Start or end your story with someone looking out a car or train window.

Posted in Dramatic on Mar 7, 2025

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✍️ 13 stories

“Go!” by John Rutherford

Submitted to Contest #293

The huge psychological relief of looking out of the aircraft window on the Bangkok airport taxiway and seeing the next landing aircraft with the dark green tail, the familiar logo of a palm tree and crossed swords, was one of those moments in life, when miracles do happen for insignificant people like me. Someone had looked after my family and me. Especially since I had been so foolish. It was an ambitious plan, and not without its obvious risks. The logistical problem can only be summarized as follows. A family spread out in different parts...

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“Reflections” by Jim LaFleur

Submitted to Contest #293

The car hummed beneath him, a mechanical heartbeat counting down the miles. Martin Ellery watched the world stream past his window—a blur of autumn trees and small towns that would soon exist only in memory. The handcuffs bit into his wrists, cold metal against skin that would know no other touch for decades to come. Life without parole. The words still echoed in the hollow chamber of his chest. “Beautiful country,” said the marshal sitting beside him, a man whose name Martin hadn’t bothered to remember. “Shame you won’t be seeing it again.”...

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“Philosophy 101” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #293

Philosophy 101"Are we there yet?"Bobby was bored. He had stared at SpongeBob all morning and there was nothing to see out the window. Just flat land, green grass, blue sky and cows. Big cows that mama said were buffaloes. But she was wrong. Buffaloes had wings. But she just laughed when he pointed that out to her.“Are we there yet?” He whined from the back seat for the umpteenth time. While swinging his legs he could reach the back of mama’s seat. She had asked him not to do it several times. But it felt so good. Thump, thump, thump.“Not yet...

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“Orphan Train” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #293

The children swayed back and forth to the rhythm of the train as it went through the countryside, suddenly slowed, and finally came to a halt with a screech. Laura pushed through the crowd to stick her head through the window looking around at the vast emptiness of the land. Beyond the small station there was nothing to see in any direction. “Do not get placed here, Johnny Miller. Ya hear me?” She turned to look into the eyes of the boy traveling with her, the boy she had known her entire life in the city. “It ain’t my choice....

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“If the Lord wills it” by Priyanjali Bhattacharyya

Submitted to Contest #293

Raghavan threw the sea shells up above and watched in delight as they fell to the ground. His nimble and deft hands quickly caught three shells out of the four that landed on the ground, face upward. Sreemati made a face, even while she grabbed the fourth one, a little too late. "How do you always do that?" Sreemati said. "Next time it'll be me for sure!" "You wish," laughed Raghavan, "I am stronger, taller and faster than you are, or ever will be."Sreemati's eyes watered.Seeing that, Raghavan sobered up. "Let's go again," Raghavan said."No!...

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“One Urban Myth.” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #293

"Seize the day. I'll motivate myself to today! In positive ways!" Lenny woke up to anticipating a fun day ahead. Here it was, a day that had dawned bright and sunny. It was supposed to be a normal super duper Saturday in Smallton. It was a very small suburb in the sprawling metropolis that was east of somewhere, on a planet riding around its trip through the universe.Lenny greeted his standard weekend o'clock, his days off from the humdrum routines of his weekly existence. His morning passed by uneventfully, until his girlfriend came over t...

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“I spy” by Liv Valen

Submitted to Contest #293

The child doesn’t speak. Just waves with a big laugh while watching their father grow smaller, swallowed by the growing distance. The train rattles over the tracks, a deep, rhythmic clatter beneath their feet. A muffled announcement crackles over the speakers, its words lost in the hum of movement.The father lifts a hand — just slightly, barely a wave. Hesitant, as if he wants to say something but can’t. His eyes are smiling, but sad. Tired. Disappointed. When the train pulls away from the platform and he’s no longer in sight, the child squi...

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“The View Out The Window” by Jim Robison

Submitted to Contest #293

Is our perception of life simply our view out the window of a train? Kalvin Carlyle “KC” Jones, like all the others in the passenger car, looked out the window of the fast-moving locomotive, but the view didn’t interest him. All he could think about was Julie. He thought about how they had met. He was a junior account executive at an advertising agency working on a proposal for Amtrak. His idea was to promote the vistas available only by rail travel, and Julie was a freelance photographer with an impressive portfolio of landsc...

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“"Gridlock of the Mind"” by Celeste Escalera

Submitted to Contest #293

The 405 stretched endlessly before me, a vein of asphalt pulsing with the dull monotony of brake lights. Every morning, I merged into the current of half-conscious souls, each of us trapped in the same routine, inching forward to destinations we resented. My corporate job barely paid my bills, and my spirit eroded with each passing day. Yet, like a prisoner resigned to their cell, I got into my car every morning, hoping—futilely—that something, anything, would change.Today felt no different. The same stifling air, the same murmur of the radi...

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“Hirsu's Mission” by Meghan Brooks

Submitted to Contest #293

A train left from Gwal'Lebad for a day's journey to the furthest part of Erebuk, with many anxious passengers onboard. One in particular was using the train as a means to escape what he had done. He stared out the window of the train to look back at the life he left behind; the war-torn forest that was taken over by a viscous, gluttonous enemy he wouldn't know how to combat no matter how many paralytic stingers he shot out. He was Hirsu Polvero, a top Glaphyr Dorcasom lieutenant, who was leaving his hive behind. He couldn't go back home to h...

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“Another Side of Paradise” by Heather Campsall

Submitted to Contest #293

I settle back in my seat on the Early Bird Special. Streaming images of houses, fields, side roads flow past the window in sync with the clickety-clack of the rails. A sleepy stupor has settled over the travelers as we shuttle to our destinations, but I enjoy the forty-minute commute. It lulls me into reflection and, like always, my thoughts drift back to Marcy. Ten years ago Aunt Olly came to me with a blind date prospect. The girl was a member of her bridge club. “Wonderful housekeeper, great cook!” she exulted. That wa...

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“A Day in the Life of a Teenage Dead Girl” by Kendal Wilson

Submitted to Contest #293

I sit on the bench at the tiny train station near my old flat. The first streaks of dawn glimmer on the tracks, glowing golden in the branches of trees. The 6:45 train is seven minutes late. I used to take it every morning, anywhere from five to fifteen minutes late. It was early once, and only once, and I missed it. I hear a rumbling down the track and turn my head. The train, now eleven minutes late, comes thundering down its path. I stand as if to catch it, one last time, but it does not stop. It rarely stops here, even though I am here...

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“Angry Highway” by Stephen Scott

Submitted to Contest #293

ANGRY HIGHWAYBy Stephen Scott “Get the hell out of the way!” Jerry made sure to honk twice at the fellow in the fast lane. The car moved over … slowly. He moved closer to the man’s bumper and flashed his headlights. “Come on! Stupid jerk.” David clutched his armrest, trying to hide his fright. “Jerry. Calm down.” He sped past the car, glancing over at the elderly man. “What? You ...

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Start or end your story with someone looking out a car or train window.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 13 stories

“Go!” by John Rutherford

“Reflections” by Jim LaFleur

“Philosophy 101” by Trudy Jas

“Orphan Train” by Hannah Lynn

“If the Lord wills it” by Priyanjali Bhattacharyya

“One Urban Myth.” by Julie Grenness

“I spy” by Liv Valen

“The View Out The Window” by Jim Robison

“"Gridlock of the Mind"” by Celeste Escalera

“Hirsu's Mission” by Meghan Brooks

“Another Side of Paradise” by Heather Campsall

“A Day in the Life of a Teenage Dead Girl” by Kendal Wilson

“Angry Highway” by Stephen Scott

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your entire story in a car, train, or plane.

Center your story around someone who realizes they’ve left something behind.

Write about someone who strikes up a conversation with a stranger during a flight.

Write a story with the line “I’m late!” or “We’re late!”

Contest #293

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

393

Contest entries

141

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: