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

“Color Inside the Lines ” by Korinne H.

Submitted to Contest #177

Dan Peters Publishing,"Hey there Dan, it's Shane Miles. Maybe you don't remember me but I was the college intern you told to "get the *** out of my office." Since then, I've graduated college, receiving a bachelors in English, and I've really cleaned up my act. I know the previous internship didn't go perfectly, but I'm extremely eager to make it as a journalist, and well, I would really appreciate a second chance.Assuming you aren't already convinced to take me back like the prodigal son...unless you are? Ok, so you're not c...

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“The Wind is Whistling Today” by Wake Lloire

Submitted to Contest #177

My phone vibrates. A picture of an owl sitting on a ladder fills my phone screen.I sit, staring at my phone. The text above it reads.-it’s minus 40 here, plus the wind chillThe image and the words completely disconnected.-cute owlI text back. I watch the three little dots bouncing, indicating that there is another text coming in.-yupI send her another video of the wind whistling in the trees.These texts are emblematic of the way I’ve learned to communicate with my mother. When I was younger, I’d talk with her and tell her stories about my da...

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“SOS” by Mathic M

Submitted to Contest #177

Markus laid on his bed, flipping through the pages of his fathers children's book. He was wearing his favorite matching pajamas, keeping him warm and comfy. The lids of his eye felt heavy, so focusing on the pictures was nearly impossible. A kid his age needed rest. He wanted to reject what his body was telling him, but his arms slowly drifted toward his body. He was about to doze off before he heard a knock at his door. He quickly jolted his chin up, the voice of his mother called out to him. “Marcus, baby. Are you asleep yet?” She asked, w...

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“What?” by Ester Mersuli

Submitted to Contest #177

Students could've talked about anything, literally anything, any topic but one topic remained open for DAYS. The new student topic. He is in my chemistry class and art. He can't hear or talk so he has an adult everywhere with him. She explains in sign language what the professor is teaching the class. Sometimes I get caught staring at him(and I'm not) and my friends tease me all day. I'm not the stalker type of person but I've noticed him go everywhere all alone, with no friends at all. I feel sad for him. Sometimes I feel worried, maybe eve...

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“Alone in the Silence” by Molly Layne

Submitted to Contest #177

I shifted my position slightly and looked up from my artwork. The trees swayed in the breeze, and I watched a blackbird fly in front of me and lite high in a nearby maple. He opened his beak wide, and I tilted my head, watching him. In short order, he was joined by another bird. The breeze ruffled through her sooty-brown plumage as she landed on the branch beside him. They were a pair. They were together. They had each other. My pencil moved rapidly across the paper as I wished, not for the first time, that graphite ...

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“One Hero's Journey” by Cassandra Adams

Submitted to Contest #177

One Hero’s Journey Life changed forever when we moved into the yellow duplex on Holly Street. The whole neighborhood was steeped in magic. Morning glories encircled our yard like an ornate frame around the Kodachrome of my childhood. We had a rubber tree! Imagine that! My Daddy and I would rake the thick, crispy leaves and burn them in our backyard incinerator. Yep, that was long before the EPA. And my mom turned out Rice Crispy treats like they were going out of style. Which they never did. Love them still! I had just turned eleven and...

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“Planet 6768B” by Mahad K.

Submitted to Contest #177

NOTE: Cursing is present. “Commence landing operations…” The intercom sounded in a distinctly female voice as the spacecraft shook in an attempt to land upright. “Extending front and back legs… Twenty meters from surface contact…” It sounded, once more. “Fifteen meters… Ten meters… Five meters…” Then, after a sudden rush of turbulence, the spacecraft made contact with alien soil. “Commander Chase, the spacecraft has landed.” The intercom finally finished, playing an albeit brief but deafening alarm afterward. Quickly, I jolted awake and slam...

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“CASSANDRA IN PARADISE” by J. Singleton

Submitted to Contest #177

Somehow, she’d always known that the world she’d want to live in would not exist until a thousand years after her death; the life she’d want to live would not be possible until ten centuries after hers had ceased. And the man she could love would not be born until she’d been dead a millennium.Now her upper eyelids stuck to the lower rims as though drapes unopened since forever that came to be glued to dusty, sticky window sills. Someone sat beside her. She could feel a presence. When she finally freed her lids with all of the force that her ...

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“Maria's Bond with a Village” by Robert Rogers

Submitted to Contest #177

Once there was a small village nestled in the mountains where the people spoke a language utterly foreign to those living in the neighboring towns. Despite their linguistic differences, the villagers had always managed to trade goods and services with their neighbors, relying on gestures and drawings to communicate their needs.One day, a young woman named Maria arrived in the village. She had been traveling for months, searching for her missing brother, who had ventured into these mountains and never returned. When Maria arrived in the villa...

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“Realm of the Unknown” by Paul Grayson

Submitted to Contest #177

It was a bright, sunny day. Clarence peered out the window. All that could be perceived from his eyes was a blank sky reflecting the black face looking out at the vast expanse. His parents called from downstairs. He turned and went through the threshold. He walked down the stairs into the living room where his parents had been waiting. They were impatient and demanded him to get his bags, annoyed that he was not ready. The family had been planning a vacation to Stony Ridge Nat...

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“The Story of I and U” by Eugenette Morin

Submitted to Contest #177

This is the story of I and U and how they managed to communicate and become tentative friends. It has taken many years, iterations, repetitions, and trials to bring them together. Sometimes, there are still situations that exacerbate the jagged edges of their hookups. There are many hangups involved as well. Think about it, I and U? Think those two are well-known by all? Really? Maybe they are, maybe they aren't - but they are not the most comfortable bedfellows. These are two of the most important English letters, in their meanings, symbols...

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“From The Forest, It Calls” by Leighton Jeffy

Submitted to Contest #177

I walk forward at a steady crouch, the carpet of leaves below me barely making a sound from the soft footsteps I leave. The night air is biting and cold, and the awareness that something is watching surrounds me. Even without light, and with grasses and shrubs blocking the trail in front of me, I know the path I follow. I’ve come out here every night since I was 8. My parents caught me the first time. They’d kept me up all night drilling into me the dangers of the forest at night. “There are vicious animals out there,” they told me...

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“Put us on repeat” by Alex Layme

Submitted to Contest #177

Before the morning sun could sweep through the basement floor windows of the shared household, to be in a mutual understanding of solitude and environment of private room and space among the other two friends of Seresa(they/them), they turn over and check the time in silence. With understanding that the background noise would be the same friends mentioned earlier who happen to have just made dinner and will soon send an offer for Seresa to swing by. But days have been a struggle, it was in fact the very end of a confusing heartbreak with the...

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“Dear Jacques” by Cameron Lawrence

Submitted to Contest #177

Dear Jacques, You will already be on your way by the time you read this letter. A new start for you; another relocation. I’ve lost count of the amount of farewell letters I’ve penned to you in the past. Written words have always been easier for me than a heartfelt speech. Remember when I messed up the groom speech at my own wedding? Melissa grimacing next to me, whilst we both couldn’t contain our laughter. How that should have been a sign for the marriage to come. My most worldly of friends. In the sixteen years since our first meeti...

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“Eddie Baker's Desperate Journey” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #177

Eddie Baker was in big trouble as he made his way past a farmyard in the darkness of a crescent moon. He had been separated from his unit during the firefight with a group of goat herders who turned out to be al Qaeda operatives. Now he was all alone as his unit had abandoned the area at sunset. Private Baker had been in Afghanistan for five months. Originally from Brooklyn, Eddie was accustomed to wandering in and out of dark places without any trepidation, but this was different. His field commander, L...

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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

“Color Inside the Lines ” by Korinne H.

“The Wind is Whistling Today” by Wake Lloire

“SOS” by Mathic M

“What?” by Ester Mersuli

“Alone in the Silence” by Molly Layne

“One Hero's Journey” by Cassandra Adams

“Planet 6768B” by Mahad K.

“CASSANDRA IN PARADISE” by J. Singleton

“Maria's Bond with a Village” by Robert Rogers

“Realm of the Unknown” by Paul Grayson

“The Story of I and U” by Eugenette Morin

“From The Forest, It Calls” by Leighton Jeffy

“Put us on repeat” by Alex Layme

“Dear Jacques” by Cameron Lawrence

“Eddie Baker's Desperate Journey” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

🌟 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: