosiers

“War of the Words” by McKeon Gardella

“Gone, But Not Forgotten” by Katherine Davis

🌟 Similar prompts

An intelligent young girl solves a big problem, but becomes frustrated that no one wants to believe her. Write about what she does next.

Set your story in eighteenth century London, including a casual reference to something that changes the course of history.

Write about a child who carries on their parent’s work or legacy in some form.

Write about a group of friends who hope to use their combined skills to better the world.

Contest #111

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

124

Contest entries

110

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: