Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Set your story in a post office.

Posted in Fiction on Aug 18, 2023

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?

✍️ 36 stories

Monday Morning

Submitted to Contest #212

“Next!”She did not mean to shout, but she knew what the morning would be like. The people waiting in line would be buying stamps, picking up packages, check post office boxes, etc…and then buying whatever groceries they could find in the drugstore before heading to the café or the metro. The day they decided to put her job in the middle of the brightness of a drugstore was the day she should have quit. But she was still here, after the move, wearing the uniform that indicated some level of responsibility and experience.Yes, that was the word...

25 likes 32 comments 32
Read story

The Book Of The Dead Letter Office

Submitted to Contest #212

“To whom it may concern,” the letter started. “Within the enclosed book lies a treasure trove of adventures beyond your wildest imagination. Its spells within hold the key to many locked doors in time. Use it wisely and be warned: Not all outcomes are favourable.” “What on Earth is this nonsense,” Captain Richard Lyle muttered. “I say, Jonty,” he called across the small room. “I’ve just opened one of the dead letter packages that came in this morning and discovered this extraordinary letter inside.” “Who is it addressed to, Dickie?” Hi...

24 likes 21 comments 21
Read story

Post E

Shortlisted for Contest #212 ⭐️

“I need to send this.” The young man took a package from inside his heavy suncoat and put it on the counter. It was wrapped in yellowed newspaper tied with chord made from discarded plastic packaging, gathered and spun back into utility by enterprising street vendors.  “Ok, if you want me to address it for you that’ll be an extra ten pounds,” said the Postmaster, his voice a tin-can echo from behind his bulletproof window. “Ten! It won’t be that much to send it.” “Rules, I’m afraid. You should address it yourself, if you can. ...

22 likes 27 comments 27
Read story

The Amalgamated Realms Post House for Interdimensional Deliveries

Submitted to Contest #212

"Welcome to The Amalgamated Realms Post House for Interdimensional Deliveries." I said with a forced smile. "How can I be of service today?"My question was followed by a rambling of burps, spits and general nonsensical squishes. The customer, a Garafavulia from Dimension Xy23, squished his bulbous forehead together in what I assumed was a questioning expression. The Garafavulia flopped their transparent tentacle onto the counter with a wet impact. After a second, they let slip a small black envelope onto the counter."Of course. I completely ...

21 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

Wrong Address

Shortlisted for Contest #212 ⭐️

He just wanted George to shut his big mouth; Johnny had no idea what it would lead to. A postman cracking codes and chasing Communists in the middle of Nebraska? It was the stuff of cheap dime novels, not his life. At least, it wasn't supposed to be. George had just returned from his delivery route, walking in just after Margaret shut the door behind her. Johnny’s ear-to-ear smile disappeared the moment he heard the creak of the old post office’s wooden door just after she'd left. Couldn’t even enjoy it for a minute, he thought. At best...

21 likes 15 comments 15
Read story

Hat Lady

Submitted to Contest #212

“She’s back.” “Hat Lady?” “Yup.” MaryAnn motioned the next customer to the counter, putting a temporary hold on their conversation. “Can I help you?” She asked, hoping she didn’t sound as impatient as she felt. It wasn’t the customer’s fault that she was anxious to see what happens with the mystery woman. “Yes. Ten stamps please. You know those stamps that are always good, I can’t think of what they’re called.” “Forever stamps,” she replied, glancing toward the lobby. “Yes, that’s it. Forever stamps.&nb...

19 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Dead Letter Room

Submitted to Contest #212

She looked down at the blood splattering over the hundreds of envelopes displayed before her. She felt every heartbeat pump it out and bring her closer to death. Her head was light. Her body was weak. She finally slipped off of her chair into the forgotten pile of mail that she was becoming part of.“Someday,” he said from behind her, “someday we will find the solution and Annabelle will be beautiful again.”Weeks before, the punishment seemed inhumanly cruel. All Cassidy had done was sneak into a restricted area for a story. It was a story he...

17 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

Bridges of Ink: A Transcontinental Friendship

Submitted to Contest #212

Chapter 1: The World in an Envelope The vast expanse of the sky slowly transitioned from the fiery hues of the setting sun to a deep twilight blue. Lila McKenzie settled comfortably beneath the sprawling mango tree that had become her sacred spot for introspection. Each letter she penned to Cindy was not merely ink on paper. It was like dispatching a piece of her very essence, a vivid fragment of Jamaica, across vast oceans and landscapes. And today's letter held the promise of something new, something special. Meanwhile, thousands of miles ...

15 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

The Package

Submitted to Contest #212

“Next.”The girl behind the counter flashes a smile. Kyanna. My stomach flips. God, she’s even cute in a baggy postal uniform. Am I imagining it or is that smile a bit brighter than the one she gave the last customer?I tug the hood of my sweatshirt lower over my eyes, and then fold and unfold the paper in my hand, pretending to read it while holding up my index finger.“Sorry. I’m not quite ready.” I gesture to the guy in line behind me. “You go ahead.”I continue to stare at the paper, occasionally looking up to the station next to Kyanna’s. T...

14 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

Base A: The Post Office at the End of the World

Submitted to Contest #212

The icy waters crackle as the cruise ship enters the harbor off the notched and ragged coast of Port Lockroy. There is a hectic roo, roo, roo from the calling Gentoo penguins, and there is a fussy cow, cow, cow from the snowy sheathbills as they tap the windows of the Post Office. It is ironic that we are located out on the polar shelf—literally set apart from the whole world, and yet, the world comes to us daily. I rise from my bunk drenched in sweat. My veins ache as if tensed by electric current. My head is burnin...

12 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

Seashore Lane

Submitted to Contest #212

“40 by 60 centimetres, this one goes to orange; 4 by 2, blue. What do you think they packed in this one? Do they deliver jewellery by post now too?” marvels Maia, as she lobs the tiny, decorated cardboard packet to the container at the back of the holding room. “Who knows?” mutters Mitch. “Everything is considered urgent nowadays, probably a couple who decided to get married online at the last minute and needed a ring”. They continue sorting the cardboard boxes: a novel initiative to reduce paper waste from the incremental build-up of ca...

12 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Fragments

Submitted to Contest #212

***Trigger Warning: This story contains themes and descriptions of murder and violence that may be distressing for some readers.*** On Tuesday, Kade walked into his job at the local post office. The job suited him; it fit his personality. He stayed in the back sorting mail and occasionally got packages for the front clerk girl.  Today, he planned to do extra cleaning around the back room. So he came in a little early. He wanted to prove to his boss that he was good at this job.  Passing the clerk girl, Brandi, today, she gave...

10 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Post Office at the End of the World

Submitted to Contest #212

Zip Code 99999 belongs to a post office that most people don’t even know exists.  There is a seventh dimension quality to this place even Rod Serling wasn’t aware of, but it is real.  It is not the Dead Letter office or the final destination of letters sent by children to Santa Claus at Christmas time.  While it is not a vortex or some other alternate reality, the Post Office at the End of the World is exactly what it says it is and its chief purpose is to connect people who have long been disconnected for whatever reason.&nbs...

10 likes 11 comments 11
Read story

Sea salt

Submitted to Contest #212

I had most definitely not been out, and I hadn’t ordered anything. Yet I found myself in the line at the post office with the “you were out” note in hand. And when I finally had the package I decided to open it straight away. I decided to open the package still in the post office, and its contents took my breath away. The magnifying glass’s bright orange handle and green rim were worn and faded, but it was the same one I had when I was a kid. Why would anyone post this to me? Why was it even still around? My childhood memory of this object w...

10 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

The Postmaster's Secret Passion

Submitted to Contest #212

The bulky manila envelope was heavy with the weight of rejection as Postmaster Alex Bentley placed it on the counter and began filling out the yellow pick-up slip. In the three years since his promotion to postmaster of the small rural office in upstate New York, Alex had delivered his share of good news and bad. Even if the tiny post office he ran was only a mailbox drop, he was there six days a week in rain, sleet, snow, and sometimes into the darkest of night. He tolerated the postal jokes, ran an efficient operation, and received numer...

9 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in the form of a letter, or multiple letters back and forth.

Short Story – 145 stories

Write an epistolary story set during a major historical event. The event may be the subject of the letters directly, or be referenced in the background.

Historical Fiction – 30 stories

Write a story about a pair of pen pals.

Character – 26 stories

A mysterious letter is delivered to your character's home. It's not addressed to them, but they can't resist peeking...

Mystery – 63 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