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

“A Day in the Park” by Marc Padilla

Submitted to Contest #79

This unexpected day has come. Time froze. I was just thinking about where shall I have my dinner as I stroll on this craquelure of a concrete park’s floor, peppered with the orange crisp leaves of the afternoon autumn when a woman … a woman who felt so familiar grabbed me by the shoulders. Her eyes gash like spring while her lips tremble like ripples. She felt so familiar that the moment I had my eyes set on hers, It felt like I was lost and I was home at the same time. Her lips tried to open every now and then but it appears to me somethi...

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“The Mango Thieves” by Aisha Khan

Submitted to Contest #79

“Mangoes are to us what Chocolate is to the Belgians!” Hashir announced to whoever would listen. And everyone present in the room did listen, save for the children who were engaged in playtime in the other half of the room. “I’m sure the Belgians aren’t the only ones who enjoy chocolate!” his cousin retorted in response. “It’s not a fair argument” his uncle spoke, “They can enjoy chocolate any time they want and we have to wait a whole year.” Everybody laughed in a synchronized agreement. The children continued to play and shout, their soun...

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“Unknown Family” by Animesh Kulkarni

Submitted to Contest #79

When I returned back home from my morning jog, my parents were visibly upset about something that came to my knowledge in bits and parts in coming days. I would soon be turning 17 and as every family has its secrets; one of the grave secrets of my family was going to be revealed soon to me. Throughout my childhood there was mystery surrounding this secret but there was no beating around the bush ever allowed. My innocent questions in my toddler days met with a very mature and a stern “no” always. Fortunately I was not the stubborn kind and a...

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“Devil in Disguise:” by Grayson Killian

Submitted to Contest #79

Footsteps scuffing the side walk. Sounds of people yelling, laughing, having the time of their life. Cars passing by, machines going off everywhere, people dancing from the music on the streets. The smell of delicious food. A breeze goes by causing a woman to have a chill. The woman walking down the street to a small cafe that she fell in love with the moment she went in. She pulls open the door to the cafe to be engulfed with the smell of baked bread and coffee. "Hello dear, you have a visitor at you...

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“Bridged Gap” by David Taylor

Submitted to Contest #79

An elderly Navajo man stepped out of his black Lincoln. He reached for a worn wooden cane and slammed the door shut. He was invited by his son to come to his house for a chat. They hadn't seen each other since he left for the Marines. The old man inched his way toward a sun yellow Spanish colonial house at the end of the block, the one with a cherry red 1970 Dodge Challenger and the flagpole on the lawn, adorned with the Stars and Stripes at the top, the New Mexico state flag below that and the US Marine Corps flag below that one. Inch by in...

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“Estranged apple” by Affair Writer

Submitted to Contest #79

March 26th, 1968 I had my gun, a glock to be precise with me tonight. I had it on my right hand underneath the table as I sat in the corner with a smile next to my two lovely parents. They were the best parents that I could hope and wished for. My mother is not that pretty, my father is not that handsome and I did not care. Do you think that I was going to say that? Why would I bring my gun if it were. If you believed it, jokes on you then! March 24th 1968 I had heard this message from my men. I stood up and h...

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“Mirror, mirror on the wall” by NK Hatendi

Submitted to Contest #79

Kundai and Chipo routinely drove in and out of their gated compound in their affluent suburb. Their residence association had built a wire cage on the main road to house their rubbish bags for the municipality refuse collection. The refuse company had become increasingly erratic; whether they forgot to collect, or their vehicles had broken down, or they had no fuel, no-one knew. On those non-collection days, feral dogs would rip open the black rubbish bags as they foraged, leaving the decomposing waste scattered in the street. In the su...

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“Not Exactly the Way I Pictured It in My Mind” by Ed Vela

Submitted to Contest #79

Eve nervously gnawed on a breadstick as Will slammed back wine, refilling it from the bottle on ice he had insisted the waiter leave at the table, the first of two he had pre-ordered for the table. This was NOT going to be a fun night for him and he already knew it.Thirteen year old fraternal twins, Bo and Ann, looked at their parents then at each other. They had wanted to join their Mom and Dad on this outing about as much as when they had forced them to see a three hour opera the year before.“Twenty-three years!” Eve said, violently chewin...

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“How to Ruin Someone's Event” by Dozzy Nika

Submitted to Contest #79

It was only the roof of Princess Alexandria Auditorium (PAA) that was seen from a distance at sunset. Students had fully occupied the seats in the canopies outside the auditorium, some argued over their standing-spaces, those that were sitting now complained that they wouldn’t get any view of what would be projected later; consequently, they stood when the programme commenced. Some jostled in the crowd, in front of the auditorium to get a view of the programme of events through the windows, stood firm at their spots for hours till the progra...

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“Little Ms. Princess” by Jellybean Weirdo

Submitted to Contest #79

"Um Princess Liane?" I heard behind me. I turned around and it was a young girl in a beautiful ball room dress. "Oh hello little one. Are you the princess herself?! You look beautiful." I squated down to be eye level with the little girl. "I love your dress too!" She squealed. "Hello I'm Liane's mother. Liane is a really big fan of your book and the movie. A factor is the princess has the same name as her." The little girl's mother said. "Is that so?" I said to the little girl who nodded happily. "How would you like a free signed co...

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“Maudlin” by Agnes Sharan

Submitted to Contest #79

content warning: abuse, suicide I looked at the light from the lamp shine clearly on the counter top, and sighed in relief. I should’ve known better than to start a bar, but despite knowing all the messy nights I’ve dealt with in them, I did it anyway. I’ve always waved it off, hoping not to let that past hold me back. Last night’s brawl though was something even my bouncers and I couldn’t have anticipated. I looked around at the dim lit space, sunlight trickling through the transparent door. When dawn creeps on th...

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“Unexpected Forgiveness” by Jackie Palm

Submitted to Contest #79

She looked out the window, through her vines of plants, at the black specks against the freshly fallen snow. Her husband had taken their boys sledding on the hill down the street. She smiled, thinking about how she was glad that it was them outside and not her. She was always cold and getting soaked through in the snow did not sound like a good time to her. She imagined their rosy cheeks and snow-covered hats and mittens and her husband, getting breathless, dragging the sleds behind him as the energetic little boys ran ahead, shouting for hi...

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“Monsoon Season” by Yitazba Largo-Anderson

Submitted to Contest #79

Laurie Lonewolf rubs her thumb over a text message she received from a stranger only hours before. It reads, “Hi Laurie. You probably don’t remember me, but this is your dad. Can we meet?” This is your dad. Laurie’s fingers grew numb at the words. What? Dad? Why now? Why not say father? Wouldn’t that be more appropriate considering ‘dads’ stick around? But something in Laurie’s chest broke free, and she couldn’t help but touch a color she hadn’t felt since childhood. It was hope. “Don’t expect anything,” Laurie’s best fr...

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“Carl” by Zavier Watt

Submitted to Contest #79

I pulled into Carl’s driveway, which was really just a soaked patch of grass, at about eight o’clock that night in my grey SUV. He didn’t have a garage and it was raining pretty heavily; I was gonna have to dash out of the car to stay dry. Raindrops hit the windshield and left clear streaks in their wake as they slivered down the front of my car, it made me miss the dry weather in Colorado. I wanted to go back. Right then. Put my car in reverse, pull out of that swamp and drive thirty-six hours from whence I’d came. Then I looked in...

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“Love, your original dad ” by Kerensa Rybak

Submitted to Contest #79

They always say based on a true story, and I so often want to ask just how true? Did they change the names or did they change the plot or the ending or did they write it the way we all look in a mirror- like it’s all true but only as much as we can see the truth?I was only eighteen months old when he left, and I would be hard pressed to tell you where he went. When I was much younger than I am these days, my fantasies would include a dashing, misunderstood man whose main goal in life would be to find his long lost daughter. Realistically, I ...

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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

“A Day in the Park” by Marc Padilla

“The Mango Thieves” by Aisha Khan

“Unknown Family” by Animesh Kulkarni

“Devil in Disguise:” by Grayson Killian

“Bridged Gap” by David Taylor

“Estranged apple” by Affair Writer

“Mirror, mirror on the wall” by NK Hatendi

“Not Exactly the Way I Pictured It in My Mind” by Ed Vela

“How to Ruin Someone's Event” by Dozzy Nika

“Little Ms. Princess” by Jellybean Weirdo

“Maudlin” by Agnes Sharan

“Unexpected Forgiveness” by Jackie Palm

“Monsoon Season” by Yitazba Largo-Anderson

“Carl” by Zavier Watt

“Love, your original dad ” by Kerensa Rybak

🌟 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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