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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#120: Nostalgia

Do you ever get a warm, fuzzy feeling when eating a favorite childhood meal or meeting up with an old friend? On the other hand, maybe you’ve revisited something you were nostalgic for, only to find it wasn’t quite what you remembered. Or perhaps you’ve found yourself longing for a time before you were even born...

This week’s prompts encourage you to write around the bittersweet feeling of nostalgia, and imagine the different ways your characters might confront memories from the past.

This week's prompts

Write about a character who yearns for something they lost, or never had.

Angst – 111 stories

Start your story with the line ‘Back in my day…’

Adults – 28 stories

Write about two characters’ different perspectives of the same past event.

Middle School – 36 stories

Start your story with a character looking through an old family photo album.

Fluff – 44 stories

Your character has always viewed the past with rose tinted glasses. Write about what happens when they’re finally confronted with the truth.

Angst – 25 stories

Stories

“Woman Incarnate” by Ralph Emery Barhydt

Submitted to Contest #120

Reincarnation is, at best, controversial. To me, it’s just a stupid, an amusing idea. Still there are a lot of people who believe in it and a lot of serious philosophers who defend it, extoll it, explain it and whatnot. Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf Education, biodynamic farming, singing style, eurythmy and gracious physical development claims it. He claimed to be a “spiritual scientist” and to know the way of higher worlds. What happens between death and rebirth was one of his areas of expertise. Incredibl...

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“A Symbol of Deception” by Noelle C. Lee

Submitted to Contest #120

CW- Language, ViolenceJen sits by the fire and waits for the love of her life. She watches the small embers float up and randomly sparkle about. As a young child, she witnessed a piece of ash slap itself onto a friend’s leg, who screamed and writhed in pain. That memory comes back to life when sitting by a fire, preventing Jen from feeling at ease. She truly cannot relax as she has one eye on the sparks and the other on the pathway that leads to her.She stares upward trying to focus on the beautiful star lit sky and the heavenly smell of pin...

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“Wanna Watch?” by Maribeth Mundell

Submitted to Contest #120

Paulie leaned over in the brown leather chair, its surface worn dull, some of its brass studs missing. He wore a white undershirt, spotted with old marinara stains, tiny holes worn through with age and washing. His elbows rested on his knees, his hands dangling between them. His head nodded a little, his eyes puffy with sleep and drink. “I can’t believe dad’s been gone almost ten years now.” Ann Marie acquiesced to sitting down, after pacing for about a half hour, looking around the small sitting area, touching this and that, straightening p...

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“My Lost Home of Khalora” by Barak Nicholes

Submitted to Contest #120

Every night I dream of the day I lost my home. I was only a small child when my father gave me up, but I still remember the distinct color of Khalora’s sky as golems of metal and earth tried to take my brother and I through the Crossroads. I remember screaming as they tried pulling me through the portal, my brother wailing as one effortlessly carried his writhing infant form out of sight. I felt the golems rough, metal hands gripping my shoulders like a vice as I dug my nails into my father’s shoulders. I promised him I would never leave. Th...

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“Love Not Wasted” by Destinee Renae

Submitted to Contest #120

“Can you hear that?" Esmerelda asks her new husband as they pass the kitchen door. Peter looks at her curiously. He reminds her of his fifteen-year-old self, sharing headphones in the back of the bus, trying not to judge her taste in music. In all the years they’ve known each other, Esmerelda has never shown any signs of hearing things, and yet here she is, on the first day of their honeymoon, signaling for her husband to listen in on an empty kitchen. The rented cabin is charming despite its old — advertised as vintage on the re...

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“In the Absence of Warmth” by Iris Zhang

Submitted to Contest #120

Every day when I awake, the sun still rises. Its rays peek through the slants of my blinds and when I finally peel my eyes open, the room is bathed in a familiar gold. Slivers of light fall on my face, like they always do, and when I roll over to his side of the bed, I learn to expect the empty sheets. I breathe in the remnants of him – the scent of his favourite cologne, smelling of cloying cinnamon, permeates my lungs with every inhale. He’s no longer there, but the sun-warme...

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“The Other Halves of Me” by Rachel Snider

Submitted to Contest #120

I still remember the day my sister was kidnapped. Guess I should since I had to rehash it about a thousand times. I was mad at her over something stupid, so I rode my bike like mad home from the park. I thought, if I could get there fast enough, I’d have time to play with her Crissy doll and braid her hair. Oh, that reminds me what we’d been fighting about. Barbara said Crissy’s hair couldn’t be French braided, but I wanted to show her it could. Turns out I couldn’t French braid anyway, but since Barbara didn’t come home, I had plenty of ti...

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“Whitewater ” by Kat Davis

Submitted to Contest #120

Ella’s room was dim, illuminated only by the rising sun through the window and a melting wax candle still lit on her bedside table. She rubbed the crust off her eyes and watched the candle burn beside her. This week it rained every day until the paint peeled from the exterior walls of her uncle’s beach house. Ella stayed inside for six days. She did yoga, she meditated, she rubbed essential oils on her wrists until her skin turned red. When she was done with her exercises, she cleaned the house. She wiped the windows until they shone and ref...

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“Voyage” by Rob Ryter

Submitted to Contest #120

It was the first time for Miles Levenage. He couldn’t believe what he was experiencing. He’d had the laptop almost a year - rather fittingly, it was coloured ‘space grey’ - and he hadn’t tried out the speakers until today. What had he been missing? How could they do that? It was just a laptop, with no hidden extras, small and light enough for him to bring along. Yet, as the track played, drums and hi-hat emanated convincingly from a point about a foot to the left of the device. The vocals, similarly, were coming from somewhere well east of t...

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“Girl in the Window” by Sarah Rich

Submitted to Contest #120

I walked along the empty streets of my city. Lights flickered and hummed over my head as the air never felt so cold to me. It was the fifth time I’d been tossed to the streets. After the third time, it was easy to shove aside the hurt. In fact, I found that I wasn’t hurt at all. I hated that place and those people, so it was a gift over a punishment. The air continued to chill my bones with its winter bite as I realized I’d been thrown out without a jacket again. I sighed and stared at the warmth of my breath being casted into the open ai...

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“Saudade” by Omar Alvarez

Submitted to Contest #120

Diogo, pt. 1 “Back in my day, we knew how to dress.” Diogo said as he flipped through old photos of the family during one of their visits. “We know, avô!” His grandchildren exclaimed. “You tell us every Sunday! But that was 40 years ago!” It was a different time back then when war had ended. Diogo immigrated as a child with his family from Brazil then later served in the A...

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“Protect & Serve” by Sheri Girgenti

Submitted to Contest #120

The police officer adjusts his badge over his savior complex and approaches the car. He sees the female driver's reflection in the side mirror. She reminds him of his sister. They all do. "Is there anything wrong, Miss?" He tilts his head for a better look. Her eyes are red rimmed and tired. "My car broke down. I'm waiting for a friend to come get me." Her tone matches her eyes. "Alright," the officer replies, "Any idea what happened? Maybe it's something I can help with." "I don't know. It just died," the woman says. "Why do...

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“Go back to sleep” by Ruth Zschoche

Submitted to Contest #120

The van wasn’t white. It had been white, but not anymore. An inch of dust matted it like a wet cat let out to play. No windows were free of the grime. There was no seeing in or out save through a center patch on the windshield.This wasn't a commercial vehicle. It had been a van to drive to soccer practices and little league. Camping trips and the beach.But not anymore.It swerved first left, then right, then managed the middle of the lane. Always just inside the lines, until this once. Over the outside line. Back down the middle. Left, a long...

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“Present of Future Past” by Jon Butters

Submitted to Contest #120

Doug sat in the coffee shop, phone out on the Formica table, white paper cup of hot coffee nearby as the snow lodged between the treads of his worn tan Army-issued boots melted onto the shop’s tiled floor. Across the table from him sat an identical paper cup, that one though was a black dark roast; much different than his extra creamed, four-sugared beverage. He thumbed the power button of his cellphone and the screen lit, displaying the time in large white digital numbers. Five minutes late. Probably wasn’t coming, he thought. And...

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“Memories of the Marble Stairs” by Dmitriy Galashin

Submitted to Contest #120

“Thank you, darling. The way you serve the tea brings back the memories...” Good. Kinda hoped for it. “I recall having tea after our first concert in the Palace club, just like that – white porcelain of the pot, and tiny cups around, and cubes of sugar, and milk – rich and cold, and most remarkable – that vapor, how it fills the room, thick and redolent...” Gosh, I love listening to her. It’s like walking into another world, rediscovering places as she guides you through. “And the boys: Tommy still nervous, twitching; Charlie s...

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$250

Prize money

244

Contest entries

163

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 19, 2021 EST

Won by Rebecca Loften 🏆

Title: Meditation

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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