Write a story that involves a flashback.

Posted in Fiction on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 71 stories

“Laid Low” by David Hampton

Submitted to Contest #140

The sound was a low rumble; brief, monotone, then gone. Silence…dead silence. Then it erupted again; so close, resounding, almost overwhelming. Strange, the disturbance appeared to be timed with breathing. Silence…silence. Then a subsequent encore halted mid-rumble, the abrupt cessation timed perfectly with the evolution of consciousness. Shit, I’m snoring, Buster Swingle guessed correctly as his eyelids became functional. It was dark, darker than he had ever experienced dark. Where am I? Suddenly he understood perfectly the meanin...

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“Summer in March” by Fiona Fualaau

Submitted to Contest #140

“We were a bittersweet rainstorm in the middle of July. The kind where the rain is warm, and clothes get drenched, but no one minds because it’s beautiful to see something as simple as rain turn into a reason to smile. Our reasons to smile were the same reasons to sing and we were awful at singing--but that gave us a reason to smile. We let music fill the air wherever we went, and we sang words of heartache like they were gospel. The road was our church and the car was our sanctuary. We prayed to feminist gods and swore like sailors. O...

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“Cheers fo Sophie” by Gary Baxter

Submitted to Contest #140

Cheer for Sophie’s Choice by Gary Baxter Casual relationships: no matter how fickle or fiery they start, they ultimately all do one thing. They end. Sure, some participants are left with heartaches to heal, (max out Amex's, unwanted pregnancies, and joint Equinox lifetime gym memberships for others) but for the masses its fragmented memories. It’s old text messages with purple hearts and smiley emojis. Its numbers to iPhone 5's that are no longer working or available for your 1am call for noisy debauchery. But at ...

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“Southbound Boyz” by Mickey Carroll

Submitted to Contest #140

[This story contains mentions of violence.]PART 1: Jackie Brown and the King of BeersThe sun would soon be setting over the deep-blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico, as what had been a picture perfect July day began to wind itself down.While lounging on the beach of beautiful Naples, Florida, Johnny and Matt were quietly discussing their next steps, enjoying some adult beverages, and soaking in the view – both geographical and anatomical.Matt opted for Budweiser in a can (‘Why get fancy now?’ he thought.), while Johnny enjoyed his drink of cho...

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“The Awakening” by Douglas J. Veverka

Submitted to Contest #140

The weary soldier sauntered toward his barracks, exhausted from the humid jungle air, barely able to breathe under the weight of his surroundings. His skin glistened in the dim light that scattered throughout the base camp. He passed a dark man leaning back in a chair, an M-16 draped across his lap. “Ronnie V., how was it out there today? Another beautiful day in Nam’. You stay hydrated and keep those feet dry?” the man asked from the shadows.“Roger that, Sgt. Thompson. Keep ’em clean and dry. We pulled no punches out there and got...

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“Menthol and Something Else” by Lexi Birks

Submitted to Contest #140

Every once in a while, I get a whiff of a peculiar mint odor. Not any mint will do the trick, only menthol. And not menthol in any form, it has to be mixed with another scent. Something undistinguishable. Despite being busy or otherwise preoccupied, a hand reaches down, yanks me by the back of my shirt, and shuttles me back to a time I’d rather not revisit. I was in the back seat of Grandma’s car. Since she shared it with my uncle Mark, his stuff was littered about the floor and back seat. A red and white Playmate cooler rested behind the ...

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“What Happened” by Samantha Shaffer

Submitted to Contest #140

"Alright, Kailena, your turn?" my dad said as my big brother walked away from the door frame. Excitedly, i skip over and stand up straight with my back against the door frame. Every year before school started we measured our height. "Wow, Kai, two whole inches." dad smiled, "You are growing up so fast. Guess we need to buy a big brick." he chuckled. "Why?" I asked. "So, I can tie it to your head so you can't get any bigger. "I have to grow up some time, daddy. That's life. That's what Granny always says." I tell him. "You can't grow up. You ...

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“Blow Up” by Marylou Ambrose

Submitted to Contest #140

Blow Up Yesterday, my seventeen-year-old son told me he plans to apply for a job delivering pizzas. Most parents would be proud. His mother was all for it. Me? My life flashed before my eyes. Actually, not my whole life, just one night when I was his age and delivering pizzas. I never told anyone about this, but maybe now’s the time . . . I was driving a red, ‘84 Chevy Cavalier, my first car. It was a convertible, and the roof leaked when it rained. But there wasn’t room in the garage for it,...

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“Fence Post” by Catherine Douglas

Submitted to Contest #140

(CW: Descriptions of gory injuries and post-traumatic stress.)Austin Tretheway felt like he had aged several years in the months he had been laid up in Stalag V C’s hospital. For the first time in months, he was able to look into a mirror, and wondered if the man in it was really him. The man’s face was hollow. His bones were more prominent. His eyes were deeper in their sockets, and lined with dark circles.“Corporal,” he said, looking at the German medic, Wenzel, measuring fluid in an IV drip bag, “is it really March already?”“Yes,” Wenzel ...

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“A Bite To eat” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #140

I was so ready for the weekend I could taste it. It was just noon; I still had several difficult calls to make and a meeting to get through. The walls in my office cubicle were closing in, I needed to escape. The stress reaching up from my back and into my neck made my shoulders as tight as a board. I dreaded that project planning meeting; missing the deadlines, I deserve getting dragged through the mud. My phone rings, I recognize the number, and just let it go to voicemail because I do not want to get yelled at. Wh...

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“His Name Was Bill” by Stefanie Hutcheson

Submitted to Contest #140

His Name Was Bill by Stefanie Hutcheson Mark? Jeff? I'm sure it was a four-letter name. Bill. His name was Bill. Bill! That's right! Good grief, how could I forget that? Honestly, pretty easily. We only had that one night together. One fun-filled, exciting, happy-go-lucky evening of adventure. Perhaps if I had known then the impact it would have on me I might have paid more attention to the details. Hindsight is great that way, huh? Alas! Oh sure. I had seen him around. Mars Hill wasn’t that big of a campus. He was a ...

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“When Joey Fell” by Jack O'Brien

Submitted to Contest #140

When Joey fell there were no headlines. The story exists as family history, shared in quiet conversation over several generations. The bones of the story are these. There was an accident. A boy died. During the early years of the Great Depression, John C. and his young wife, Ida Mae, struggled to make ends meet in western Pennsylvania. John sold appliances. Money was scarce for families to buy consumer goods. Many had lost jobs. In the small rural communities around Pittsburgh, livelihoods were connected to the major local industries of co...

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“The Worse Day” by Larry McDonald

Submitted to Contest #140

`"It seemed like yesterday," the man told his son. "I had a similar incident when I was in the war in Afghanistan. We didn’t fight the enemy with video games, back in my day. We were boots on the ground. "Dad, we don’t fight them with video games." "We use an Intelligent War-fighting Autonomous Reaction Force, or IWAR, for short," said the son. They might as well be video games; you watch them on your fancy screens and don’t even get your hands dirty. Although it is not a bad thing to keep our boys from ...

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“Pros and Cons” by Molly Norton

Submitted to Contest #140

I did not expect to fall in love with her. I guess nobody really expects that unless they’re like super hopeless romantics. Genuinely, I really did not plan on falling in love with her. I needed a roommate last year and she was looking for a place to live. I liked that she was organized and made random lists of pros and cons. Suddenly she was dragging me to parties or borrowing dresses and introducing me to boys. After the pandemic, I’ve been reluctant to get back out. Although, Veronica has absolutely no problem with it. By the way, her goi...

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“The First Sin.” by Charles Dean

Submitted to Contest #140

"Why do you weep, my child?" Asked a mysterious voice that echoed all around the dark sewer tunnels. Loray stopped crying and opened his eyes, startled by the question. He turned left and right but saw no one, making him wonder if he had lost his sanity. "Why do you weep, my child?" Asked the voice again. Loray looked down and saw a single red eye staring at him from within a puddle of dirty water. The eye seemed to look deep inside his soul and ponder at his depths. Loray jumped away and as he knelt facing away, he placed his hands on his e...

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Write a story that involves a flashback.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 71 stories

“Laid Low” by David Hampton

“Summer in March” by Fiona Fualaau

“Cheers fo Sophie” by Gary Baxter

“Southbound Boyz” by Mickey Carroll

“The Awakening” by Douglas J. Veverka

“Menthol and Something Else” by Lexi Birks

“What Happened” by Samantha Shaffer

“Blow Up” by Marylou Ambrose

“Fence Post” by Catherine Douglas

“A Bite To eat” by Marty B

“His Name Was Bill” by Stefanie Hutcheson

“When Joey Fell” by Jack O'Brien

“The Worse Day” by Larry McDonald

“Pros and Cons” by Molly Norton

“The First Sin.” by Charles Dean

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with the narrator or a character saying “I remember…”

Write about a character with an unreliable memory.

End your story with total oblivion.

Write a story inspired by a memory of yours.

Contest #140

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

333

Contest entries

170

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: