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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about a character who has to rely on the hospitality of strangers.

Posted in Fluff on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 97 stories

“For the summer” by Cassidy Igoe

Submitted to Contest #96

Through the corner of my eyes I can see numbers on a square bright yellow clock. It's 7:45. I'm going to be late for the Fisher's and my mom hasn't come to help me yet. I try to pull myself up from my bed, but I can't. Shaking my head, I managed to get my arms to move. I Squirm. I don't stop squirming. I'm already tired and out of breath, but that's when my mother finally comes in. "Caitlin, we're going to be late!" She grabs my wheelchair and sets it in front of my bed. I know we're going to be late. Squinting my eyes, she helps me up out o...

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“Xenia and the Woman from China” by Stevie Burges

Submitted to Contest #96

Several years ago I went to an Exhibition in London called ‘Get a Life’ which had representatives from every possible walk of life suggesting new job opportunities, new lifestyle ideas, all kinds of things that went from the sublime to the ridiculous. I was so depressed I found the Exhibition really boring. My head shook from side to side constantly and I wore the expression of the completely beaten and downtrodden woman. No, nothing appealed. Towards the end of the day just as I was about to leave the Exhibition I was suddenl...

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“Not Strangers” by Shilpi Paul

Submitted to Contest #96

Not Strangers Opal's POV: My legs were hurting. Twigs, small leaves and branches were constantly poking and jabbing in my feet as I was running as fast as I could in the dark woods. Was it night already? I couldn't tell. And if I'm being honest, I didn't care. Survival was the only thing on my mind. Other things? They took a back seat the second, I was being chased like a little criminal who knows they did nothing. The important point is, I wasn't being chased by cops or any government officials. I was being chased by people whom I ...

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“Saved from a certain fate” by Elle S

Submitted to Contest #96

Here's the thing about people: they're extremely nice. They offer to help. They give. They sacrifice. They share. This is a good thing. Of COURSE it's a good thing. The problem here is not the people. The problem is me. I have no wish to be the receiver. I don't want the niceness and the sacrifices because it reminds me of what I can't do for myself. I don't want it because it makes me feel like a parasite. I don't want ANY of it because I don't truly believe that I am worthy."You are worthy," a woman said to me once. The offence I felt in r...

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“Angels of Hospitality” by Debra Waller

Submitted to Contest #96

Angels of Hospitality When Steven, my husband, lost his job, we were living from paycheck to paycheck, taking one day at a time while having faith tomorrow will be our breakthrough. Steven has been on this road several times before but, we always bounced back from those set-backs. As each day came and went as I reflected back, what caused us to get into this place for the past few years. Steven had a temper and when others at work would push his buttons, he would fly off the handle and quit each job. Maybe, this time he would ...

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“LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL” by Karubembe Junior

Submitted to Contest #96

"Hello..."The voice called from the outside of my small house. On checking my watch,it was exactly 9:45p.m.I had fallen asleep on my wooden-made chair around 45 minutes ago while watching the football match between Manchester United and my football team,Arsenal. I rose up sluggishly and went to check who was knocking on my door at that time of the night. On opening the door,I was astonished to meet David looking weary and helpless. David was a 10 year old boy who survived on the mercies of my neighbours. His parents separated while he was 4 ...

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“the words we cannot say ” by Keely Harris

Submitted to Contest #96

The woman drapes a blanket across my body like I am a dead thing. Rotting through her lounge and staining the pillows. The man’s voice is hushed when he speaks. Trying not to raise my corpse. They stare at each other when the mother returns to the kitchen, each cradling cups of coffee. It’s late. I watch them through half-raised eyes. I don’t want them to know that I am awake and watching. I want to see what the quiet hour reveals. My father and I quarrelled before I left for university. He wanted me to stay local. Living with the family...

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“The Perfect Last Day” by Anvi K

Submitted to Contest #96

The Perfect Last Day Alexa is roaming around the city of Athens. Her friends had talked about this particular street in Athens, telling her it was nothing special and that she shouldn’t waste her time in the neighborhood, but now that she is walking around this part of the town, she sees it in a whole new way. Kids playing on the streets; carts filled with different handmade merchandise that she had never seen before; people buying, selling and making some snacks, jewelry, vibrant and colorful art pieces.      &nbsp...

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“Distanced Relative” by Beth Robertson

Submitted to Contest #96

I remember being barely big enough to see over the kitchen counter at that time. My parents said that the man standing next to it was a cousin. I had asked whose cousin he was, and both had mumbled something that I didn’t understand, but what I understood was: he was there. I could barely see the box of cookies on the counter that my mom had got at the corner store and could barely sneak one as they tried to gather as much information from this stranger that they could using their limited skills in his sing-song language that didn’...

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“Freyja” by Bree Pearman

Submitted to Contest #96

It’s setting in once again, that well known primal urge. Run. Run far and fast as though your life depends on it. It may very well be the case. Though living by the hospitality of strangers is often a necessity, a means of survival, no mortal may be trusted for too long. Sooner or later, they all show their hand. When resting in their homes, feeding from their tables, sharing their ale in joyous frivolity, it is important to remember one universal truth - trust is for the weak, and I am not weak.  I didn’t fall for it as a child when ...

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“18 Little Market Square” by William Webster

Submitted to Contest #96

She stood for what seemed like eternity watching the building across the public square. In the market area, surrounded by tall buildings, she propped herself against the lone tree with her eyes never leaving the area. The large square, just across the Vistula River, had been streaming with people for most of the day until the sun began to set casting long winter shadows on the brick pavers that made up the marketplace. With the sun lowering over the building, the people scattered like a flock of pheasants after a shotgun blast...

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“When life happens.” by Zelmaré Verkes

Submitted to Contest #96

Carl had been watching the woman for over an hour. She has been sitting on a bench ever since he first noticed her, facing out to the sea, with her hands loosely in her lap. She seems to be staring ahead, not moving at all. She might be dead, for all he knows! The thought startles him somewhat. Damn, why didn't he think of that sooner? He quickly puts on a pair of sneakers and a wind breaker while shouting to his wife telling her where he's going, grabs his house keys, and runs down the stairs to the roadside. He stops briefly to check f...

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“The Act” by G S

Submitted to Contest #96

I can’t go on. I can feel my breath slipping away as my legs hit the ground. I can’t contain it. My head is pounding and every bone in my body is telling me to stop. I don’t. I can’t. My arm shines red under the sun as my sunburn and peeling skin remains out for everyone to see. Except that doesn’t matter. Because I am completely alone. The heat is beginning to sting as sweat finds its way into my eyes. I’m almost there.  I collapse onto a rock unable to move a single muscle. I carry a small backpack containing only the bare necessiti...

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“A letter from an ancient friend.” by Morgan Smith

Submitted to Contest #96

You would be surprised how kind the humans can be. If all you do is listen to words, you would think their entire kind was on the brink of civil war. Yet, for ten thousand winters, ten thousand springs, ten thousand summers and ten thousand autumns, I have lived on their blood without ever taking without permission. Normally I would only need to feed once a decade or so, as blood is shockingly nourishing, but given I am a mere beggar, it would be incredibly rude to take all of one's blood. I feed once a year or so, usually the hardest time o...

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“Old Faded Photographs ” by Louise Muller

Submitted to Contest #96

My fingers run over the material that hangs loosely from my neck, a scarf that feels both new and old. It has a familiarity that makes it feel cosy like a warm summer breeze. It also has an element of mystery, disguised by a lush, soft, luxerious feel. My fingers play with the yarn and I wonder how much time has passed since I put the scarf on, hours or minutes? I wonder what color the scarf is. There's no way to be sure. The house smells of oranges and lavender. It's the kind of smell you'd expect the model homes of 'House and Home' maga...

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🌟 Similar prompts

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Write about someone welcoming a stranger into their home.

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Start your story in an empty guest room.

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Contest #96

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