Write a story about two or more characters who don't speak each other's language (literally or metaphorically), but still find a way to communicate.

Posted in Dialogue on Dec 16, 2022

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✍️ 54 stories

“Colonel Mustard in the Kitchen Without a Hearing Aid” by Laurel Hanson

🏆 Winner of Contest #177

Note: brief reference to ableist languageRachel stood at the kitchen sink watching the snow fall softly over the back yard, muffling the world in its white overcoat. She wanted to wrap her mind up the same snug way, but in the living room, her husband was watching some show where commentators loudly traded barbs and lobbed insults at each other. The noise was incessant. Oh! The noise, noise, noise, noise! she thought, visualizing herself poised on a snowy crag, ear cocked to the Whos down in Whoville below, except these were clamor...

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“Base Stock” by Scott Christenson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #177

In the steamy air of Mizuna’s kitchen, beads of sweat trickle down the 30-something Japanese job candidate’s face.“Which restaurants have you worked in in New York?” I am holding the afternoon interview to replace the fifth prep cook who’s left this year for higher pay elsewhere.“None.” He shakes his head. “In Japan. Soba.” He gestures kneading dough with his hands. In the kitchen the hiss of the gas burners is constant. With his limited English and my very basic Japanese, this conversation isn’t really going anywhere. I point toward th...

66 comments 66

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“Not Kept” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #177

A life long lived is filled with reminders of days gone by. Some of those memories are housed exclusively in the mind, while others can be found gathering dust in closets, garages, or attics. It was in the latter where Edna found one such keepsake. The unexpected discovery brought her a rush of joy followed by inevitable sadness and—against her better judgment—she decided to share the find with her husband of almost sixty years, Gilbert.“Gilly, look what I found in that old chest.” The leather-faced old man with coke bottle glasses didn...

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“There’s Always Monopoly” by Helen A Smith

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #177

I’m feeling extra grouchy today. It’s unfortunate because ‘giving out’ to others is what I do. But then, being driven half-crazy by scratching whilst lying in wait on my futon can do that to a person. Especially during the middle of the night. It seemed to be coming from the back of the skirting board. The intermittent scraping put my teeth on edge. So much so, I barely slept until the last hour. My heart rushed as the morning alarm jolted me awake; it was too late to do my daily exercises (a vigorous worko...

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“Other Ways to Say Hello” by Zack Powell

Submitted to Contest #177

The winter I turned fourteen, my mother asked me to do her job for her.One night over spaghetti and meatballs, she told me about a boy in her ESL class: Ivan."Sweet boy, I think," she said, twisting a cyclone of noodles around her fork. "But I just can't seem to get him to talk. I thought it was just nerves. Some kids are like that, you know? Even ten-year-olds. But it's been a few months now and nothing.""That sounds like something you should talk to the school about," I replied.Typically, my mother never brought her work home with her. She...

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“Becoming Mama” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #177

December 2018With her daughter nursing in her arms, Macy uses her elbow to push down on the door handle and open the door into the conference room, careful not to bump little Isla’s head as she does. Her diaper bag is slung over her shoulder, bouncing against her legs as she walks, and her daughter’s car seat is hooked around her other arm.“You’re getting good at that,” says Elena, one of Macy’s closest friends at the mom group, clearly amused by Macy’s multi-tasking skills.Macy nods a hello at her friend before settling into a spot on the f...

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“Deus ex Sapiens” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #177

TW: Guns, slavery and droids.“Time for the truth, Arthas. I’m not who you think I am,” said Mayko Belle with her private school English and French blended accent.Detective Arthas Jacques’ blue eyes widened. “No? Who are you then?”“My name is Bella Nguyen. I’m an agent for the MSA.” Tucking one of her poker straight black hairs behind her ear she fixed him with a steely gaze.Laughing, he turned his head away from her and nodded. “Right. Of course. Trust me to fall for a beautiful woman who wants something else. Go on then, tell me what the Ma...

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“The Tracker Tracked” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #177

Eager to start, I scanned the trail through the trees and up the mountain. The weather was cool, but clear. Over years, I learned to plan my hikes meticulously. Somehow, I forget the single, essential item. Everyone insists I should never travel solo. Too many things can go wrong. A misstep can be deadly. Hiking with a buddy only makes sense. But solitude draws me. I love it. A buddy is an iffy variable. Hiking with the wrong person challenges my reasons for going at all. If I wanted chit chat, I wouldn’t be scaling a mountain, by myself, ...

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“My Mr. Darcy” by Julie Christensen

Submitted to Contest #177

Monday, 3rd to last day of my trip I wanted this to be like "Love, Actually." Ya know, how Mr. Darcy falls in love with someone and they don't even speak the same language. Go to France, wear cute clothes, jump into a freezing lake to save someone's manuscript, let them see your cute little body, and bada bing bada boom, LOVE. Turns out, it's not that easy. I mean don't get me wrong, I've tried. Sitting in coffee shops, looking cute AF. Twirling my hair in my fingers, making eyes at any attractive man that walks in. A c...

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“The Bishop’s Gambit” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #177

--discussion of sexual violence--- Liz had several problems, but the biggest one was she was losing her mind. The lack of sleep, the pills Talia gives her to stay awake have confused her waking reality and her dreams. She could still do her job, but she needed to connect with the Bishop, only he could understand what she was going through. Her dispatches were sent out, signals into the darkness. Were they received and understood? Were they even noticed? Dr. Liz Friedman imagined they were. She trusted that her e...

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“Cold Men” by Lee Disco

Submitted to Contest #177

Today, the mountains were pristine. The snow sat calmly, the white fuzz thinning where the sun struck hot on stone. Many didn’t hike the trails this early in the season—thick ice warded hikers off the treacherous hikes—but that thought drew Silas in even more. The paths would be empty; that meant peace, that he could revel in the quiet the snow offered up on his lonesome. Even the thermos, hanging from a clip on the side of his bag, sounded muted as it softly clanked with each step. He navigated the path with practiced ease. His eyes s...

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“Juno’s What?” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #177

CW: Gore and mentions of death in historical contextJuno’s What?Everyone at my school dreaded sixth grade, because it meant you got Old Mrs. Crump. “She’s been there so long, she was my dad’s teacher!” I told my friends.We all dragged our feet on the first day. The bell was already starting to ring when Sam Travers got close enough to see the new name on the door. He stopped so suddenly that we all practically plowed into him.“I’m not even gonna try to say that!”Mrs. Kjærgaard. (I copied that off the school website. That squished-togeth...

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“Lost for Words” by Karin Cavanagh

Submitted to Contest #177

A hammer smashed against my skull, or at least that’s how my head felt. I slowly opened my eyes to see a white ceiling above me and several beds along the far wall. Turning my head, there were more beds on each side of me. But that action was a mistake, the assault of a thousand exploding bombs pounded my skull. I raised my hands to block out the light, waiting for the pain to subside. “Squiry?” came a voice next to me. “Pardon?” I responded. “Nu squiry?” they replied. Still not understanding, I peeked through my fingers at the voic...

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“Big Sister Luck” by S N

Submitted to Contest #177

Round the bowl I plod. The task at hand, dishes. Mood: Big sisters lead lives that suck. Big sisters are assigned tasks that big brothers evade without awareness. Luck finds boys like mold finds bathrooms. Insidiously. Darkness infringes on the daylight used to complete my chore. A scream strikes the air at a pitch that rivals the goddess Mariah Carey herself. The bowl slips into a loud collision with the stainless-steel sink. “What the heck?” I mumble. The soft shudder of our double screen door sounds and a bitter chill foreign to the tr...

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“Santiago's Model” by Joshua Copus - Oxland

Submitted to Contest #177

Santiago wrinkled his nose at his work in progress. The oil pigment stank to high heaven. But that wasn’t what bothered him, as that linseed smell was something every painter grew accustomed to, and the window was open to air out the atelier. No. Something about this painting wasn’t right.He had painted a technically flawless landscape, which took painstaking amounts of work. The client demanded him to paint the L’Parasia seaside, and was told to capture it down to the letter with little room for deviation. Santiago spent hours, even days, d...

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Contest #177

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This week's theme: Found in Translation

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Ended on 23:59 - Dec 23, 2022 EST

Won by Laurel Hanson 🏆

Title: Colonel Mustard in the Kitchen Without a Hearing Aid

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Write a story about two or more characters who don't speak each other's language (literally or metaphorically), but still find a way to communicate.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 54 stories

“Colonel Mustard in the Kitchen Without a Hearing Aid” by Laurel Hanson

“Base Stock” by Scott Christenson

“Not Kept” by Thom With An H

“There’s Always Monopoly” by Helen A Smith

“Other Ways to Say Hello” by Zack Powell

“Becoming Mama” by AnneMarie Miles

“Deus ex Sapiens” by Graham Kinross

“The Tracker Tracked” by John K Adams

“My Mr. Darcy” by Julie Christensen

“The Bishop’s Gambit” by Marty B

“Cold Men” by Lee Disco

“Juno’s What?” by Cindy Strube

“Lost for Words” by Karin Cavanagh

“Big Sister Luck” by S N

“Santiago's Model” by Joshua Copus - Oxland

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story in a meeting where a professional interpreter takes some liberties, with major consequences.

Write about someone who is slowly forgetting their mother tongue or losing their language.

Lost in a foreign city where they don’t speak the language, your character uses a translation app to get around, but constantly runs into problems.

Write a story about a character who struggles to translate their thoughts and feelings into words and action.

Contest #177

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

150

Contest entries

70

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: