Write about someone who’s traveling away from their hometown for the first time.

Posted in Character on Aug 23, 2024

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✍️ 54 stories

“Sweet Realisation” by Nerin Naidu

Submitted to Contest #265

Sweet Realization The sweetest bite is all we need to remember that we can still taste. Sara Gorden-Stein took deep breaths as she sat alone at a sole table at the newly refurbished international airport, patiently awaiting the delivery of her breakfast. She absent-mindedly moved an old half-eaten muffin and still-steaming cup of coffee to the far corner of the stained table. Brushing away the crumbs that clung stubbornly to the sticky tabletop with a solitary wipe left deserted on the table by the previous traveler who most likely hastily ...

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“Birthday Surprise” by S.N. Sims

Submitted to Contest #265

Birthday Surprise Barbara swallowed the lump in her throat. She sat in silence. Wondering where she went wrong. They were happy once, in love. When had it changed? How had they drifted so far? Garth turned on his emergency lights as he pulled in front of the Greyhound station. Barbara said, “I can cancel the trip.” Garth kept his face neutral when he said, “Why would you do that?” “So we could spend my birthday ...

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“The wait in waste” by Eric Vrydagh

Submitted to Contest #265

A story of a child's fear in the remnants of a town drowned. In a town that died, in a building that passed, and in a room that's lost, a child of 12 black suns lays reading stories of tales old. The book is an account of the Heroes of the Scared Tree and their Jihad against the oppressors of the Original City and the battles and the people that were saved from enslavement for both mundane services and other extreme services. Not only the victory and losses, but the internal jihad the hero's faced and the struggles and obstacles that they ov...

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“Leaving, Staying, Going” by Madison Marvin

Submitted to Contest #265

Leaving, Staying, Going The first thing I noticed when we arrived in China was that it was hot. Not just summer hot, or even sauna hot, but sweltering, boiling, melt your face off hot. I’d never felt a heat so intense in my life, it was like my whole body was put in an oven set to 400 degrees. The second thing that I noticed about China was that all the people were… Chinese. Now I know this might sound obvious, but to me, the only time I saw people who looked like me was at the Panda Bear Adoption Group meetings my mom had us attend. An...

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“The Church With No Name” by Rebecca Hurst

Submitted to Contest #265

This story contains non-descriptive references to child abuse Alys Morgan was always a Pembrokeshire girl. She was born with her face to the Irish Sea. Poppit Beach was her playground when she was allowed to play. The nearby town of Aberystwyth was always out of bounds, and so she found shells and wore bracelets of kelp when other children were licking ice-creams and playing the arcades in flip-flops and shorts. She had a brother, but he left when he was fifteen. His last words to her were ‘This is shit, Alys.&nbsp...

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“Assigned Seats” by Wesley Sanders

Submitted to Contest #265

Friday May 18th, 2012 “All aboard for the last bullet train to all connecting departures from the International Station in Austin, Texas. Please have your tickets and boarding passes ready for scanning,” said the conductor over the intercom. “Sir, please can you help me?” Jacob called out frantically, running towards the conductor. “I think I dropped my ticket and boarding pass when I left platform fifty-two about ten minutes ago. Here’s my receipt, sir.” Jacob ponders over his thoughts as the conductor verifies the receipt. “I really need t...

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“Dubai Diaspora” by William Simon

Submitted to Contest #265

“She isn’t really from here though.” This is what I had said to my husband in the departures lounge of Dubai’s international airport. I emphasized the word “from” in a way I felt my made my point irrefutable. Dan had frustratingly not accepted this truism for the statement of fact it clearly was. This tendency to obstinately refute that which I considered irrefutable was a consistent trait of his. Dan lives quite relentlessly in reality. Even more irritatingly he can often support his position with a series of, on the surface, reasonable st...

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“One Mile Forward” by Dafna Flieg

Submitted to Contest #265

Today was the last day that I would be living with the Chefitz's, and I knew it would be. I heard Miriam answer the phone and immediately back out of the living room and into the kitchen where she thought she was out of earshot, (she wasn't). I heard her say my name four times and I heard the worry in her voice. And so I knew they found somewhere else for me to live. I had only been living in the Chefitz home for 11 days but I really liked it here already. For one thing, they have two different playrooms and the second one had a massive TV w...

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“The Assignment” by Phil Browne

Submitted to Contest #265

I stood in front of the portal and watched the blurry image of the hustle and bustle of people moving up and down the street. It was hypnotizing. What was their drive? Were they collectively trying to achieve something or were they all in competition? There had to be some ultimate purpose to it all. Filled with nerves, I took the step through. As my foot touched the grey cement on the other side of the portal, my eyes instinctively squeezed shut. My brain felt like it would explode. I was bombarded by sound coming from all directions. I coul...

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“Off to where?” by Dolores Holtz

Submitted to Contest #265

She was a university student going off to Italy with her boyfriend, Pasquale. He was a postdoc Physicist at the university, younger than her by ten years, but very comic. He looked like Einstein with his fuzzy hair, and his English was unique. There was a physicist conference in Erice Italy and she was asked if she wanted to come along. Paying her own way was not a problem. She had never been across the ocean before. Yes! Of course she wanted to go. Her kids would be with Tamara, another single parent mother from Student housi...

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“ARMY Bound” by Christine Graue

Submitted to Contest #265

“Age?” “Eighteen.” “Weight?” “One hundred and seventy pounds.” “Hair color, brown. Eyes?” “Hazel.” “Here, hold this, stand there. Now turn to your left.” Each direction registered only at the surface level of my mind as thoughts ran rampant down below. Felony. This would be a felony charge on my record for the rest of my life. How could I have been so stupid? This is the last time I let Jared drag me into his shit. Brother or not, he is on his own now. Somehow I have got to get away from this shithole of a town and my family. I won’t let thi...

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“Agatha’s footsteps” by FragmentsOf ASoul

Submitted to Contest #265

*As this is my first story on this website I am unsure if this is a sensitive theme. Mention of religious beliefs (not necessarily mine)*The first snowflakes made their way down to the remains of a once fertile ground. I had seen them do the same dance for twenty winters now, never setting foot outside these grounds. I had been faithful to Arch all my life but had yet to receive any of the things that he had once promised. The doomsday that he had once mentioned never came to pass after all. Our farm that was once used to seeing new faces on...

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“Gotcha!” by Aaron McCauley

Submitted to Contest #265

*TW: Cancer/death* With a sudden gasp, no louder than a whisper, my mother took her final breath. My hand trembled as I felt her fingers loosen around mine. I knew I shouldn’t feel despair at this moment, as her long battle had finally come to an end and she was at peace. But losing her on Christmas Eve seemed unfair. Her favorite time of the year would now be spoiled for me. Our little house suddenly grew dim, and the only light twinkled on our small tree in the corner. I gently kissed her forehead, unable to hold back my tears any longer. ...

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“Under a foreign sky” by Etanya Singh

Submitted to Contest #265

The sun was setting over Gaza, painting the sky with shades of orange and red. The warm colors seemed a sad contrast to the cold reality surrounding Samir. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he looked out the window, his heart heavy. His hometown, his home, was slowly disappearing among the rubble and explosions. The sounds of war had become a constant part of his daily life, a relentless noise that never left him. But now, for the first time, his family was forced to flee.“Samir, we need to move!” his mother called, her face tense and worried....

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“The Lost Pancakes” by Dave Bede

Submitted to Contest #265

People often tell me I sound bitter when I don’t mean to. For that reason, I’ll start by saying the move did me a world of good. “The move” – that’s what we always called it inside the family. I was fifteen and fresh off an awful freshman year at high school in my old hometown, rife with bullying – some of it from a teacher – and underperforming on my part. Here’s what you need to know about my hometown: it was a down-at-the-heels New England milltown, full of broken families and kids who saw no future except maybe the army, and adults in de...

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Write about someone who’s traveling away from their hometown for the first time.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 54 stories

“Sweet Realisation” by Nerin Naidu

“Birthday Surprise” by S.N. Sims

“The wait in waste” by Eric Vrydagh

“Leaving, Staying, Going” by Madison Marvin

“The Church With No Name” by Rebecca Hurst

“Assigned Seats” by Wesley Sanders

“Dubai Diaspora” by William Simon

“One Mile Forward” by Dafna Flieg

“The Assignment” by Phil Browne

“Off to where?” by Dolores Holtz

“ARMY Bound” by Christine Graue

“Agatha’s footsteps” by FragmentsOf ASoul

“Gotcha!” by Aaron McCauley

“Under a foreign sky” by Etanya Singh

“The Lost Pancakes” by Dave Bede

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who’s traveling to a place they’ve never been to meet someone they’ve never met.

Set your story in an airport where all flights have been canceled and all the passengers and crew members are stranded.

Write about someone’s journey to retrieve an important object that’s been out of their possession for a long time.

Follow a group of strangers touring a city on some kind of vehicle — a bus, a duck tour boat, a party bike… anything that transports passengers!

Contest #265

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

255

Contest entries

110

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: