Write a story starring an octogenarian who’s more than meets the eye.

Posted in Fiction on Aug 11, 2023

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✍️ 68 stories

“Isabella’s grandmother” by Lie Moreira

Submitted to Contest #211

“Mama wrote me, dear!” Isabella’s mother, a not-so-young woman anymore, celebrated as a young child. “She is coming to visit us!” She continued yelling from the kitchen.“What?!” The old alchemist exclaimed in disbelief and biting his teeth. He made a very discontent face although was able to hide it from Isabella’s mother.“I thought you liked her and missed her.” The young man, son of a friend of a friend, replied in a lower voice.“Yeah, I do.” Isabella’s father answered in a lower voice too. “And I do like her better when she is far away, v...

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“Louie Lesak” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #211

When I was five, my family moved from Whitinsville, Massachusetts, to the nearby town of Uxbridge. I always thought it funny that we moved from one Oak Street to another. Oak Street in Uxbridge ran from Mendon Street to a fork in the road, where it split to the left and became Granite Street. The right fork ran up over a small hill where my father bought a small parcel of land. Here he built our home. In the middle of the fork was a World War II memorial with a flag pole that displayed a large American flag. F...

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“A Little Bit Safer” by David Bush

Submitted to Contest #211

*Content warning- some violence * Blamm! Blamm! Two consecutive shots rang out in the alley. Each was eclipsed by the sounds of the city—jackhammers, commuter buses, and the nearby L train atop Franklin Street. The killer gazed down with contempt at his victims, a pair of vagrants. “Good riddance,” he sneered. Still breathing, one of the derelicts moaned and reached out toward his assailant as if seeking a lifeline. Blamm! The third shot erupted from the barrel of the .38 and blood spattered against the dumpster behind the...

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“The Cuckoo Clock ” by Sarah Hinkes

Submitted to Contest #211

The Cuckoo Clock The phone rang at exactly 8:05am in the morning. Greg rolled over on his side fearful of who would be on the other line. He had been through this time and time again. There was in fact so much one could do before it was time to cut the cord. He laid on his back, eyes wide awake listening to the sound of the ringer play a lyric from his now least favorite song. “This is now, the beginning, and now together, this is the end”. As the ringer slowed to a muted fate, Greg looked about his room and took i...

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“The Missing Peace” by David Williams

Submitted to Contest #211

Every day was the same for Bryan, walking to and from work through the sea of people that make up the bustling city. Bryan is a tall and slender man in his mid-thirties with shaggy dirty blonde hair, his soft sleepy blue eyes make him somewhat unconventionally attractive. Bryan is too focused on his career to even attempt to find someone to share his time with, his days filled with long hours at the office, and even though he is not particularly happy with his job, it does pay well enough to enjoy a decent apartment with a dreamy view of the...

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“Tribute” by Pat O'Brien

Submitted to Contest #211

In the hour before dawn, we slip out in the darkness, gliding over the deep black Atlantic. The only sound is the chug of the engine. The boat noses east, where the sky pales to grey, and then magenta, until a crescent of rising sun casts golden rays upon the rolling water. As the sun moves higher, the water and the sky merge into the brilliant piercing blue of impending autumn. For more than seventy summers, we have bobbed and rolled in this old boat. In these later years, in the winter, he'd haul her out of the brin...

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“The Fire This Time” by Jeff Veyera

Submitted to Contest #211

The crackling flames were a time machine. They took him back to the past, to better times, to youth and vigor and laughter. He missed laughter. Everything now was sadness and anger. He shifted in his chair, feeling his anger rise. He was wet again. Why didn’t somebody do something about it? The dampness was akin to a swimsuit, the recollection of which drew him back to the beach, the sun ...

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“ That One With the Hair…” by Angel Hadjipopgeorgiev

Submitted to Contest #211

That One With the Hair… The room is bright and astonishingly large compared to the solitary bed where my withered body lies. It has nothing in common with the previous one, which had sheltered various sufferers of different ages, competing successfully in the quantity of diseases. My son, with some hesitation, sold my unnecessary house to provide me with this equally unnecessary comfort, but his filial duty and the upbringing I had i...

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“Isabella; A life” by Erica Gardiner

Submitted to Contest #211

Nothing really happens for an old lady in her 70s. All she has is her memories, even as they fade away. In the heart of a small village in southern Brazil, lived an elderly woman named Isabella. Her silver hair reaching her waist and her eyes which showed wisdom. She spent her days tending to her lush garden, filled with vibrant flowers and fragrant herbs. Her home, a cottage with walls that showed ancient writings and traditions. The villagers often whispered about Isabella, saying she was a witch and disgusting. Nobody came near Isabella a...

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“Emajanation Street” by Kevin Kenealy

Submitted to Contest #211

Dorothy Einsberg, aged eighty nine, acted as if the world never left the 1950s. She was proud that she could still drive and rolled around in a candy apple red 1955 Chevy she bought with her retirement money. She couldn’t stand all of today’s SUVs, calling them “new monster trucks that all looked the same.” She got a few looks from male car enthusiasts, but whenever they complimented her on the car, she shook her head and called them “perverts.” The only places she frequented were the few left in Harrisburg still standing from her era - the ...

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“Black Christmas” by Len Rely

Submitted to Contest #211

The day Brianne encountered the strange, handsome man would have been as boring as Christmas in July. Griffith Bros. had forced the storefronts across the street out of business, and then bought up all their merchandise for a fraction of its value, so now there was a rush of people bigger than Black Friday buying up everything on the shelves. Come to think of it, there were more black trench coats and black scarves and black hats than anything else and it wasn’t even December, doing the Griffiths the favor of clearing the space for them as p...

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“Delayed Honor” by David Elkind

Submitted to Contest #211

DELAYED HONOR By David L. Elkind I have been volunteering at Perception for two years. Perception helps people with cognitive problems, usually from Alzheimer’s disease. It hosts a series of activities each weekday that require its members to think to solve problems. The goal of Perception is to delay ...

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“The Hidden” by Anthony Mansueto

Submitted to Contest #211

The Hidden Anthony Mansueto No one would ever have expected that Salvatore Albatini would earn his living talking to people he didn’t know. He was an introvert’s introvert, socially awkward beyond measure, and almost certainly an undiagnosed autist. He excelled at things even most other students at the University of Chicago detested, like reading Hegel, something his dissertation advisor had forbidden him to do at least until he finished, for fear it would render his writing as incomprehensible as his conversation. But he was as passiona...

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“One last Job to Do” by Elaine Hurst

Submitted to Contest #211

One Last Job to Do “There was an old woman named Nell Who tripped on a snail, fell over the pail, And fell down a long, dark well. As she was falling she was was heard to exclaim,” Well bust my buttons and what a helluva of a shame!” Charlotte threw her pen across the room. This was her tenth try at writing a poem for the writing group she had decided to go to. It was rubbish. Pure and simple, rubbish. Charlotte really didn’t want to write poetry, or anything else really. But being retired now for more years than she wa...

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“A Real Head Turner ” by Georgia Blair

Submitted to Contest #211

At 82, Miss Callie Sue Alderwhite saw no value in wasting time to make up her mind; if she was going to do it, she needed to get on with it. Still, she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. The years had faded her once glowing skin to the brittle texture of fine old notepaper, like the last few sheets in the stationery box she kept on her nightstand. The pink peony-patterned box was her hiding place for a few special treasures: some beauty creams and cosmetics, a whisky flask, and the gold bangle brace...

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Write a story starring an octogenarian who’s more than meets the eye.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 68 stories

“Isabella’s grandmother” by Lie Moreira

“Louie Lesak” by Ralph Aldrich

“A Little Bit Safer” by David Bush

“The Cuckoo Clock ” by Sarah Hinkes

“The Missing Peace” by David Williams

“Tribute” by Pat O'Brien

“The Fire This Time” by Jeff Veyera

“ That One With the Hair…” by Angel Hadjipopgeorgiev

“Isabella; A life” by Erica Gardiner

“Emajanation Street” by Kevin Kenealy

“Black Christmas” by Len Rely

“Delayed Honor” by David Elkind

“The Hidden” by Anthony Mansueto

“One last Job to Do” by Elaine Hurst

“A Real Head Turner ” by Georgia Blair

🌟 Similar prompts

Begin your story with a librarian searching for something.

Write a story involving a friendship with an adorable animal.

Set or begin your story in a room lit by the flickering flames of the fireplace.

End your story with two characters reconciling.

Contest #211

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

308

Contest entries

107

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: