Write a story about someone searching for a missing ingredient, literally or metaphorically.

Posted in Dramatic on Sep 27, 2024

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✍️ 54 stories

“Burning Love” by Jay DeBurgh

Submitted to Contest #270

(Sensitive content: implied burning bodies nil in-progress description, implied sexual attack with no in-progress description.) For those who crave love more than life itself a glance from the object of her desire is a tiny speck of hope. So Lee Lui Lin thinks, as she walks through the village kicking the sand path on her sixteenth birthday to buy herself a gift in the market. By her eighteenth, her hope of love has grown to melancholy when the man she loves meets the object of his affection in secret.“We should marry without telling her and...

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“A Missing Ingredient” by Audrey Yamato

Submitted to Contest #270

I’ve always liked the rain. The smell and sound have always been comforting, but I also enjoy the fact that the world seems to shut down when it rains. Like the volume was turned down and the world became quiet. One minute, the sun’s out and people are outside. Children are playing, businessmen are rushing to and from meetings and coffee shops, and the next minute it all stops. The children run inside for cartoons and hot chocolate, and the businessmen have all settled in with a latte and a scone. Quiet. I like that. These were my thou...

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“Never Full” by Ty Pape

Submitted to Contest #270

I have never seen myself as the Bobby Flay or Gordon Ramsay type of chef but more of the David Chang - Anthony Bourdain type. Rough, underground, an enemy to normal, an unacknowledged pioneer. I wish I could tell you a good story about how my love for cooking began in a small village in France. That my first oyster, slithery, slimy, and foreign popped the bubble in my mind and the rest is history. But the truth is, it is that the names above are who made me want to cook. I did not discover my love for cooking in the kitchen or at a restauran...

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“A Taste Of Tomorrow” by Alex Marmalade

Submitted to Contest #270

Lydia had always found solace in the kitchen. It was the one place where the rules were clear: measure, mix, bake, and you’d get a predictable outcome. But tonight, the kitchen felt like an unfamiliar landscape—one full of shadows and doubts. The recipe card sat on the counter, worn and stained, a relic of a different time. "Double Chocolate Cake for Special Days," it read, the ink faded and the corners bent. But tonight wasn't a special day. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The house was quiet, the kind of quiet that settled in when you ...

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“The Milk We Left behind” by Wren Chase

Submitted to Contest #270

Warning: This story contains themes of domestic abuse, emotional trauma, infidelity, and descriptions of a toxic family environment. Reader discretion is advised.Note: This narrative is loosely inspired by true events.My eyes flutter open, and I lift my right fist to rub the blurry sleep from my eyes. It’s so dark in here, dark enough to give refuge to the shadow monsters that live beneath my bed or in the corners of my bedroom walls. I hear the wooden hallway floorboards groaning under the weight of slow and dubious footsteps, approaching o...

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“Black Mould” by Mya Davidson

Submitted to Contest #270

The flurries dance around me amidst the frosted fury. Some people don’t like the cold. But in it, I thrive. My feet glide against the ground, the blades cutting through the solid ice. The melted corners of the rink ooze like blood out from the cracks. The snow falling like ash. I skate through the beauty and smile up at the pale clouds and scarcity of the sun. I've always preferred grey to gold anyway. I hear screams that sound like children's laughter… The screams turn into the sound of my alarm, disrupting my slumber. As they return, I whi...

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“24 Hours” by Valentina Castro

Submitted to Contest #270

The sound of rain against the pavement increased as the sky sobbed. An odd scent of coffee permeated through the smell of the rain in the thick humid afternoon air. The dark gray sky darkened with time, white drops of hail dropping without a warning as they hit the buildings, cars, and umbrellas. And there laid Andrea. Her body motionless on the zebra crosswalk, soaked from the rain as she blinked to process what had just happened. Struggling to get up, she spotted an elderly couple from afar running to her aid and helping her to her feet. A...

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“Perfect Beautiful Rainbow Sandals ” by Laurie Jordan

Submitted to Contest #270

((Content Warning: Death of a Child)) There is the ghost of an eight-year-old girl who lives in my attic. Not everyone who is haunted knows who haunts them and why. But I do. Dear reader - let me tell you. I know. And she is most certainly upset with me. My ghost has blond ponytails and wears a pink Hello Kitty shirt. She has little jean shorts that go up to her bellybutton. Her fingernail polish is neon colored and chipping away, and her skinny, broken matchstick legs – toes pointing in different directions – are period punctuated with ...

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“Deep River” by Bailey Kennedy

Submitted to Contest #270

Carter rang down to the from desk to ask the valet to pull their car up while Georgia got dressed and put on her makeup. Today was not a day to skimp out on her business look. While it was a casual trip she needed to appear the strong, professional woman for her meeting with Ben Jamison. She double checked that she had the letter, the key and the journals with her, and he laptop just in case. Finally she was ready to go and she felt that twist of butterflies flitting around her stomach the way the did before every big moment in her life.&nbs...

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“The Missing Ingredient” by Alexa Pei

Submitted to Contest #270

Maria loved to be in the kitchen. The small space was always filled with the sound of something: the sizzling of onions hitting hot oil, the bubbling of sauces simmering, and the occasional clatter of a spoon against a dish. Today, though, the room felt different. The chopping of vegetables was slower, her movements more careful as she prepared rice with chicken, a dish she had made countless times before. But something wasn’t right. The recipe lay on the counter, fragile and worn from years of use. It was her grandmother’s recipe, written i...

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“The Secret of the Kimsberries” by Mary Silinski

Submitted to Contest #270

Dinner with the queen was an everyday occurrence, but today something felt off. I knew it from her smile. My aunt never smiled at me. Not even when I occasionally completed her stupid princess tasks correctly. But here she was, sitting across from me, thin lips turned upwards with some sort of satisfaction. Irritation won out patience. “Why are you staring at me like that?” A cool mask of feigned innocence. “Like what, darling?” I rolled my eyes. “Like you know something I don’t.” The diamonds dangling from her ears danced as she chuckled. “...

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“Inspirational Ingredients ” by Jacob Kiser

Submitted to Contest #270

Not to long ago did I realize I was missing a major part of my life. Most of you probably don’t even realize you’re missing it either this was the same for me. It took me literally missing one thing to realize the what I was actually letting pass me by. Alright I am going to attempt to write about this experience just because I feel it is such an obvious discovery that is easily over looked. Honestly I am in a creative field but this writing thing is not for me so I don’t know how to start this so I’m just going to start. Well I was in the k...

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“Season of the Waves” by FJJ Austin

Submitted to Contest #270

Season of the WavesThe Blood Comet hung in the night sky, languid and crimson, bisecting the Vast Black and its white lights with a flaming thread. The Second Orange Moon had grown large, dipping slowly and horizon-bound, like some colossal, vermillion prey. It bled its last as it fell exhausted to the nadir.The elders had long known of the augury at play in the skies. The Season of Waves was but two days away. The Soombah had been faithfully preparing for it. It would be ushered in by westerlies that would lash the Mukon Pine forests and la...

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“The Apprentice’s Journey” by Vincent H. Black

Submitted to Contest #270

It was almost dawn, you could see the glow of the sun on the horizon. He was looking through the window. The sun looked like it would rise on the horizon of another planet in the reflection of his eye. You could see the tiredness. The Master will come shortly. While looking at the rising sun, he was preparing how to explain that he was not ready again. Should he be ready? Yes! His eyes showed it. He was already having shivers, thinking about confronting him without a solution. It was 7 AM; the Master entered the bar. He saw the disarray and...

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“Putting the Pieces Together...” by Elaine Monaghan

Submitted to Contest #270

People who changed gender in the 70s and 80s were uncommon and rarely discussed as they are today. It was encouraging to see taboo topics becoming more openly discussed during our time, although it was still a slow process. It was a time for women to be more aware of their bodies, and copies of “Our Bodies, Ourselves” flew off the shelves as curious teenagers, like myself, wanted to know, but were still a little afraid to ask. However, I, along with many of my peers, still straddled the line between open conversation and silent embarrassment...

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Write a story about someone searching for a missing ingredient, literally or metaphorically.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 54 stories

“Burning Love” by Jay DeBurgh

“A Missing Ingredient” by Audrey Yamato

“Never Full” by Ty Pape

“A Taste Of Tomorrow” by Alex Marmalade

“The Milk We Left behind” by Wren Chase

“Black Mould” by Mya Davidson

“24 Hours” by Valentina Castro

“Perfect Beautiful Rainbow Sandals ” by Laurie Jordan

“Deep River” by Bailey Kennedy

“The Missing Ingredient” by Alexa Pei

“The Secret of the Kimsberries” by Mary Silinski

“Inspirational Ingredients ” by Jacob Kiser

“Season of the Waves” by FJJ Austin

“The Apprentice’s Journey” by Vincent H. Black

“Putting the Pieces Together...” by Elaine Monaghan

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in the form of a recipe.

Start or end your story with two people discussing an important matter over a meal.

Write a story inspired by the saying “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

Set your story in a kitchen, either early in the day or late at night.

Contest #270

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

341

Contest entries

134

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: