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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

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

“3 Steps and You're Out” by Cameron Navarre

Submitted to Contest #265

“I’m leaving,” Cassie announced. Hanging her arm out the window, she patted the grey door of her Honda Civic three times. Cool morning air slid over her arm, raising delightful goosebumps. Her other hand gripped the steering wheel, confidently guiding the old car along the winding country road lined with dark green pine trees. This was a route she had taken thousands of times. She knew every curve, every pothole, every tree leaning a bit too precariously over the road. Breathing deeply through her nose, she savored the scent of pine, damp so...

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“Pericles - first landing” by Robert Hart

Submitted to Contest #265

Jantara paused at the foot of the ladder, looking across the open … woodland? … prairie? Neither description fitted. The strange, scattered mop-topped trees and tussocky grass shone purplish in the morning sunlight: sunlight with too much red. This landing breaks every first footing rule and protocol. Her eyes swept out to the horizon and its hint of mountains. But we have no choice. There could be no cautious exploration and environmental testing – with instruments they did not have. Unloading the Pericles would take every available drop of...

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“Roots in New Soil” by Andres Diz

Submitted to Contest #265

The leaves swayed gently against the soft breeze, their synchronized movement rustling the peace around them. High in the canopy, the smaller branches whipped back more violently than expected, only to rest calm once more as the wind passed. The lower branches, impressively large, were unfazed even yards out from the trunk supporting them. Vivid shades of green covered the oak, the color working its way up from the grass at its base, to the moss growing in large patches against its trunk and the bright leaves that shaded the ground in darkne...

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“Not Leavin' Again” by Robert Rietz

Submitted to Contest #265

Trigger warning: mentions of gun violence.The doorbell rings and I mutter under my breath, “Who’s on my porch? It’s Tuesday, not Friday.”Deliveries aren’t an unusual sight here in the boonies but they’re not commonplace either, and no one comes out here just to chat. The internet hasn’t invaded here yet, so people contact me by snail mail or call me on my landline for casual conversation. I like it better this way.The doorbell rings again, and I yell, “I’m coming!” My Social Security check goes only so far, so I’ve been polishing some scribb...

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“Leaving Home ” by Tom Harvey

Submitted to Contest #265

The ocean sighed a warm, sticky breath that bellowed across the ocean brought with it the scent of seaweed and mangroves. The beach surrendered to the oncoming advance of saltwater. Under swaying casuarinas, near a campground among the tall blades of yellow grass, the magician lay dead, and I began to pick through the haze of thoughts of how I came to be here.  I had never before left Rockdale. The laneways and alleyways around my Bay Street home were a part of me as much as the blood in my veins or the lines on my palm. Me and the gang...

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“New Neighbor, a Black Bear?” by Odiseo Quintin

Submitted to Contest #265

Abandoning his 20-year-old sports car which suffered from a serious oil leak at the San Francisco International Airport was Jeff’s first real step outside his home town. He decided to embark on a flight to the capital of America’s last frontier, a city which he researched years ago during a grade school homework assignment. After paying cash for his one-way ticket, he could only count on what remained in his wallet, a mere five hundred dollars. This freedom to get away from it all unfolded only after the brute realization that he and Maria w...

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“Respect, Friendship, and 'An ice Cream'” by C. B. Wensleydale

Submitted to Contest #265

My mother was always trying new things, and that meant that I, her only son, must also always try new things. Unfortunately for me, these were things she selected, and rarely did I get any say in the matter. So, during the summer of the sixteenth year of my existence, I was to spend time away from our home in the city, away from everyone and everything I’d ever known, and live with my grandparents. Live in some tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by miles and miles of nothing but nothing, filled with people who have no know...

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“Where the Road Takes Us” by Dinaiz Casalin

Submitted to Contest #265

I could have just flown. Quickly. Safely. I could have. But that nostalgic feeling still plays within me, when there's a backpack on my shoulders, comfortable sneakers on my feet, and miles of passing landscapes outside the window. Yes, I miss the meaningless trips by bus to Jersey, Atlantic City, and Philly. Just for fun. I miss the strange and slightly eccentric fellow passengers. I miss the aimless walks through the vibrant, neon-lit streets of New York, where you can just lie down on the asphalt, mesmerized by the melancholic music of Ma...

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“The Pearly Gates” by Jenna Lee

Submitted to Contest #265

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” — 2 Peter 3:10-13I’m shackled up to my feet with a chain ‘round my stomach, rid’in a bus with a band of thieves and murderers to God knows where. The summer sun is dancin’ high above Montgomery as sweet home, Alabama passes us by. It’s my birthday—feels like my last day on Earth.Sitting chained up next to me are cold-blooded...

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“Underway...Shift Colors” by David Marshall

Submitted to Contest #265

Underway! Shift Colors!! Oh wow! You are going on a cruise! That is so exciting. You will visit many foreign lands and meet exciting people from all over the world. What an extraordinary time you are going to have. Take pictures and buy souvenirs. If you visit these countries, here is a list of items I want. I am sure many people said all of this or something that closely resembles those who are going on a cruise with those fancy ship that has over ten floors where everyone can enjoy themselves doing things such as laying around on the loung...

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“Sandy and the art museum” by F. Mint

Submitted to Contest #265

Sandy had made himself a den that the sunlight couldn't reach. He filled it with an old projector, a DVD player, and the old DVDs from his parents' youth, which still worked and gave him a feeling of connectedness with the world.The whole enterprise was quaint—old films, old technology, staring at moving pictures on a wall. Not just Disney, but also old classics like Fawlty Towers, Allo 'Allo, and other politically incorrect shows. He wasn't bothered about political correctness. He wouldn't have known what quaint was, in his 10 years of life...

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“David Di Michelangelo” by Perseus Patroclus

Submitted to Contest #265

The train sighed and its doors slid open, beckoning Liam to enter. He cautiously stepped onto the tube and into his coach, the room’s walls the color of cream with a drop of coffee. It had been twenty-six minutes since he left the apartment he shared with his mother: nine minutes to walk to the station, four to grab a snack from one of the vending machines, and thirteen anxiously waiting for his train, which was early by two minutes. Liam was unsure of where to sit- there were eight empty leather chairs, all adorned with polished wood handle...

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“Donkey Caravan” by Kohan Killetz

Submitted to Contest #265

(please note that this story contains examples of physical and sexual violence. Reader discretion is advised.) What could be said for a donkey? A donkey is a much-maligned creature. If you want to call someone an idiot, you say they are “Kama Ḥimari’’ like a donkey. You could say they were “Binu Ḥimari’’, son of a donkey. But donkeys, despite their purported stupidity and stubbornness, are remarkably hard-working creatures. They will carry a fat man on their back, despite their small size. They can carry about five hundred deben’s weight in ...

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“Traversing New Horizons” by Nicole N

Submitted to Contest #265

It was 6 am, but still pitch dark out, and chilly. I was alone, by myself, straddling my enormous duffel bag. I looked up at the security camera, hoping it worked. I took a selfie, in case I disappeared. I could see and hear a few people here and there in the shadows, mostly blue collar workers with their lunch bags scurrying to work. I wondered if I was being watched, head on a swivel, while trying to look calm, cool and collected. Am I crazy? Who gets on a random bus, by themselves and heads to a big city they had never been in? It was onl...

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“A Deal with the Devil” by Cecilia Baker

Submitted to Contest #265

Sandy only caught a glimpse of the hearse rolling through the thick metal gates before the armored guards slammed it closed, trapping her in Hathway once again. The shingles of the gabled roof dug into her calves as she leaned back against the jagged clay, cursing herself. She had been late today, and the short brown grass and shrubs beyond the tall, imposing cobblestone wall gave no hope that her plan was genuinely worth it. Pushing off with a grunt, she landed in a mud puddle just beyond the wooden fence of Dan Rawling's decaying...

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