Write a story that includes the line “Have we met before?”

Posted in Dramatic on Oct 4, 2024

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✍️ 141 stories

“Poetic License” by Jen Fortner

Submitted to Contest #271

I was in deep crap. My mother preferred to say I “crossed the line.” Either way we were now sitting in our driveway waiting to leave. The June sun baked the car and I was sweating but didn’t dare speak. Her anger was still evaporating. My mother adjusted her navy-blue readers and looked over her checklist one last time. I had never seen her take charge of a project like this project. And this project was getting rid of me for six weeks. Normally my dad oversaw family road trips. He would buy salted sunflower seeds at the gas station an...

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“Stars and sunrises” by Nuseka Jacob

Submitted to Contest #271

It’s been a long time since my childhood. After a while, the trauma caught up to me and made me forget so many things. I didn’t remember a lot, I’m sure I wouldn’t want to remember anything. All I remember was the cries I heard every night as my mother was repeatedly beat. I decided to forget the most I could, and I did that with drinking. I remember being invited to a party, it was winter and I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I decided it was better than staying in my empty apartment. When I got there, everyone seemed to have fun, enjoyin...

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“Forget Me Not” by Hani Moon

Submitted to Contest #271

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“Reincarnation ” by S.J. Huntley

Submitted to Contest #271

Dexter: The dim, warm, golden lights of the ballroom shone brightly on the formally dressed bodies that inhabited the room. Many of these bodies had partners, and they were dancing to the waltz that the orchestra produced. Many of these creatures had someone to dance with, while others had no one. Dexter locked eyes with one of those few who had no one. He was a beautiful young man with sharp, alluring facial features. His fine, muscular body looked like it had been sculpted by a God and was made in perfect image. He had to be someon...

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“The Woman in the Attic” by Vedder Rivard

Submitted to Contest #271

I was seven years old when I had my first unforgettable nightmare. It haunted me every night before I slept and crept into my mind during my deepest chapters of slumber. Eyes closed and body still beneath my thin blanket beside my many brothers and sisters, I would shoot upright in the dark hours with tears in my eyes, struggling to divide dream from reality. My vision would eventually adjust to the darkness of the great wooden bedroom, large enough to fit thirty people, the walls lined with twin sized bunk beds, and I would realize that ...

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“The Bad Trip or My Journey Through the Afterlife” by Mark Leasure

Submitted to Contest #271

(Trigger Warning: Death and some violence)Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and all that jazz. I've been dead for at least an hour and for the life of me, I can't figure out what to do. Death didn't come with a user manual and I'm not convinced that my brain isn't desperately sending out last ditch waves and signals before it shuts off for good. I dropped acid two times when I was alive. The second time nothing happened, except I had a panic attack thinking about what could happen, because of what actually did happen the first time. That first t...

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“Flower Girl” by Gigi Nally

Submitted to Contest #271

I fell asleep beneath the mud. I woke up reborn. Buttercup-colored canaries flutter overhead, their soft songs tickling her ears like feathers. Cicadas brighten the melodic tweedles with rhythmic chirps, pausing only when the sun dips behind the trees. Dewy grass sends a springtime scent through her nose, crisp and sweet like the first bite into a plump apple. Cool mist kisses her lips and wets her eyelashes. Water from a faraway fall gently flows downstream, caressing slick rocks and softening the edges of the bank. The stream stills only w...

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“Irrationally broken heart” by CJ Viera

Submitted to Contest #271

I sighed as I sat down on the park bench. The chill night air swirled around me, blowing small puffs of snow from the fresh drifts surrounding me. I looked upwards, trying to appreciate the muted quietness of the winter night, illuminated by the dull orange glow of the lamppost across the path. I often found myself wandering at night. I found that it was both relaxing and freeing. Something about the loneliness of the night, coupled with the quiet allowed my mind to wander freely. I shuddered as a stronger gust than the rest blew snow down t...

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“A dance with a stranger” by Vivi Omeke

Submitted to Contest #271

I shoved some crumpled dollar bills into my pocket, put my headphones on, and walked out the door. Nothing like a serious dose of frostbite to warm your toes.Stepping out into the bustling chaos of Eos Ophir was like diving headfirst into a technicolor explosion after staring at a blank wall for hours.Skyscrapers did their thing and scraped the cloudy sky, flashy and bright billboards burned holes in my eyes and cars honked and screeched, which, by the way, didn’t help my poor ADHD ears in any way.I pulled out my phone and put in an earbud b...

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“On My Way to Work” by Daniel Linehan

Submitted to Contest #271

I settled into my seat for my morning commute into the city, sudoku puzzle book and pencil at the ready, Dunkin Donuts coffee, and today’s paper, just in case I want to feel depressed. As I opened the puzzle book, she strode up the aisle and took a seat on the opposite side of the train. She was pretty, with auburn hair down to her shoulders, pink lipstick—not too shiny, and royal blue nails. She removed her navy blue blazer, revealing a white blouse with small peacocks embroidered on it. As she sat she straightened out her gray skirt, slipp...

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“"Have We Met Before?"” by Ally Gutierrez

Submitted to Contest #271

Marge wanted a dog. No. A puppy. Marge wanted a puppy. It had been four long months of wallowing in the cold, dark New York winter—trudging through ice and slush, pelted by the sting of freezing rain. It never snowed in the city—not the romantic white flakes that fell in places that had space and green and light. It was four in the afternoon, and there was barely a sliver of day clinging to the grey sky as Marge walked the eight blocks home to her puppy-less apartment after another day teaching ELA at an overcro...

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“Ways of The Wind” by Kira Akina

Submitted to Contest #271

(Preface: This story contains reference to natural disasters and the violence that can be caused by them.) How did I end up here in this place, in this palace, in this utopia of grandeur, dining with royalty and diplomats? I ponder how long I have been here and how far from home I am, as my eyes carefully scan the high ceilings of the vast library near the dining hall, where I await supper. Pacing leisurely, exploring in wonderment, my fingers gently brush the books one by one. I feel the texture change from one text to the next as my eyes ...

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“A Shadow Walker Knows My Name” by Cherie Woods

Submitted to Contest #271

“Have we…met before?” It was a common phrase Lucca was used to hearing. Have we met before? Do I know you? Haven’t I seen you somewhere before? Most of it contributed to the fact that he had a twin sister with eerily similar looks. Aside from a few accentuated areas, they could easily take the place of one another. But in this case, he actually felt like he might have actually met this other person. Was it a family friend? An acquaintance at work? It could have been someone he chatted with at the local coffee sh...

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“Donna vs Robyn” by Julie Price

Submitted to Contest #271

The security getting into the women’s prison was tight, but once you were in there, the prisoners were wandering around freely.“Have we met before?”Robyn was standing in line to see a medic or somebody to give her something. Donna had been sent over there to get something for her period pain. She was nervous. It was her first week on this posting for the Corrections Department. Donna held the lofty title of ‘Assistant to the Superintendent’, in Manolo Women’s Prison, but really this meant making coffee and updating prisoner record cards and ...

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“A Meal And An Existential Crisis” by Cassie Chapman

Submitted to Contest #271

This story contains these sensitive topics, Suicidal ideation, Foul Language, Substance abuse My head bumps the bus window sharply, startling me awake. The glass is cold, and the night air outside has a bite to it. My headphones make my ears burn a bit, but I don't want to stop listening to music. I take my dirty blonde hair out of its ponytail and slip the elastic on my wrist.The head bash has good timing though; it's my stop. I pick up my bag and step off. The short walk I spend going over my plan: eat, write my goodbye texts, take a bath,...

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Write a story that includes the line “Have we met before?”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 141 stories

“Poetic License” by Jen Fortner

“Stars and sunrises” by Nuseka Jacob

“Forget Me Not” by Hani Moon

“Reincarnation ” by S.J. Huntley

“The Woman in the Attic” by Vedder Rivard

“The Bad Trip or My Journey Through the Afterlife” by Mark Leasure

“Flower Girl” by Gigi Nally

“Irrationally broken heart” by CJ Viera

“A dance with a stranger” by Vivi Omeke

“On My Way to Work” by Daniel Linehan

“"Have We Met Before?"” by Ally Gutierrez

“Ways of The Wind” by Kira Akina

“A Shadow Walker Knows My Name” by Cherie Woods

“Donna vs Robyn” by Julie Price

“A Meal And An Existential Crisis” by Cassie Chapman

🌟 Similar prompts

A character crosses paths with a stranger who looks eerily familiar.

A chance encounter brings together two old friends who have changed in surprising or strange ways.

Two strangers discover they have a hidden connection that alters their understanding of each other and themselves.

A character finds a clue or object linking them to a stranger.

Contest #271

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

389

Contest entries

137

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: