Write about light returning to a place that has been deprived of it for a long time, literally or figuratively.

Posted in Christmas on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 89 stories

“Desert Winds” by Matt Brooks

Submitted to Contest #138

As the first rays of sunlight touched the desert, a man stood watching a van weaving down the dusty road. The man looked down at a device in the palm of his hand. Pulling a tattered prayer mat from his run-down car and unrolled it next to him as the van approached. Kneeling on the mat, he slid the device under his robe. The van stopped, and Abdul el-Azzam saw two armed men step out. They dressed in typical attire, and one of them spoke in Arabic, "What brings you out on the road so early?" Responding to the man in perfect Arabic, Abdul sai...

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“Shattered Heart” by Rebecca Himmel Glassman

Submitted to Contest #138

Miri sat in a chair, in the corner of her den, staring into space. The room was dark. The only light that could be seen from the doorway was coming from the kitchen. No one was home. But then no one would ever be coming home again. Miri had two children, a boy and a girl. Her daughter was married and had moved away. Her son was still living with her. Or, he had been, until he was gone. The funeral was held yesterday. This was the second time in two years that Miri had buried someone she loved. Her husband had died after a lengthy illness. An...

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“Treatise on Elite lies” by Minerva Noiropp

Submitted to Contest #138

John Chapter 1:Verse 521st Century King James VersionAND THE LIGHT SHINETH IN THE DARKNESS, AND THE DARKNESS COMPREHENDED IT NOT.Ecclesiastes Chapter 1:Verse 921st Century King James VersionTHE THING THAT HATH BEEN, IT IS THAT WHICH SHALL BE; AND THAT WHICH IS DONE, IS THAT WHICH SHALL BE DONE; AND THERE IS NO NEW THING UNDER THE SUN.Eons come and go. Cycles rotate. There is nothing new under the sun. The planetary combinations can only line up in a finite number of ways. Though that number may be exponential on a calculator, it is nothing o...

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“Hidden Light in Shadows” by Lauren Bryant

Submitted to Contest #138

The sun hasn’t shown in one-hundred years. The light was long ago blocked out by human over-consumption and pollution. As a child my mother would tell me stories of a foreign heat that would radiate from the sky. I would imagine myself standing on a hill looking out over a vast land, lit up by the light as far as I could see. Little fur covered animals would dart back and forth across the hill. A flower covered tree with a swing fashioned to a low hanging branch would sway in the breeze. I would imagine my mother’s description of warmth tick...

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“The Umbrella Man” by Chipo Asante

Submitted to Contest #138

Soren didn’t hear him coming in, or what he said as he drained the water from his boots into a bucket.“What?”Gallagher said it again, but the door was open and the roar outside filtered whatever he shouted at the top of his lungs.“Close the door!” Soren yelled, making a slamming motion with his hands.The bell above it made a delicate cling as audibility was restored. Water droplets tapped at his mug as Soren realised that the roof had become a belly, swollen, precipitation leaking into his chamomile tea. “You don’t make boots ...

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“Gentle. Peaceful.” by Theodora Kovacich

Submitted to Contest #138

The world has always been dark. Twisting, menacing grey-and-black shadows make up my world. A thick blanket of ash and debris fills the sky, encasing us in a wintry tomb, in a monochromatic life. My grandma told me stories of when humans lived in the light. When the giant gas star used to shine on the world, bathing everything in a golden light of warmth. Of hope. Light was life, she would say, and scientists said that the day the sun didn't shine would be the day humanity ended. The day we all died. We didn't die, but I think our humanit...

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“Dawn Day” by C N Dakus

Submitted to Contest #138

Micah laid out his surface suit. It was in near perfect condition, having been worn only a few times by its previous owner, and only once by Micah in the days leading up to today. Like most kids his age, he only had one surface suit. It was specifically for the sunrise, and offered only moderate protection against the rays of the sun. It wasn’t often that he went up to the surface, and the last time he went he hadn’t needed to protect himself from any radiation at all. Today would be different though, because today was Dawn Day. Today, Micah...

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“Pod Charlie-23” by Jordan Williams

Submitted to Contest #138

Without light, there is nothing. No life can exist on Earth without the light from our little star, the heat and energy it gives is the base component for life to grow, vital to form those first building blocks for water. Then water becomes a soup of micro-biotic life, the soup becomes denser and more complex, finally things grow and exist that can live outside of the soup. Light is there every step of the way. Without it, there is nothing. There are some things that grow and live from the warmth of vents deep at the ocean'...

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“The Light in the Darkness” by Alana Smith

Submitted to Contest #138

My world was dark and cold. Unlike other worlds who have the sun and birds who sing in the morning, my word had a moon. A dark moon that anyone who wasn't a scientist couldn't see. There are no stars. No light, except for the lights that line the streets. The people here are anything but cheerful. They don't like the constant darkness. The darkness has taken all hope and happiness that they never had in their lives. I like to think of where I live as a dark room during the night when everyone is quiet waiting for the lamp to be turned on. I...

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“Stay Pony Goldboy” by Toni Kochensparger

Submitted to Contest #138

The stable doors underneath the church were imperfect. The old school building had been tacked onto when the parish expanded, the opposite of when a snake grows, back around when everyone in Ohio started to have their own car, their own identity on the highway, that first firsthand understanding of inexplicable speed. The Pinewood Derby takes place in what used to be a stable, what now houses a gymnasium for the elementary school students who go there, with God squeezed in-between mathematics and science like an afterthought, but at least ...

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“Lilium” by Kirsty A

Submitted to Contest #138

Five months after Harry's death, Lily stood in the middle of the back porch dressed in her nightgown and slippers, her greying hair still messy from sleep. Grief gnawed at her body. Her once delicate features hollowed and hardened over the past few months. Not that anyone ever told her that. Although, she often caught their glances with their lips pursed and concerned brows furrowed. She knew their thoughts and hated being someone to fret over. In the crisp morning air, Lily's slender arms turned gooseflesh. Her old Burm...

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“Coming Home” by Stephanie Canaway

Submitted to Contest #138

The Light is coming.Rhythmic at its core, flowing effortlessly throughout the universe it holds its own beliefs and spiritual laws, connected to both above and below simultaneously, sublime and supernal in its nature. Starlight and stardust, I am its physical form, not separate, but holding my own flavour and uniqueness within the structure of my true essence.Light is the holder and messenger of grace, my grace, my awakening, my homecoming to the truth of my soul and the beginning of a new era of connection and heart opening love. ...

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“Alone in the World” by Rory O'Dell

Submitted to Contest #138

My office block, a cumbersome block of concrete disappointment stood in front of me, barren. The overwhelming darkness pervaded me. Had I gotten up a day early? I pushed the grey depressing front doors and was almost relieved to find them standing sentinel and resistant against my weak efforts to enter. I return to my shoebox apartment and squeezed through the little door. The vicious teeth of decay had slowly bit and chewed my apartment up and spat it out until all that was left were the cold unsightly remains of a once snug home. My ...

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“The dark planet” by Neil Brown

Submitted to Contest #138

She stepped forward onto the grass. A crunchy sound. Leaning forward, she picks a blade of brown withered grass. Turning to look at her friend. "So John. Do you think we'll see Darren and Lilly again?" "I don't know Maggie." He says. Wiping the sweat from his brow. "If they return, it may take a little time, but with any luck, they'll have supplies." The hunger pains have been a bit overwhelming, grasping at her side. "If only we could just find a little water." Lips dried and cracked. "We would have no pr...

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“My Garden is Black” by Joyce La Master

Submitted to Contest #138

Every day, Armand tended his garden. He’d go to his cellar to cultivate his mushrooms. The Panellus Stipicus were his prize, they were bioluminescent and glowed in the dark, creating a spectacular display. “My nexus to light and love,” he called them. For years, Armand has tended his mushrooms. He had been written up in the local paper and been touted an expert on mushrooms. With these mushrooms, Armand managed to lure the world's most beautiful women to come and dine with him. Armand was a handsome man. Tall, with a slender build with t...

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Write about light returning to a place that has been deprived of it for a long time, literally or figuratively.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 89 stories

“Desert Winds” by Matt Brooks

“Shattered Heart” by Rebecca Himmel Glassman

“Treatise on Elite lies” by Minerva Noiropp

“Hidden Light in Shadows” by Lauren Bryant

“The Umbrella Man” by Chipo Asante

“Gentle. Peaceful.” by Theodora Kovacich

“Dawn Day” by C N Dakus

“Pod Charlie-23” by Jordan Williams

“The Light in the Darkness” by Alana Smith

“Stay Pony Goldboy” by Toni Kochensparger

“Lilium” by Kirsty A

“Coming Home” by Stephanie Canaway

“Alone in the World” by Rory O'Dell

“The dark planet” by Neil Brown

“My Garden is Black” by Joyce La Master

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story on a day when the sun never sets.

Write a story about an afternoon picnic gone wrong.

Write about a character who doesn’t want to go to sleep.

End your story with someone saying: “What a day.”

Contest #138

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

245

Contest entries

154

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: