Write a story that involves a flashback.

Posted in Fiction on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 71 stories

“ROUTE 66” by Ed Tar

Submitted to Contest #140

Traveling Old Route 66 It was 1958 and the biggest day of my life to that point—high school graduation. Graduating at the end of the January term meant no senior trip, but that wasn’t going to stop me. A few days after graduating, as the Everly Brothers were singing their smash hit “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” three friends and I had a drea...

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“On Evil's Side” by Duha Khan

Submitted to Contest #140

“Almost there,” Hades’ slightly-distorted voice whispered over the walkie-talkie. “Take another left at the end of this street. There’ll be a security camera pointed right at you on one of the side shop’s backdoors. Keep outta its way. You don’t wanna mess up this time!” He hissed, the same way he hissed at almost everything he said. I took a careful turn to the left of the street, eyeing the camera he had just mentioned. It was a moving camera, that turned from left to right. “Okay, okay. Stop crawlin’ up my back, Dude. It’s annoying. An...

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“A Pair of Bluebells” by Lily Lu

Submitted to Contest #140

This must be the thousandth time I’ve saddled my hippogriff, but today my hands tremble. Falena is an icy blue steed and her gold feathery tail fans out behind her. Picking up on my antsy energy, she chirps uneasily. Today, I’m going on a simple royal quest to pick up something from the dangerous Silver Thicket. It doesn’t sound too intimidating, but completing a royal quest is the only opportunity for children of craftsmen like me to ascend to nobility. If I fail, I might not get another chance for years, and I’ll be stuck in my parents’ di...

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“Ciao, Bella” by Taylor Sedwick

Submitted to Contest #140

2022 As she walked through the door of her Manhattan apartment, a sense of familiarity rushed over Cara. Another weekend, another date that was going absolutely nowhere. Almost 30, she thought, and I'm still alone. She sat down on her perfectly white loveseat and weakly kicked off her heels, signaling Roscoe (her beloved eleven year old dog and best friend) to come sit at her side. He hardly shed, which was why he was allowed on the couch, but because of his old age, she probably would have let him get up anyways. It wasn’t like the ...

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“Snow” by Erica Waterman

Submitted to Contest #140

Snow. The people on the TV are predicting 11 to 15 inches overnight. A few flurries are floating down towards the grass now, but the real snow is coming overnight. As Margo sits down at the kitchen table with her cup of tea, she recalls how much she used to enjoy the snow as a child. She and her sister used to go sledding with their father. They had a wooden sled with metal runners. It was painted red, of course. Red, sled. A rhyme. She wonders if she has noticed that before. The color red ...

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“Gone” by Kate Kilbee

Submitted to Contest #140

Images. There are the ones in your dreams which are very vivid. People walk and talk in them but even whilst asleep you know they are not real. Then there are the ones made of paper, photographs, that you can hold in your hand that capture moments forever, like time standing still. Freeze frame. Neither of these are real because the people in them are not moving or reacting in real time. They are not aging or changing. You cannot hold a conversation with them, or laugh at their jokes. So there are times when images are not enough or can even...

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“Familiar” by McKenna Cardona

Submitted to Contest #140

Quick Content Warning: Slight mentions of racial violence (based on a fictional race, but still) I do not often question my visions. I have learned, in my years of dreams and destiny, that they always tie into something. Some fortunate or unfortunate experience, some weird encounter. They’ve led me to the greatest of riches yet also the darkest of moments. But this one confuses me. This kid confuses me. Having seen the tavern in a dream one night, I figured my next fateful event would happen within its walls. I did not expect it to...

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“The Tragic Backstory of Danika DeRioux” by Naomi Coffman

Submitted to Contest #140

The hero will win. The villain will lose. Someone you love will die. That’s the story. That’s always the story. Don’t forget. Danny remembers every detail of that day. She can’t forget and, believe me, she’s tried. She remembers the electric spark of his touch. She remembers his smell—sandalwood and citrus. She remembers the way he said her name, as if he could taste it. Dark chocolate. Dry red wine. A last kiss. Delightful. Full of delight. It’s been a long twenty years, but Danny hasn’t forgotten. * They met just before sunset, at a hole...

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“Silence is Golden ” by Karen Lethlean

Submitted to Contest #140

Silence is Golden Once upon a time – A good beginning; warm and familiar you may say. Everything must have a beginning. Once upon a time; belonging to myth and fairy tales, does not seem to fit, but will have to do. This was a time when the world seemed a ‘Noah’s Ark’ society and I am the single who didn’t fit. I might have documented a case of ‘survivor syndrome’ being the survivor of a broken marriage and working full-time shift work, supporting a child. I was burdened and fragmented. Somehow, someway the pieces ha...

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“Ex-Requited” by Andrew Wheeler

Submitted to Contest #140

“Don’t even fucking think about sending that.” I thought you were happy…I’m sorry. It was only the start of a long paragraph of text. I sat mesmerized by the cursor popping in and out on the screen in an endless rhythm, reading over the words I had spent the past hour constructing. I had never intended it to come out this long, but rambling was hardly something new in our conversations together. “Peter!” My eyes snapped back to the present as I looked up to see my annoyed friend ever-so-slightly breaching my comfort zone in a desperate effor...

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“The last day.” by Mark Atkinson

Submitted to Contest #140

Arthur knew in some sense that these were his final hours on earth. The morning light pushing through the slatted blinds told him the sun was rising on his final day. The crisp white sheets stretched tight over his withered body, the small window slightly open, letting in the distant drifting sounds of gulls on the wind, the apple green walls with the tasteful prints of seascapes all told him he was witnessing his final day in a place unfamiliar to the life he had once led. Fragmented aspects of his life would on occasion push up through the...

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“When To Die ” by Olivia Grover

Submitted to Contest #140

When to Die This was the fourth time he had died this year. The first occurrence only lasted a few minutes before he was resuscitated. Each seemed to last a little bit longer than the previous experience. Every time Lucas felt pain all the way down to his toes until he died, but coming back was even worse. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, but he still couldn’t breathe. He could feel the frigid fingers that wrapped around his organs slowly, painfully, retreat. By now, he had begun to get a sense of when he was approaching ...

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“The 20 & Back” by R. Sadeh

Submitted to Contest #140

The 20 & Back It started when I was five. A man in a grey suit came to take me away. I can’t quite remember his face. Every time I try to do that it just slips from the corners of my mind like a fish out of water. It bugs me. Because he’s the one who started it all. Or so I thought at the time. I remember the soft texture of his hand as he took mine in his. It was warm and I felt safe. Safe enough to walk out of the play area, where I spent so many hours every day, and leave with him. That wasn’t the first time I saw him. He used to sh...

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“It’s all its quacked up to be” by Jennifer Shrum

Submitted to Contest #140

I remember the duck pond, it was my reward, escape, and serenity. Watching the ducks was oddly calming; believe it or not they have their own little personalities and dramas. The one with the emerald green head was always chasing the brown and black speckled one with the furious honk. Teamwork was the deal of the day when someone put seed out – each wobbling up onto the bank and eating from the communal table. This was how people were supposed to get along- not kicking, screaming, fighting and terrified. --- &nbsp...

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“The Walking Wizard” by Jessica Jones

Submitted to Contest #140

"What is time?" The voice of the cloaked figure sounded like the rumbling of thunder, deep and wizened. "Time is the silent ruler of our lives, pushing and pulling us in and against a current, we can do nothing about." The eyes of fellow travelers looked on in wonder, mystified by the newest arrival to their fire. "It is strange to live in a world where time is so important and impartial in how it affects our lives. So, imagine the cruel irony in living as a creature where time truly holds no sway." Three claws rose to draw back the traveler...

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Write a story that involves a flashback.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 71 stories

“ROUTE 66” by Ed Tar

“On Evil's Side” by Duha Khan

“A Pair of Bluebells” by Lily Lu

“Ciao, Bella” by Taylor Sedwick

“Snow” by Erica Waterman

“Gone” by Kate Kilbee

“Familiar” by McKenna Cardona

“The Tragic Backstory of Danika DeRioux” by Naomi Coffman

“Silence is Golden ” by Karen Lethlean

“Ex-Requited” by Andrew Wheeler

“The last day.” by Mark Atkinson

“When To Die ” by Olivia Grover

“The 20 & Back” by R. Sadeh

“It’s all its quacked up to be” by Jennifer Shrum

“The Walking Wizard” by Jessica Jones

🌟 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: