Write about someone rediscovering something old they thought they’d lost.

Posted in Fiction on Mar 31, 2023

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✍️ 67 stories

“The Key” by Richard Messner

Submitted to Contest #192

The Key By Rick Messner "Guess what I found", I said holding my hand out in the shape of a fist to hide my discovery. "Let's see, it's gotta be something small since it's in your hand, at least I assume it's in your hand. I know, it's my long lost ten-carat diamond ring!" "Wrong, you always guess that and as far as I know you have never owned a ten-carat any kind of ring. You certainly didn't get one from me." "Cheapskate. OK, I give up, let's see this find of yours." I opened my hand to display a small gray key. "Remember this?" B...

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“The Fall of Sanaq” by Sabin Cunningham

Submitted to Contest #192

The smell of death wafted through Kyron’s nose. More Dolls were coming. He stopped and put on his helmet, grabbing his ax from his back. Doing so made him sicker than the scent. The moon lit up the kingdom of Sanaq, making the blood splatters glow. Whipping his head in every direction, he finally spotted the first one. It spotted him as well. “Pleeaaaiiighshhe!” It collapsed to all fours, its limbs a mass of writhing parts trying to bring it closer to its prey. Its flesh bore the black of night, shimmering red from exposed muscles and cake...

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“Ray's Flag” by Diane Hawkes

Submitted to Contest #192

Here I am sitting on some mattresses on the floor, a cardboard box end table and two sleepy pooches. It has been a journey getting here, but here I am. It had been a year since I left my abuser, once and for all. He had put trackers on my phone and my car, so, I bought one of those phones that you buy minutes for so I could plan my escape without his knowledge. I did manage to get a few important things to my brother’s house before Jim started asking questions. He knew something was up and decided to work from home ...

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“The Seedling Bucket” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #192

There it was damp and moldy stuck against the bottom of the plastic seedling bucket. “Alex, I found it!” said Sally who kneeled in the furrowed row of the grape field they owned in Fresno, California. “Found what?” said her brother who whistled while he planted fragile seedlings by hand like her in an adjacent row. “The receipt from the co-op store.” He tore his gloves off and dropped the digger by his spot to run over to her. “I can see the logo,” she said as he neared. He couldn’t see her egg shell blue eyes behind the drape of her sun-ble...

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“The forest dwarf” by Darling Jackson

Submitted to Contest #192

The grass crunched under my feet. The sky was a dim gray as the sun started to rise over the horizon. The forest in front of me was dark and cast a ginormous shadow over the garden. Then in the darkness of the looming forest there was a little light, a little ball of light. Like a small star on earth. Then a second one appeared. A little bigger than the first one. Then another, this one was blue and a good bit smaller. A few more appeared making a thin trail of lights. Almost like those things of twinkle lights hung up ...

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“El Cenote” by Benja Catton

Submitted to Contest #192

“I feel stuck here,” Madison said with a shrug. He leaned his tailbone against the kitchen counter. Beside his hips, his hands gripped the blue and yellow Mexican tile. His shoulders hunched. Despite the kitchen’s whirling ceiling fan and his short pants and short sleeves, he was hot. Street vendor shouts, taxi honks, and engine noise intruded from the street beyond the barred windows. They were in the center of town, just off the plaza central. They had been enjoying the AirBnB apartment's creative, colonial flavor. Mexican folk art leapt o...

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“A Call to Arms ” by Megan Negus

Submitted to Contest #192

The salty sea air burned her nostrils like poison. Waves rippled against the vessel, splashing droplets onto her skin. The winds of Zephyr sent her bones shivering as she sat, exposed to the starry night sky. Melanippe gasped. Every intake of breath reminded her that she was no longer on the beaches of Themyscira, but bound with rope on a hero's ship. The hero. One wearing the pelt of a lion like a set of armor, divine blood flowing through his veins. It must’ve been potent with enough strength to strike down dozens of her sisters ...

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“I never knew I lost it until I found it!” by Liz Orvis

Submitted to Contest #192

I have always been a relentlessly positive cheerleader. I was chosen as Co-Captain of the Swim Team and President of the Choir Department in high school not because I was particularly skilled at either of those activities – frankly I was pretty bad at both. I was chosen because I motivated people to go farther than they ever realized they could go. That I could cheer them on, on the most difficult of days, and help them to know that they were both wanted and needed. I gave warm, enveloping hugs, and not so much advice as ...

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“Raw Meat” by Henie Zhang

Submitted to Contest #192

She found Rawmeat at the bottom of the box. The dinosaur plushy was more or less still the same color for which he was named, a distinctly, voraciously anatomical shade of pinkish red that had faded only a little. His name had no spaces, she thought, a swooping attack of a name in a single breath—Rawmeat. Rawmeat was a gift from a relative. Their father, actually. She couldn’t remember the last time he had visited them, and when she tried to picture him his features emerged only in spasms: a thick, triangular brow, an apostrophe of a scar ...

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“A Lost Friend Found” by Edward J. McCoul

Submitted to Contest #192

“A Lost Friendship Found” I, James, never imagined that my life would change so drastically in just one day. I was a regular guy living a regular life, until I stumbled upon a mysterious device that would take me on a journey through time.It all started when I was walking through a flea market in search of some unique items to add to my collection. I came across a strange-looking object sitting on a table in a corner. The vendor told me it was a time machine, and I laughed it off, thinking it was a silly prank.But something in my gut told me...

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“A Time for Kindness” by Joanna Smart

Submitted to Contest #192

Jack sighed, glaring moodily as he cast around for any sign of Sherrie. One Hour. That was the deal they had struck when he had begrudgingly agreed to come to this circus of peddlers. His first Saturday off in weeks, and he had allowed his boisterous little sister to convince him to take her to the monthly flea market. He felt his scowl deepen. Convinced wasn’t the right word. Blackmailed was more appropriate. In exchange for taking her to the market, she would keep quiet about the dent he put in their parent’s ...

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“The Necklace” by Christine Bialczak

Submitted to Contest #192

Matilda hadn’t told her sister that she lost the necklace. That was something she held onto all these years despite them being so close. It had been Granny’s necklace and they had both wanted it so badly but in the end Matilda was given the necklace while Jackie had taken the matching bracelet and ring. Both sisters had been happy with the gift Granny gave to them except Matilda’s happiness would be short lived. 20 years ago: “Matty, I told you it was fine,” said Jackie, holding her arm out to admire the shining bracelet and sparkling...

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“Golden Girls” by Catey Phiel

Submitted to Contest #192

It had a been warm summer day in the park when my mother gave the locket to me. It was a dazzling gold heirloom as she tenderly placed it in my small eager hands. The July sun melting us like giggling candles as we lounged in the grass beneath the singing canopy trees. I was 10 and my mother took us here to this hill every Saturday afternoon to watch the day with me. We would lay on cotton white sheets and pick out fluffy animal shaped clouds in the sky. Kings morphing into the dragons they’d slain, framed by a vast unsullied blue. It seemed...

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“The Day I Lost You” by Lea Rašić

Submitted to Contest #192

The Day I Lost You Warning: Dealing with death of a child. Mary had always been meticulous when it came to cleaning her house. Every year, she would go through every nook and cranny, making sure that everything was spotless and in its place. It was a habit that had helped her cope with the pain and loss of her son. Mary had been cleaning out her basement when she stumbled upon a dusty old pager. It was an antique relic of the past, a reminder of the time before smartphones and instant communication. She hadn't used it in years, but ...

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“The Old Friend” by Sophie Meinershagen

Submitted to Contest #192

As invisible as I was to the rest of the world, I didn’t mind. Though I’d never seen my own reflection in the mirror, felt a pair of eyes meet mine, or heard my name come from the mouth of anyone else, I was content. Because amidst this invisibility, I was seen by the only person I cared to be seen by: Amber. I can recall the moment I floated into existence. Amber was alone on the playground. There I appeared, standing before a lonely 4-year-old girl, weaved together by the strings of her imagination. The first few years of exi...

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Write about someone rediscovering something old they thought they’d lost.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 67 stories

“The Key” by Richard Messner

“The Fall of Sanaq” by Sabin Cunningham

“Ray's Flag” by Diane Hawkes

“The Seedling Bucket” by Linda Lovendahl

“The forest dwarf” by Darling Jackson

“El Cenote” by Benja Catton

“A Call to Arms ” by Megan Negus

“I never knew I lost it until I found it!” by Liz Orvis

“Raw Meat” by Henie Zhang

“A Lost Friend Found” by Edward J. McCoul

“A Time for Kindness” by Joanna Smart

“The Necklace” by Christine Bialczak

“Golden Girls” by Catey Phiel

“The Day I Lost You” by Lea Rašić

“The Old Friend” by Sophie Meinershagen

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone finding a treasure in an unexpected place.

Set your story at an antique roadshow.

Write a story about someone trying to reinvent themselves after spending a long time in a rut.

Write about someone stuck in an endless cycle who finally manages to break free.

Contest #192

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

248

Contest entries

144

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: