Your main character is approached by their long-estranged parent who wants to reconnect. How do they react?

Posted in Dramatic on Jul 31, 2021

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✍️ 193 stories

“Papá Querido” by Millie Hardy-Sims

Submitted to Contest #79

Karina was ready to go home to her fiance and her daughter. It hadn’t been a hard day but it had been long and her back was killing her. She smiled to herself as she sterilised the tattoo chair ready for another day. It was as she turned her back to hang the sanitiser back up when she heard the faint ‘ting ting’ of the front door. She thought she had locked it, but clearly not. Karina glanced at her watch - it was still two minutes to closing. Perhaps a last minute booking? “Excuse me?” The door to the tattoo shop closed behind a...

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“The Man I Never Knew” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #79

“Sheldon, can you pick me up a loaf of bread and some milk on your way home?” his mother asked as Sheldon was walking out the door. “Sure, mom. You know that I would do anything for you. I need to make a couple of stops after work, but I will swing past the grocery store too.” “Thank you, sweetheart. Have a great day at work.” &n...

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“Hello..Hello..Hello..?” by N S

Submitted to Contest #79

I don’t usually receive or entertain calls from unknown numbers, but that fateful day I did, when I got that call. I usually have no patience when it comes to unknown calls, but the familiar voice made me stop for a moment and hear him out. He called out my name and I immediately identified the voice which I was hearing after 20 years. There were multiple thoughts running over my mind,” Would mom want me to talk to him? Would she hate me if she got to know I spoke to him? What does he even have to say to me now? How did he get my number? He ...

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“Burned and buried” by Vibes Blossom

Submitted to Contest #79

Final autumn leaves grind beneath her dusty feet. Her bouncy hair pumped vitality in an frizzy manner as she hobbled towards the garden to pluck freshly matured roses. The sky wasn’t a plain yellow expanse like it used to be in her preferred times; the sky was now a profuse of soluble shades. Brought up by a single mother, Reya outgrew from the last civilization of the era and struggled to sustain in the more modern world. Her mother who had, in the past, lived in regional groups when the culture of multiple mating partners existed, ironic...

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“Going Through with It” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #79

Lynette wished that people would stop telling her, “Of course we would understand completely if you didn’t want to go through with this,” and then promptly, in those bright well-meaning voices, try to persuade her exactly why she should. I know all about persuasion, she thought, and you’re not even very good at it. She hurriedly reminded herself that it was to their credit, and to her benefit, that they weren’t very good at it. Only Gran-Jan seemed to genuinely respect her views. Even long after putting aside childish things (many of which s...

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“Four, Thirteen, Fifty” by LaShawn Baker

Submitted to Contest #79

Four, Thirteen, Fifty By LaShawn Baker I was only four years old when my father appeared from behind the tattered screen door of my aunt's home. I remember calling to my aunt that there was a strange man at the door. But in my young mind I had to make sure the tall man was my family, my daddy my saviour. I knew who he was in my heart. Yes I knew, but I wanted to make sure:running as fast as my four year olds as legs could carry me to my room in the back of the old house. I retrieved the borrowed photo from under my pillow. I co...

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“Lines” by Briana Spring

Submitted to Contest #79

I stared at the fine line stretching from my hand into the water, the soft chippering of birds our only company. Somehow, I thought it made the silence between us louder. I shifted in place. My legs were stiff from so much time spent standing still. I glanced at my father out of the corner of my eye and saw he was staring serenely into the calm sheet of dark blue below. The morning light reflected on the still water, creating iridescent ripples. I was going out of my mind with boredom. I dared a glance at him again and saw his...

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“Missing Pieces” by Philip Hedges

Submitted to Contest #79

In many ways, an orchestra is like a jenga tower, for its success rests equally on all the individual parts. A few missing pieces and it collapses. Leonard’s job as a conductor was holding together that delicate construction. He kept a clear view on each and every part at all times. Aware, that the smallest disequilibrium could bring the entire structure tumbling down.Tonight’s program was Johannes Brahms’ third symphony. A challenging piece for a young conductor like himself. To get into the right headspace, Leonard followed his usual ritua...

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“Better” by Rawn A Lynn

Submitted to Contest #79

Maddox was cooking breakfast with his mom like he always did every Saturday morning. He was watching his mom stir the batter with concise and un-wasted movements. He was silently trying to figure her out as he observed her. She mentioned a surprise for him which made him excited, but she didn’t seem as excited. She seemed a bit afraid and Maddox was not used to his mother having that expression. He always knew her as the strongest person in the world. He tried to say something but he didn’t know how to word it. How was he supposed to ask his...

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“Toxic Person” by Whitney Jones

Submitted to Contest #79

Author Disclaimer: Profanity/Mature ContentNow here's the story:As I'm walking to the store, someone pushes me."What the fuck was that for?" I ask."You were in my way. Move next time."People are so fucking rude these days. Which ends up reminding me of my father. He was such a jackass. He was always saying rude shit. Always cussing people out, especially for no reason. Always drinking and driving. Never listened or understood. Did everything out of anger. He was the worst and he was never there. And he was never willing to be there for me.To...

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“Two words” by Zoe Knight

Submitted to Contest #79

I used to imagine what I would say to my mother if we ever met again. I thought a wave of pain and nostalgia would hit me and overwhelm me, that my voice would tremble, that maybe I would scream. I imagined tears rolling down my cheeks, my throat getting sore. I almost saw her pleading expression as she apologizes to me, and I, after a long and intense conversation, finally, graciously, forgive her. It was always so emotional in my mind.But now I stare into the face of the woman who raised me and instead of deep, meaningful emotions I am hit...

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“A future of sweet dreams ” by Rose Cartwright

Submitted to Contest #79

The letter came in the post on a Monday. It added to the somewhat weighty feeling the start of a week can bring, walking in to see the handwriting sitting on my doormat. It had been thirteen years since I'd heard from her. My initial thought was of how dramatic a letter was, so like her. She could easily have just sent me a DM or even emailed; my address was in my bio. But no, a letter, of course, even if the effort of finding my address took time out of her day, something she had never wanted to give before. I tore back the think yell...

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“The House of Seth” by Josh C

Submitted to Contest #79

It was 2 years to the day that I cut contact with my mum. In my defence, it’s kind of hard to have a relationship with a mum whose friends want you to get smote from the face of the earth by a wack job cult leader with bad hair. A cult leader who literally hasn’t done anything notable in their entire lives, yet somehow has such a big following that we can only hope they don’t go into politics. And yet a letter from my mum, handwritten on beautiful cream paper with a stamp for next day delivery that now sat on my kitchen counter and read: ...

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“Goodbye Mum” by Britt Michielsen

Submitted to Contest #79

“There was a letter for you in the mail today,” I hear Miss Lindsay, my former English teacher and now my current legal guardian, say as I enter the house, coming back from school. “It’s on your desk upstairs in your room.” “Okay!” I scream at her as I sprint up the stairs, all the way over to my bedroom. I walk through the door and see a white envelope laying on top of a pile of books on my desk. I pick it up and turn it around, searching for a name or address of the sender. Nothing. It’s just a plain white envelope. Curious, and also a l...

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“She forgave you” by Joane Unknown

Submitted to Contest #79

!! This story wasn’t made to offend anybody! I just wanted to focus a little bit on the One-Child Policy, which was introduced in 1979 and ended in 2015. I want to add that the information I got for The One Child Policy, is from Wikipedia, and from this documentary- Secret Asia: The Dying Rooms (One-Child Policy Documentary) | Real Stories Anyways, hope you will like it! Outside was raining really hard. A Woman was trying to recover after a home birth to her daughter, Li Jing. She was such a beautiful baby; she had her mother...

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Your main character is approached by their long-estranged parent who wants to reconnect. How do they react?

Submissions are closed

✍️ 193 stories

“Papá Querido” by Millie Hardy-Sims

“The Man I Never Knew” by Greg Gillis

“Hello..Hello..Hello..?” by N S

“Burned and buried” by Vibes Blossom

“Going Through with It” by Deborah Mercer

“Four, Thirteen, Fifty” by LaShawn Baker

“Lines” by Briana Spring

“Missing Pieces” by Philip Hedges

“Better” by Rawn A Lynn

“Toxic Person” by Whitney Jones

“Two words” by Zoe Knight

“A future of sweet dreams ” by Rose Cartwright

“The House of Seth” by Josh C

“Goodbye Mum” by Britt Michielsen

“She forgave you” by Joane Unknown

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who decides it’s time to cut ties with a family member.

Write about someone who discovers the only family member they have left has just betrayed them.

Write about two characters who’ve gone through something so intense they now feel like family.

Write about a “found family” who are finally able to get together again after a long time apart.

Contest #79

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

905

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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