Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Write about a person who meets with the ghost of an old friend for tea every so often.

Posted in Fantasy on Jun 19, 2021

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 111 stories

Falling in Love with a Haunted House

Submitted to Contest #32

Not all hauntings happen in Victorian-style houses with stained-glass windows and wrap-around porches. They aren’t limited to old, porcelain dolls, or leather-bound books with ancient languages scribbled inside. People can be haunted, too - hearts can have poltergeists. I’m not talking about the kind of haunting that can be cleansed by a priest with holy water or burnt sticks of sage. The ghosts dwelling inside ordinary people don’t have names or unfinished business. They’re strangers, and they metastasize like cancer - deadly and rooted and...

28 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Ice Cream With Grandpa

Submitted to Contest #32

On September 24, 1981, I was home alone. The doorbell rang, my grandpa was standing there with a container of chocolate ice cream in his hand and a big ole' smile on his face. My dog was jumping up and down with excitement and inside so was I. I grabbed two bowls and the ice cream scoop, and we went out on the patio to eat our ice cream.  When our ice cream had all been eaten, he pulled our well-worn set of dominoes from his right jacket pocket and his pipe from the left. We played dominoes for hours, talking and laughing.  “What a...

26 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

Spirits Don't Catch Colds

Submitted to Contest #32

I figured with all this grand universe to explore you likely wouldn’t be back for a while. What gives?“Wow...It’s been damn near a month⎯and the green tea with lemon and honey will help with this cold.”“You don’t look sick to me.”“I may not look it but I can’t stop sneezing and my eyes keep watering.”“I can’t believe I’m falling for this...spirits don’t catch colds?”“How do you know? You’re not a ghost. And I’m sneezing all over the place. And in threes every so often.”“Threes?”“Yeah, one right after another. Then the goosebumps come and I b...

23 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Tales from Yújìn

Submitted to Contest #32

“The wicker basket, with the red stain, please.” Luò Wei handed the stall keeper ¥34, and dropped what he was carrying into its new home. “Xiè xie!” The young man nodded. “You’re very welcome.” Luò Wei replied, smiling. He was ashamed to think it had been a few years since he’d last visited his home village of Yújìn. It was a historic and quaint town, where everyone knew everyone. The cobble streets were decorated beautifully for the festival. Despite being on an island, the agriculture was booming, and the vendors in town had everything you...

17 likes 9 comments 9
Read story

Jilly and Karianne

Submitted to Contest #32

Jilly had been dead for decades. Everyone knew that. Everyone also knew that Karianne was a witch. Those were just the well-known facts of the neighborhood.Karianne wasn’t even her real name. She had forgotten a long time ago. It wasn’t memory loss, just the fact that no one had ever asked her. Except for one person, Jilly.They had met when Karianne was going to a museum. She looked like someone not to cross, with her then-auburn hair pulled into a tight bun, and her crisply pressed dress. Therefore, everyone avoided her gaze, and most ...

15 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Miss Defay's French Lessons

Submitted to Contest #32

Emmerson flinched as the cashier reached out with the change. “Your change is three sixty-three, and I’ll have those out to you in just a second.” “Thanks,” Emmerson murmured. Rubbing the palms of his hand with his thumb nervously, he sat down at the table across from the coffee stall and avoided eye contact with the other customers. If he had his phone this wouldn’t be a problem, but the Holly Circlet hated technology so. Emmerson popped his knuckles, lost in thought, and jumped when the barista called “Hot ginger tea, an iced Mint-to-be ...

14 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

A tale but true

Submitted to Contest #32

Many children loose their parents in childhood. Sometimes due to death of a parent or divorce and separation between them. I must have been a little more than six years old. I can still recall the day, the shock, sorrow and the loneliness that followed from that day.*********When I came home from school in the afternoon I found the front door locked. It was not unusual. Maa did that quite often. She would go to buy either vegetables and other stuff or go to watch movie. My Uncle's house was in the same locality. I used to go there and eat lu...

13 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

A photograph never lies

Submitted to Contest #32

Ruth glanced at the black and white portrait photograph in its silver frame on her dressing table and made a decision.“Time for another meetup” she announced, as she picked up the picture and took it into the lounge, where she placed it on her dining table.Soon the old lady was bringing in a tray that held everything needed for two people to enjoy a cup of tea together.She nodded to the woman in the photograph and as she did so, the doorbell rang, and she went to answer it.The woman who entered was black and white, just like the photograph a...

12 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

The White Tea Wish.

Submitted to Contest #32

Harry was excited to finally move into his own house. It was an old cabin located deep in the woods of the countryside. He was lucky enough to inherit it from his family after his grandpa, Joe, passed away of old age two years prior.Harry was riding along in his pickup truck while remembering the good memories he had of Joe. Harry remembered going fishing, camping, and the other miscellaneous adventures they went on together. However, the one thing he remembered the most was white tea. More specifically, he remembered how they used to drink ...

11 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

You Will Look a Ghost in the Eyes, but Not Me

Submitted to Contest #32

People don’t make eye contact with me anymore. Most either look away or put on sunglasses so their staring goes ‘unnoticed’ and people won’t think they’re weird. Though, I doubt anyone in this store would consider them weird when they’ve got me to compare to.As I glide into check out, the cashier fixes their gaze on the pink feather boa I’m buying and already wearing to avoid eye contact. I take off the boa to pay and pretend I don’t notice them judging me.“That’ll be 3.99, sir,” the cashier tells me.I slip her a five.“Do you want a bag,” sh...

11 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Tea with Leonardo

Submitted to Contest #32

It is a foggy summer day. However, all the sunshine is gone and the rain is slowly pouring out of the unreal clouds. just how Leonardo liked it.I walk down the street to the library because Leonardo says technological advancements are overrated and just increase pollution. he's right though.I step over each large puddle of water and let the whirls of oxygen caress my deep blue hair. I head to the dark brown establishment, inside, the smell of finely roasted coffee arouses the room. I look at the delectable donuts each topped with p...

11 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Waiting for Manny

Shortlisted for Contest #32 ⭐️

Every Saturday, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am, Fred Flannigan sat on the third bench to the right at entrance of Oscar Park. Sometimes, his best friend, Manny Mandinkos, joined him for the hour. When Manny actually showed up—you never could tell with Manny Mandinkos—Manny brought a thermos of camomile tea. Manny was unpredictable like that. Manny was also dead. A year ago, Manny decided, on a whim, to climb Mt. Everest. He did none of the rigorous training one normally does before that infamous climb. He made it to the top, but then died fr...

10 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Little Cafe on the Hill

Submitted to Contest #32

Once a year, every year. I take a special winter trip into the mountains. I always pack the night before, and wake up early to leave. Embracing the chilly morning air, it doesn't take long to toss the few bags I take with me in the trunk. Brew a quick cup of coffee for the drive, lock up the house and I'm on the road by six. I'll let the radio play whatever it will as I hop on the highway to the mountains; sometimes I might even drive in silence and just listen to the sounds of the road. Cruising along I slip past any major traffic before it...

10 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Rose-Tinted

Submitted to Contest #32

The clock on the wall chimed three o’clock. The perfect time for afternoon tea. As always Sheila was already there when Billie arrived. One day, Billie thought, one day I’ll be the first one here. May that be a long way off though. The cafe was dark, nestled underground and completely void of windows as it was. Each table had a cluster of candles, in part to add to the eerie atmosphere, but mostly because a flickering light source showed up the ghosts best. The spooky ambience was generally shattered by the sounds of jovial laughter and shar...

9 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Saying Good bye

Submitted to Contest #32

The kettle whistles, and I stand up, putting away my phone. I wasn't boiling water before, but it's not surprising - Florence usually stops by at around this time.I wander into my kitchenette, looking around. Sure enough, Florence is hovering just in front of some of my upper cupboards, looking for something.She doesn't look up as I enter the kitchenette."Where do you keep your tea cups?" she asks in her high, rather reedy voice. "One cupboard to your left. Don't use the porcelain ones, they were a gift from my mother," I say. She reaches th...

9 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who works an average job — but incorporate elements of magic into it.

Fantasy – 76 stories

Write about two people in a relationship. One of them has special powers, the other does not.

Fantasy – 77 stories

Write a story that includes characters who are aware they are a work of fiction.

Fantasy – 73 stories

Write a story about someone who can pause time or re-live old memories at will.

High School – 65 stories

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel