Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about someone who returns as an adult to a place they last visited as a child.

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.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 237 stories

“The Hallowed Walls of a House of the Past” by Nataleigh Sandberg

Submitted to Contest #51

The car rolls down the rocky road, bumping up and down with each rock hit. The road is made of pebbles and loose rock- someone could easily get into an accident if they weren't careful. I look out the car window and watch the trees wiz by me. They're dead as door nails.I turn my attention back into the inside of the car. I feel dead inside. Just like the trees. I don't know why I agreed to this. It sounded so- so...I don't know what it sounded like. I guess I just thought that it would be amusing. Visiting the place where I was born. Visitin...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Reunion” by Raina Sage

Submitted to Contest #51

The clearing under the overpass and on top of the old railroad track was a spot to be reclaimed. It wasn’t the way Isaac remembered it, the way it had felt when he was a sophomore in high school. Private. His, hers, swimming with promise, and magic, and life. It was still overgrown as ever. Shoots of wild grasses that came to his knees had encroached even farther into the gravel barrier that protected the track from the natural forces that had always threatened to break it down. To wash away this unused, unkempt mark of ancient human engine...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Where Angels Dwelt” by Lisa Sedley

Submitted to Contest #51

Giovanni Herriton Carella — often just called Gio Herriton — stepped off the train onto the platform. He held a small suitcase in his left hand, and lifted his other to place his hat on his head. He was tall and slender, with olive skin and brown eyes. He took a handkerchief out of his coat pocket and held it to his nose before looking either direction and walking down the platform. Once outside of the train station, he replaced the handkerchief in his pocket and lifted his head to examine his surroundings. It was about six o’clock in the ev...

6 comments 6
Read story

“April Fool's Day” by Barbara Burgess

Submitted to Contest #51

What surprised Brenda the most was the dark blue of the door. Somehow, she was half expecting to see faded yellow and flaky paint. The piece of brown wood still nailed along the bottom. Someone had kicked a panel in one night. The two red steps where the colour tried desperately to peep through the grime now shone brightly.  Someone must clean and polish those steps every day, she thought, from her vantage point across the road. The brass doorknob appeared golden against the dark front door. The sun always rose on this side of ...

5 comments 5
Read story

“Home Coming” by Slater Garcia

Submitted to Contest #51

I must have lost track of time. Has it been three months already? It can’t be happening again. Oh God, why does this always happen?With bony trembling hands and a dry gullet, part-time grocery clerk, Taro tucked an impatient customer’s eggs away into a plastic bag. He could feel the customer’s glare, which was hidden only by his awning of tangled black hair dangling carelessly over his brow. Taro knew he was packing at a snail’s pace; there was a line of irritable customers waiting to buy their groceries. In the last few minutes Taro ha...

4 comments 4
Read story

“The Comet” by India Moon

Submitted to Contest #51

The afternoon sun came in through the ineffectual white curtains draped over the open balcony door. Stretched across the middle of the room was the tiger skin that had long haunted Seya’s childhood nightmares. Seya shuddered. She did not want to be there. In her years of living in that neighborhood, she had only been in Preta aunty’s house once and that was on a dare she had never truly recovered from. She didn't enjoy reminiscing like her friend Emes did. The tiger stared balefully up at her with one glass eye. The other sagg...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Canyon of Tears” by Kaitlyn Haffner

Submitted to Contest #51

   Today started as any other day. I read the news while my wife was on her phone. She gasped.     “Honey!”    “Yes?”    “We won the lottery!”    “Wait really?!” The disbelief was overwhelming. We had won the lottery! After careful delegation (and a great suggestion from Mary Ann) we decided to visit the canyon I would frequent when I was younger. We rented an RV and drove to the canyon. Then it started raining. When I say rain, I don’t mean a sprinkle. I mean if...

1 comment 1
Read story

“My Ollie” by Renee Padmore

Submitted to Contest #51

CONTENT WARNING: Domestic Abuse Spring, 2006 She held a set of papers titled “Registration Form”. I stared at her, the short, curvy lady with long dark hair and a determined face. She wore a long-sleeved purple and blue dress that matched the splotches on her right wrist to a tee. She kept pulling down the sleeve, trying to hide the marks and I became intrigued as she walked over to my cage and stooped down. She stared at me like she had never seen a four week old German Shepherd before. There was a young boy with her, tall and skinny, w...

6 comments 6
Read story

“Promise of celebration ” by Jr. Romars

Submitted to Contest #51

"How u feeling? Coming back to this place almost sixty years later ?".      The young reporter asked me this question on my way to 'Santanimba'. I wanted to answer that question in detail. I could have informed him about my jitters, the fast beating of my heart and 'Nura', my friend. But I wanted to save all my energy so I just looked at him and smiled. I believe he understood me. Sometimes the words are useless. And this was one of such time in my life.    'Santanimba' , my birthplace. ...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Everything?” by Madisson James

Submitted to Contest #51

“It’s been twenty years now Nan. What do you expect to find there?” “Everything! I’ll find everything there Babs.” “Everything? I think you’re being a little delusional, or just pathetic. What connection do you have to that place? Even our names are Western. What could you possibly be looking for in the past Nan?” “Babs…you wouldn’t understand. You have Larry and the girls.” Babs laughed aloud. They were arguing in the small bedroom of the apartment Nan rented with her husband and children. Bab’s laughter echoed on the walls and strummed in ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“A Promise” by Shelby Noyes

Submitted to Contest #51

Silence had settled into the air, softly still against the chairs and tables, beds and shelves, and the kitchen cabinets and counter tops of the home. A woman’s sigh broke through it all, as she happily sat back in her seat, rocking gently back and forth, with a book in her hands. The turning of the page once again breaking the stillness that continued to settle in around her.  The husband was gone shopping, the kids all grown, and the grandchildren all tucked away in their respectful homes. No one else but her.  She was unawar...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Flying” by LeighAnne Ferreol

Submitted to Contest #51

Danny ducked through the hole in the old chainlink fence. He remembered how he used to sneak in the same way as a kid, carefully wriggling his way through so the guard wouldn’t hear the fence rattle. The hole was so big now he just had to walk right through. Didn't matter though, the place had long since been abandoned. It was crazy how time had changed things. The once colorful amusement park sign had faded to the point of being nearly illegible, the old food stands were overtaken by weeds and field mice, and the rides had all rusted ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Haunting of Sea Crest” by Kieri Zink

Submitted to Contest #51

It was the first day the pier was open since the fire that ravaged the Sea Crest boardwalk 23 years earlier.  Although there were so many new faces ready to pour hard earned money into the tourist attractions and beach gear-selling boutiques, dense clouds lingered above as if in warning.  It was good to see life in the area, but Samantha couldn’t help but notice many of her neighbors were not present at this grand re-opening.  She had been so young when the fire claimed many lives and caused thousands of dollars’ worth of dama...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Greenest Eyes” by D. Alfonso

Submitted to Contest #51

It was a warm spring day when I sat on the park bench near the playground, breathing in the fresh air. After days of rain and work, I finally had the chance to just smell the roses. The weather was lovely. The flowers were blooming. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The perfect day.  As I sat there, a couple of kids at the playground caught my eye. They stood out from the crowd because there were climbing on the railings of the structure. They seemed to be brother and sister since they shared the same brown hair. Then, the boy turned a...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Definition of Home” by Rowan Douglas

Submitted to Contest #51

Emma turned over on her towel, adjusting her sunglasses as the warm, salty breeze brushed through her braided auburn hair. She checked her watch: 2:43 pm. Sitting up, she fished her sunscreen from her beach bag and layered her skin once more while watching the gentle waves graze the shore. He said he would be there by 2:45, but as she scanned the crowd, only the smiling faces of strangers playing Frisbee and parents playing in the shallow water with their kids met her gaze. Taking a deep breath of salty air, she checked her phone once more....

0 comments 0
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that begins and ends with someone looking up at the stars.

Middle School – 405 stories

Write about someone who has a superpower.

Kids – 148 stories

Write a story that involves a mystery — it doesn't need to be crime-related, it should just include something that remains unexplained until the end.

Mystery – 206 stories

Write a story about someone who's haunted by their past.

Character – 252 stories

Contest #51

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Two Hundred!

$50

Prize money

1248

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 24, 2020 EST

A winner will be announced soon.

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!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢