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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#61: Blast from the Past

Ah, nostalgia. For some, it’s a fun excuse to revisit a few of the more comforting or exciting times of our past. For others, it’s a way of life: clinging to the memory of a simpler time, or at least a time when things felt simpler…

But whether the past is something you look back on fondly or would rather run as far from as possible, it’s safe to say that we’re all shaped by our early experiences. And the same should be true for your characters! Even if you never include their backstory, delving into it as the writer helps create someone that feels fully developed and real.

This week’s prompts are therefore all about the past, and the many ways we choose to remember it. So put on some throwback tunes and break out the photo albums — it’s time to take a trip down memory lane.

This week's prompts

Write about a character passing down their favorite childhood toy to a new generation.

Adults – 122 stories

Write about a character who goes to — or purposefully avoids — their high school reunion.

Adults – 139 stories

Write about a character who smells something familiar and is instantly taken back to the first moment they smelled it.

Short Story – 219 stories

Write about a character discovering something new about their past that changes how they remember an important moment.

Dramatic – 139 stories

Write about a character who’s obsessed with an era they never lived through.

Adults – 100 stories

Stories

“A Yearly Tradition” by Maggie Deese

Submitted to Contest #61

I was ten years old when Grandma asked me to hand over my life. I had been crouched under my bed for cover, curling my pudgy knees up to my chest and squeezing my eyes shut as if that would allow me to turn invisible. My breathing stilled as I heard the floorboards creak and yelp under her weight, as if calling a warning for her arrival. I crammed three stuffed animals underneath my pineapple-themed pajama shirt and five more between my legs.I planned this hideaway weeks before that, knowing Grandma would barge into our house demanding for s...

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“Only Alien” by Raquel Rodriguez

Submitted to Contest #61

Avani sat at the edge of her bed, staring out the window of her pod. It was past her bedtime, but who cared?She put the book she was reading down on the table next to her, untangled her legs from her white blanket, and stared at the sky.Bright flickers of light were all over as if Georges Seurat used pointillism on the night sky.She caressed her hair, staring at the glimmering, silvery curls. She picked up an old-looking comb - she'd found it on the ground when she arrived on planet Earth - from the table next to her bed and began brushing h...

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“The Collector” by Amiable Sorceress

Submitted to Contest #61

Maybe if more people listened to old ladies they would be alive longer. “There’s another one in North Hampton.” There’s always another one, always another house to clean up after. All this, only because she left me. I dressed in my thick sweatshirt, pulling the hoodie over my head. It was time to begin my daily shifts. Fog. First, there’s only fog and the few bits of trash littering the sidewalk. Today my fingers are numb around the closed doorknob, my hands shivering as I twist the key inside the lock. Some of the fog comes in...

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“Ginger Snap” by Rambling Beth

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #61

It’s time to visit my father again.I hate going there, hate visiting him when he’s no longer the man who raised me. The care home is only a fifteen-minute drive, but I avoid that route even when I need to go shopping. My mother phones me twice a day, always to check on how my father is, but never to check on me. I understand why. It’s hard for her, difficult to accept that her husband can’t remember the woman he married.I pull up into the car park, turn off the engine, and stare at the wheel for a good five minutes. The care home workers are...

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“Biking with Maridel” by 𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚝 ~

Submitted to Contest #61

Hi, my name is Maridel, but my friends call me Mary. Not Ma-ry, but Mah-ry. I was biking with my dad and brother in the middle of Nowhere. Nowhere is the town I live in, but it looks pretty close to the middle of nowhere. Nowhere and nowhere are very different places. So we were biking in the middle of Nowhere, when I smelled something. It smelled like hot fudge, Neapolitan ice cream, whipped cream, and caramelized cherries combined into one food. Dessert Taco, I thought. I totally forgot that I was biking when I was whisked back into a very...

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“Deep Waters” by Lina Oz

Submitted to Contest #61

The ocean.It is not an aroma one expects upon crossing the threshold into a coffee shop.The salt and the sea.The fragrance stops me dead in my tracks. For a brief moment, I see the setting around me––the colorful rugs, the scattered tables, the counter, behind which stands a barista chatting with the customer in front of me. At the corner of my eye I see a candle burning near the window, the words "Ocean Breeze" on the label. I see dark, deep blue wax, with a gentle flame upon the wick.Then, the scene fades. Everything blurs.Until all I can ...

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“Garden of Ink” by Scout Tahoe

Submitted to Contest #61

Tinsley Everdale only liked things halfway there or halfway done. That’s why when she was seated at the tattoo parlor, fake ID propped between her thumb and pointer finger, she told the man with green pictures beside his eyes to stop inking. It was how it appeared in her dream, succulents bent at odd angles with various types of greenery in the background. Half a garden, just like she wanted. She couldn’t remember exactly, but she thought it was her aunt who exclaimed, “You’ve become a piece of art!” when seeing her fore...

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“The True Princess (And the Dragon's Lair)” by Meggy House

Submitted to Contest #61

Princess Meredith only had one more challenge before she could truly claim the kingdom. She had to evade the giantest of the dragons and collect the treasure, and then she would give it back to her parents and they would be so wealthy they would be crowned the rightful king and queen and wouldn’t have to work anymore; they would just pay somebody else to do all the governing. Meredith had heard about servants and advisors and other people who did the king and queen’s work for them s...

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“Counting Stars” by 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙠𝙞 ☾

Submitted to Contest #61

The sky is beautiful today evening. When the last sun rays of the day kiss the heathland, when the oranges and purples melt into grey under the moonlight. They move slowly, lolloping in their ungainly way, modifying as they go. They go so slow yet so fast. I can’t even get started on how short the beauty of the sunset lasts. Sometimes I watch them for a while, but today I have to go to the forest so that my dad could teach me rabbit hunting. I know, I live in a city and yet do this. Why? I guess it’s because we used to live in the countrysid...

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“Reminiscing” by ✧ 𝕊𝕒𝕡𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕒 𝔹𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟 ✧

Submitted to Contest #61

Charlie studied the invitation on his computer screen. High school reunion, July 25th, 7:00 to 10:00 pm. At their beloved high school, Trailwood High. Class of 2014. Charlie shook his head and chuckled softly, knowing that he would never go to his five-year high school reunion. There was no point. He barely had any friends in high school. He was always the nerd with his nose stuck in a book. And she would probably be there… another reason not to bother. No, he would just skip it. Nothing good ever came from those things anyways. Peop...

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“Rice To See You Again” by Rayhan Hidayat

Submitted to Contest #61

You know that smell. Home after half a decade spent on the other side of the world, and you still know that smell.It makes a beeline for you from across the street, shoving aside the exhaust fumes of a thousand motorbikes and the stench of sewage baking under the sun. It scurries up your nostrils and thrashes about in your brain, evicting every coherent thought for the only one that matters. You sit back for the showreel playing in your skull:It starts with oil from the previous batch; the health-conscious would stoop so low as to use terms ...

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“The regret” by Amel Parvez

Submitted to Contest #61

The person lying in front of her was the last person in the world she would think of shedding tears for. Her green eyes scrutinized her father’s rigid face, his erect body, and his furrowed forehead. She let out a deep sigh, He was the person that had made her life worse than hell and unbearable to live. She was fed up of him. Even his sight made her sick. She could now go wherever she wants, there won’t be anyone to ruin her plans. She would live a normal life and a lot better one from the one she was living before. She end...

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“New/Old Gift” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Submitted to Contest #61

New/Old Gift By: Haripriya “Dear Santa...,” the little girl wrote as she was very excited for the holidays. Christmas was her favorite time of the year. The joy of bells ringing, singing, the love of families coming and visiting each other. Everyone having a bright on their faces. Everything she loved. The little girl also liked to give presents and receive them. This year she wanted a video game set. She was so happy, thinking that she was going to get it. Of course, she always got what she wished every Christ...

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“No Teddy Bears in the Wasteland” by Andrew Krey

Submitted to Contest #61

*Author’s Note: “No Teddy Bears in the Wasteland” is a standalone story, set in the same universe as my other Reedsy short-stories, with overlapping characters and events.* “You’re not giving him a knife for his birthday!” “It’s not like it’s a chainsaw. You’re being overprotective.” Even in the dark Keith could feel his wife’s eyes burning a hole in the side of his head, as they lay next to each other in bed. Her silence spoke volumes. “My dad gave me the same knife when I was a kid.” Kelly switched on the bedside lamp, so her husband...

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“Falsely Accused” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Submitted to Contest #61

Falsely Accused By: Haripriya “Students, please be seated right here. I am going to print all your test papers! Before taking the test, we are going to get a class picture! Please don’t go to my desk to take your worksheets from yesterday until I come back! ” Mrs. Jones, my teacher hollered from the other side of the class. All the students groaned a yes. The school day was long. I glanced at the clock. It read 2:40 pm. “There was still 2 hours and 10 min unti...

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$50

Prize money

719

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 02, 2020 EST

Won by Phoebe Barr 🏆

Title: Olive Bread

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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