Menu

Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Directory

Contests

Magazine

FAQ

Write a story that takes place in the same building but in two very different time periods.

Posted in Historical Fiction on Jun 10, 2021

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google

Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 150 stories

'Retribution'

Asha Pillay

Submitted to Contest #85

Sara looked at the empty champagne bottle and glass on the table and gave a sigh of satisfaction. She was on a high, after all she had accomplished what she desired.The sobbing and groveling face of the girl swam before her eyes pleading for mercy.Sara started laughing, a bout of hysteria overcame her, which was difficult to control.Did the silly girl think she could take her place, and not face the consequences.?Well, She deserved what she got.Sara was ' Lady Remington', the mistress of the grand castle, and wo...

49 likes

Miles to Go

Kanika G

Submitted to Contest #85

      Mounted on a hilltop and surrounded by towering Deodar trees, the Gorton Castle could be seen from very far off. As the military vehicle pulled up in the driveway of the castle, John leaned out of the window to gape at the majestic castle designed by Col. Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, a well-known engineer and architect, in 1904. Ever since his father had been posted in Shimla, the summer capital of the British Empire in India, John wanted to visit the castle that served as the Government Secretariat. Ins...

43 likes

The Storyteller’s Daughter

Submitted to Contest #85

The city rushes outward, upward, in all directions, blurred by the rain and gloom of another midday storm. The streets teem with blinded cars, headlight beams shining in the raindrops and reflecting off the wet pavement. You are lost, caught by surprise in the storm and turned around in the unfamiliar city. Your hair is soaked and disheveled, your clothes cling tightly to your skin in the warm summer rain.A streetlight and a modest storefront sign catch your eye. This building is nothing like the aloof glass-and-metal structures which s...

42 likes

The Tourist

Submitted to Contest #85

Connor peered out under the hood of his raincoat just in time to see a bike hurtling towards him. Under the control of a lazy eyed pilot, it veered sharply to the right, spraying Conner with the contents of a clouded puddle while flashing him the “Hotel Vondel” promotion printed along the crossbar. Mouth agape, Conner considered chasing down the cyclist to inform him of the importance of using the designated bike lanes when his eyeline traveled across the cobblestone avenue, catching along the cracked black paint which curled from the edges ...

42 likes

The Ferryman

Corbin Sage

Submitted to Contest #85

Your eyes open slowly, taking in the grey, ashy landscape around you. Your head is pounding, mimicking your heartbeat, which is steadily thumping at a calm pace despite your confusion and panic. You stand up. You notice that the ashen earth is actually thousands of flowers, wilted and flaking by the second, and pick one. It falls apart in your hands and becomes swirling sooty fragments that nestle in your hair. One floats away, shifting to be yet another spot in the pale sky. You start walking in a random direction, hoping you can find someo...

39 likes

Infinite Reigns of Time

Kaleigh Montague

Submitted to Contest #85

Author's Note: I just wanted to thank the people who left kind and endearing comments and likes on my last submissions. That made me want to continue writing and showcasing my abilities. I will address you all specifically in my bio. I also take feedback to better my writing skills and the feedback I have taken has helped me become stronger as a writer. Thank you to the Reedsy community for making me feel at home, and to push me to write more! Now enjoy! The roar of wheels thundered through the ground, making the tiniest shakes in the crac...

37 likes

Hidden Gems

Julie Ward

Submitted to Contest #85

--Elise--“Welcome to Bacon in the Pan, the podcast about women changing the world." My best friend’s familiar voice pours into my small flat like California sunshine. "Today’s guest is someone I’ve known a very long time.”Outside, the sky is gray and dark with rain. Beeping scooters whiz by to the ubiquitous cadence of police sirens in the distance. I love my apartment, with it's soaring windows and light wooden floors, and I'm lucky to have it. 98 Boulevard Malesherbes is owned by a businesswoman on a long-term assi...

36 likes

The Past Meets The Future

A J

Submitted to Contest #85

I walked past the rigid security guard towards my new home. The smell of wood and paint, quite prominent. Anita, the real estate manager, kept on pestering me with the same question, "Are you perfectly sure you want to live here, Ailith? Not that it's a bad place, but are you positive? No one has lived here ever since the Victorian era, probably. Plus, this place does not receive much sunlight either, then there is the issue of the draught. There are a lot of stories revolving around this particular mansion too you know, especially about a...

35 likes

1936

Lotus Fletchwood

Submitted to Contest #85

It was the Christmas of 1936. I docked from S.S. Emerald and found myself roaming about the roads of Middlebourgh—a town secluded at the south of West Sussex and had long preserved the customs of the old fashion. The ringing bells and the exciting carols of the children heard on the doorsteps of the wooden cottages were a reminder of the holidays of which I once cherished in Middlebourgh.For me, it was a stroke of luck that my intentions were not to return but to settle a will reading with my family. If only Daddy listened to my advice ...

32 likes

POW

Amelia Bowen

Submitted to Contest #85

I, queen of the attic spaces, preside over my queendom clothed solely in my ghastly chemise. Say what they may, my nanny, the housekeeper. They do not know how the weighted burden of a people to rule will reduce a dress and petticoat to utter ruin. I would be no better than the water-filled potholes that live by the front of the house. No better than the wash basin, as drenched and overwhelmed as the milk Cook boils downstairs. My queendom is hot as it is, being the attic spaces. It is but spring, and I feel that I can live in no more than a...

32 likes

The Spinners

Submitted to Contest #85

Prologue This is a story that takes place in the same building. It isn’t a terribly ancient building, only about four hundred years old, but you should know that the story has several parts and a lot of years in between them. You know, sometimes it’s the place that counts, sometimes it's the people. Other times, it’s what the people do. Maybe less often it’s the ideas they had which are so important. You never know. In the case of this building, it does have a name and became famous enough to merit being turned into a museum. A small, ti...

32 likes

The Ritual

Jen Ponig

Submitted to Contest #85

In this part of the city the fog doesn’t hang around for very long. At dawn the sun comes out and wakes up the neighborhood and brings everyone out of their homes. There are children playing in the park, parents pushing strollers, people waiting for the bus, stoners standing outside the donut shop, and early birds buying fresh produce from the vendedor de frutas. A homeless man is curled up at the entrance of the boarded up old movie theater. He wakes up and stretches his stiff limbs. He holds his face up to the blinding sun and closes his e...

30 likes

Is Life Full of Roses or Jade?

Submitted to Contest #85

Is Life Full of Roses or Jade?Mr. and Mrs. Johnson recently lost their daughter. Fortunately, death was not the cause. Rather, marriage led her away from home. Loading the last of her gigantic, unorganized boxes into the moving truck they turned all turned away from each other. With nothing left to say, the newlyweds Anna and Mark slowly walked to his car. The cheap car's roar did not distract Anna's parents enough to look back. The new Mr. and Mrs. Smith could walk all the way to Washington, D.C. for all they cared. Actually, they cared mor...

29 likes

Sightseeing in Brighton

Submitted to Contest #85

Brighton, Mid-1780s-        Here?Prince George IV stared at the residence, totally astonished. Not the princely type of accommodation he had in mind. However, there was room for improvement. And the surroundings were formidable.The residence was a simple and small lodging house with few outdated furniture, located within walking distance of the seaside. For George, this proximity to the sea was of vital importance; his health depended on the sea water and air. And Brighton was an ideal location, with i...

29 likes

nice man

Max Shoe

Submitted to Contest #85

“You used to be so nice!” she screams.     I don’t agree with her. When have I ever been nice? “Please stop that and look at me,” she says in a normal voice. A sweet brown voice that you can taste and see. Like a bear or a lion.     I keep plucking the strings on my guitar, pretending that I’m on tempo. Pretending that her sweet brown voice is a song that she sings for me. But her voice is not a song. Her voice is not a bear or a lion. Her voice is a lie.      “W...

29 likes

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story in a major city that your character has a love-hate relationship with.

Middle School – 151 stories

Start your story with the line, “That’s the thing about this city…”

Adults – 283 stories

Write about someone fighting to change their city neighborhood for the better.

Teens – 44 stories

Write about someone fighting to keep their city neighborhood the same.

Teens – 34 stories

reedsylearning

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel