Start your story with someone emerging from the sea, and end it with them looking up at the stars.

Posted in Fantasy on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 277 stories

“Are the stars more beautiful than me?” by Amarah Friedman

Submitted to Contest #83

A woman emerged from the sea on a wave cresting toward shore. She was pulled from the sand in a riptide bound for the open ocean. She had no name and did not know what a name was. As she reclined against a fizzing bed of sea foam, all she knew was being. The woman drifted for a while, idly playing with the bubbles that surrounded her and the jumping fish that practically leapt into her lap to squirm around and wriggle. This is how she learned about death. It looked uncomfortab...

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“The Girl From The Sea” by Luna Wood

Submitted to Contest #83

We pull her out of the sea as soon as we find her. She looks like she was about to go under. I stare at her as one of the crew members pulls her aboard. They bring her below deck and lay her down in one of the extra beds. The nurse sat in the bed next to her. After a little bit, the nurse shooed me out. I came back the next day. She was sleeping and shivering in her bed. The nurse had left. I threw a blanket over her. She calmed down a little bit. I left to go eat lunch and she was awake when I came back. "Hi." "Hi... where am I?" "You're o...

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“The Last Entry” by Nyla N

Submitted to Contest #83

The waves brush against my sides; pulling and pushing me sideways, forwards, backwards, and under. I feel the strength of the current, hungering for something more. Never being one for open water, I run, the water parting as though it was softened butter. After what feels like an eternity, I emerge. My tiny feet leave light footprints in the gritty sand. My ankles become exposed to the chilly air as I distance myself and the shoreline. Feeling something slimy grazing my feet, I reach down to take it off and my eyes glance downwards by habit,...

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“A Normal Day” by Prince .

Submitted to Contest #83

After a month off from writing, Prince, a teenager from a loving family, who wakes up every morning to live up his dreams, finally gets some time to write and participate in an online short story writing competition, that he hopes he will win some day. It is almost midnight and he can only hear himself breathing in his room. “Peace is what I want by the end of the day”, he tells himself. While selecting a soothing song on his mobile, he swiftly slides his head over the table and closes his eyes and starts to think what story is he going to w...

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“Big Eyes, Beauty of the Sky” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #83

You come back to the surface face up, and even before you could clear the water on your face, you throw a sea cucumber on me. Its soft texture hit me and the slimy insides splatter on my face. I scream. You laugh. You like to tease me. I chase you but you swim faster than me. You look back at me and stick out your tongue. We race towards the jetty and jump into the water over and over again.We grow up together. Barefoot, salty, and sun-kissed. With sleepy eyes, we go with your father for early morning fishing trips. We bother our mothers as ...

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“The Brightest One There” by Maryann Hammond

Submitted to Contest #83

The whole of my existence reduced to nothing. As I tried to open my eyes, the salt in the water stung them so bad I yelped; that only made things worse. Water rushed into my mouth and I quickly shut it. I tried to swim toward the surface but I didn't know which way to swim. I was so disoriented and lightheaded I felt like I was a feather floating in the wind.A feather floating in the windA feather landed on my nephew's nose as we sat down staring up at the clouds. "Eeekk," he squealed out; "Look Cara, Look." I glanced down at the little...

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“Of Salt and Sand” by Cassandra Durnin

Submitted to Contest #83

Of Salt and Sand Your head finally, finally breaks the surface, with strong hands grabbing you by the underpits, half-throwing half-pulling you onto a wet, latex-like surface. The darkness swarms like a flock of angry crows, and everything burns with an icy cold. Your chest sparks to life in a rage of coughing, water streaming from your open mouth, and with it, the awful taste of salt and bile. There’s salted water in your eyes, and you have no clue who pulled you out, but none of that matters, none of it matters at all. Because now, a...

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“The Island” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #83

TW: Murder The sun was shining brightly high in the majestic blue sky. The sand on the beach was white and glittered under the hot sun. Waves crashed upon rocks offshore and the tide carried with it scattered debris along with three people. Their tattered clothes clung tightly to their sea-drenched bodies. Four hours sooner: “MISTY”, the fifty-four-foot Hatteras fishing yacht, was cruising along at just o...

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“Mama's Special Blessings” by Keri Dyck

Submitted to Contest #83

The immensity of the sea rolled against her eardrums, resonating somewhere in her soul. The sky pulled her up, up, back into the air her lungs craved, but she pulled herself farther below the surface. Wren opened her eyes. The brine stung at first, but it was always worth it. Streaks of light pierced the greenish-brown water, always flickering and moving; but the focal point in her view, as it had been for the last four-and-a-half years, was her daughter. Eleanor had her eyes clenched tightly. Her little legs were wrapped a...

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“The Phoenix (Highmast series, flashback)” by Lizzy Duffield-Fuller

Submitted to Contest #83

Her lungs were screaming at her to breathe but Ryvette ignored them. As she was still submerged under the water, giving in to their tantrums didn’t seem like a good idea right now. Her muscles were screaming too, still stiff from the remnants of the poison draining out of her system. In fact, it felt like her whole body was a symphony of pain.Just a few moments more. I have to be sure. I’m not going back alive.Of course, drowning out here in the fetid wash of the corpse canal was not her preferred option either. Her hair, shimmeringly dark, ...

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“Santiago, Not the Moor-Slayer” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #83

So, as legend goes, Santiago o Maior, whom I think is called Saint James the Elder in English, was beheaded in his homeland. That was very far away, beyond the Mediterranean for sure. He was then put in a stone boat that either floated on its own or was steered by someone, across many miles. It's not. exactly clear how a stone boat could even float, let alone whether it could make it up to Padrón on the western shore of the province of Coruña.If you think this is a made-up story, tell that to the Church, which insists Saint James made the lo...

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“From The Stars” by Mihret Adal Gidi

Submitted to Contest #83

The night is fair with the big and bright moon accompanied by the stars. Unlike most nights, Chincoteague, Virginia’s police department is flooding the beach for the recent odd news they just received from the young folks who were wilding out the night.“Hello Chincoteague, Virginia’s police department, how may I help you?” the operator uttered from the other side.“Hello, we need help, help. A woman walked out the sea and she is bleeding... she is covered in blood,” a young girl was making the call and she sounded quite unsettled and scared.“...

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“Whiskey, Diet Coke, Two Dollars, and a Pistol” by Redd Herring

Submitted to Contest #83

This is a true story. I have not done this on an island yet, but the story is true.Trigger Warning: Suicide (not graphic)The moonlight showed the way as I guided the little boat to the beach. I stepped out and was surprised – the water was warm. I guess I expected it to be cold this time of year. I dragged the boat up on the sand and walked in a streak of light along the water’s edge.This is as good a place as any. I dropped down and took a long breath. The salt air felt so different in my Texas lungs. I opened the backpack, fished for my ph...

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“beautiful but not powerful” by Carole Cobos

Submitted to Contest #83

Whether she breathed in the water or not- it wouldn't matter. She only knew that she had to reach the firm land.A mountain called her. Radiating a power she wanted to touch.That was all.The being, beautiful to all, rose from the embrace of the waters. Water droplets ran down her naked sides.Magnificent.--------She was beautiful.She knew that.Aphrodite, they call her. All of them hung on her every word, holding their breath and waiting for her to shine her smile upon them.The fools. She was older. She was made the moment...

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“Remembering a Friend” by Asumi Pringle

Submitted to Contest #83

Trigger Warning: Attempted suicide and mention of deathI was so close to reaching the bottom. Then I could finally be with my best friend, Jasmine. As soon as I would get there, I would let my breath out and it would all be over. Memories of Jasmine flooded her mind as she reached the end. As soon as she touched, a force was pulling her up. No! This can't be happening! she was doing everything she could to make this thing let go of her. Her head broke the surface and she was coughing."How could you! Why did you save me?!" She starts crying "...

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Start your story with someone emerging from the sea, and end it with them looking up at the stars.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 277 stories

“Are the stars more beautiful than me?” by Amarah Friedman

“The Girl From The Sea” by Luna Wood

“The Last Entry” by Nyla N

“A Normal Day” by Prince .

“Big Eyes, Beauty of the Sky” by Aisa M

“The Brightest One There” by Maryann Hammond

“Of Salt and Sand” by Cassandra Durnin

“The Island” by Greg Gillis

“Mama's Special Blessings” by Keri Dyck

“The Phoenix (Highmast series, flashback)” by Lizzy Duffield-Fuller

“Santiago, Not the Moor-Slayer” by Kathleen March

“From The Stars” by Mihret Adal Gidi

“Whiskey, Diet Coke, Two Dollars, and a Pistol” by Redd Herring

“beautiful but not powerful” by Carole Cobos

“Remembering a Friend” by Asumi Pringle

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who goes to extreme lengths to get themselves to a tropical island.

Write about someone who’s lived on a tropical island their whole life and is leaving it for the very first time.

Write about someone who books a bargain vacation, only to be told when they arrive that they need to share a hotel suite with a stranger.

Write a fantasy story about water gods or spirits.

Contest #83

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

826

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: