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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

“If Only She'd Known” by Sue Rivera

Submitted to Contest #120

And just like that, 23 years with the person Stacey thought she’d spend forever with was now telling her he wants out of their marriage. Wait, what? Why didn't anyone tell her there was an opt out feature on this thing called marriage the whole time!? Stacey met Roger at the tender age of 17. They worked together at the Stop and Save market and theirs was a story fit for any fairy tale. Boy meets girl, boy woos girl, boy marries her, they have 3 babies and they live happily. ever. after.? Not quite. You see no one told Stac...

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“REALITY STRIKES” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #120

Since the day he woke up in the morgue, Alex was haunted by the words Dr. Ben uttered to him. “I know this is a little confusing for you, so I’ll explain it in layman’s terms. Last night, after trying for twenty minutes to resuscitate you, you were pronounced dead. Your body was lifeless for well over an hour. All the cells in your body should have died, but they didn’t. There is no known scientific theory to explain what had happened. Yet here you are. If only Dr. Ben knew what Alex had experienced during the time between the car crash to...

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“The Death of Comfort” by Angela Early

Submitted to Contest #120

She looked back at her life, revisiting memories of her past in a photo album. She had a more nuanced perspective now however. All those memories, taunting her, reminding her of all that she once had that was now gone. That trip to Italy, those family beach trips, birthday dinners, all of them. Photos of a time that she had once looked so fondly at, now remind her that she mourns something that may have only existed in her mind. She knew that her circumstances were at least partly her fault. She had stayed too long at the party, because she ...

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“Silent Ghosts” by Alice G

Submitted to Contest #120

It’s been more than a year since I’ve been in this part of the city. The last time it was with him. I’m lost in my thoughts when I pass by the gate of that park. I know I shouldn’t enter. I know I shouldn’t reopen that door. But the sound of a little waterfall attracts me like an eerie lullaby. I can’t help but wonder if that place has changed just like everything else. As I enter I can smell winter in the misty air. There’s no flowers on the bridge over the little pond where we had walked that time. The light is so different from that day. ...

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“Forever Mustache March” by Pinar S.

Submitted to Contest #120

I have never realized before that he had a big mole by his left ear. It is a shame: I had been visiting this barber’s shop every first Monday of the month for the past 8 years and yet I had never looked at his face carefully before. Was he my friend? I would like to think so. I trust him with a sharp razor on my face. The shop smelled like sharp lavender, evoking a sense of loneliness and the barber smelled like citrus cologne that burnt your throat. The collective moisture on the walls had a haphazard paint over it. The talk radio was on; a...

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“Charleston” by Melissa Place

Submitted to Contest #120

It was a beautiful, warm sunny day when Samantha Carlisle stepped off the bus from Durham NC, to Charleston SC, ready to start her life anew. As a line dance instructor, Charleston seemed the perfect place to settle down. There were plenty of people who were interested in dancing to the "Watermelon Crawl" or "Boot Scootin Boogie." She would be working at "Miss Deb's Dance Studio. Debra "Deb” Brooks, owner of "Miss Deb's," smiled when Samantha walked into the studio. "You must be Samantha Carlisle," she said. &nbsp...

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“To Be Mortal” by Eduard Grunvald

Submitted to Contest #120

“Here we are… At the heart of the jungle of Balkat... A nice, quiet place for me to come and think. Just think. No hungry animals to avoid, no civilization to speak of or to, just… an empty island in the middle of a still lake. You look at that horizon and tell me you wouldn’t like to spend the rest of your days with that as the first and last thing you see when you step outside.” “Ah, I forget you can’t talk. But I can tell from your eyes behind that helm that you agree with me.” “Of course to step outside first you would need a thresho...

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“Maybe Tomorrow” by Phil Glaser

Submitted to Contest #120

The harsh blue light of my computer screen pierces my tired eyes. This is what my life has come to, what 10 years of climbing the corporate ladder has brought me. My forehead drops like a dead weight onto my desk, blessing it’s stark white surface with the grease and sweat of a man that should have left the office hours ago. “You alright there?” asks my boss Jo from her corner office, typing as she speaks. “Yeah, I’m all good,” I call back, “just that time of the afternoon. Brains not working.” “It’s 7pm, go home to your pregnant wife,...

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“The Sun's Rays” by Maame Aba Asiedu

Submitted to Contest #120

Rays of sun unapologetically stole through the curtains, and when Mr. Jones pulled the curtains apart, they flooded the room with light. Outside, the birds chirped to royally announce the presence of a new day. Asantewaa stirred, then squinted. She spread her chubby fingers wide apart and plastered them against her face, a feeble attempt to shield her eyes from the seemingly overpowering brightness. Her bed creaked as it suffered extra weight. Asantewaa felt a hand move up her shoulder and a sudden heat against her ear. “Rise and shine ...

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“Amour Non Réciproque” by Valicia Rolle

Submitted to Contest #120

Henri smiles, white teeth gleaming from the citadel of his cocoa lips. In his strong yet warm voice he sings, “Bonjour,” and enters the sleek black “petit Cadillac”. Behind him follows a tall slender woman in a blue and white polka dot summer dress. She removes her shades to expose round hazel eyes and tiny freckles dotted perfectly around the outskirts of her olive nose. She smiles and nods, luscious brown hair falling over her shoulders. Henri, in his jeans and blue buttoned down shirt, laughs at the way her hair frames her face; and reach...

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“The Selkie” by Emma Wood

Submitted to Contest #120

“Back in my day, we used to spend every day by the sea. It did not matter the weather, if it was raining or snowing, that was our playground.” “I know, grandma,” Pierre said with a smile as he continued pushing Grandma’s wheelchair carefully towards the dock. “Here’s find, lovely. Come closer.” Startled, Pierre took a step back, heart pounding. He made to grab the handles of Grandmother’s wheelchair to pull her back, but she held onto the wheels firmly, stopping any movement. “Don’t you want to know why your mother and grandfather never ...

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“The New Sun Also Rises” by London Cohen

Submitted to Contest #120

“Back in my day, the Sun was the center of the universe. There were plants and trees and animals that yawned each dawn and stretched luxuriously toward that glorious orb,” I said.“Oh grandma, I’ve heard this one before!” my youngest protested, perched on my lap. But she snuggled closer, which in the unspoken language between grandparents and grandchildren, meant that she wanted to hear more. Her tiny feet dangled and swung absently with the total trust that comes from knowing you are loved and loved well.How could she be expected to understa...

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“Back In The Day” by Judy Robinson

Submitted to Contest #120

Judith Robinson Back In the Day Back in my day, things were a lot less complicated. We lived in a small town where when the sun came up, we rolled out of bed in our pajamas and ran downstairs. I can still smell the beautiful lilacs and peonies blooming in the yard. We started our day of playing, with our gang, and dog, who ran with us where ever we went. In those days dogs were allowed to roam free and if someone was bitten people accepted the blame. We played until sundown when the s...

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“The Bowtie” by MichElle Colpo

Submitted to Contest #120

Peggy coughed lightly, fanning away years of dust from the crumpled box she retrieved from the dark, dank attic. This better be those Christmas lights or I give up, she thought to herself. Pulling frantically on the flaps, she was dismayed—but only for a moment—that no old Christmas lights or tree ornaments stared back at her. Instead, a puffy dress—once beaming white, but now yellowed with age—sprang from the box as if it had been waiting to jump out and yell “surp...

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“FriendChips” by Elias Nader

Submitted to Contest #120

Sometimes events happen life, in which we have limited or even no input at all, but the output is pretty much colossal for us. These things could occur before we were born, when we were young, or maybe recently. Heroes of the story could be anybody other than us. The important thing is that the results made a major influence throughout our lives. Some day in February: It was 1998. I was six years old and my brother just turned nine. There was an event happening for the first time in our humble establishment: “First Communion”. Well, ...

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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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