Write about an elderly character who was part of a historic movement years ago.

Posted in Historical Fiction on May 19, 2021

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✍️ 134 stories

“Ain Jalut” by A.P. Simmons

Submitted to Contest #80

Galilee, June 1306 It was already summer in the village of Zir'in. Young Ahmad had finished his morning chores and went looking for shade under the olive tree next to the road. His grandfather was already there, sitting on his stool and staring off at the clouds. Ahmad wanted to say hello, but his grandfather appeared lost in thought. The boy sat down cross-legged and looked at the clouds Grandfather was studying. This became somewhat of a routine over the next few weeks. One evening Ahmad asked his father why grandfather stared at the c...

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“Man of our Community ” by Jonalyn Saguilot

Submitted to Contest #80

My five-year old self, jumps to see the man in the coffin. It was put as high as my forehead and I saw him in white, wrinkled, gentle, little to no left white hairs and he’s sleeping in a peaceful dream. I recede as my mama carry me on her lean shoulder while she wipes away those crystals falling from her eyes. The wails and crying grew louder from the room. The room is filled with my lolas (Grandmothers) talking to other people with their loosened, red eyes and puffy faces. We mixed with the crowd in the room, mostly in their brightly color...

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“Lost” by Ro Sheli

Submitted to Contest #80

"Do you know the old man by at the end of Bellflower Street?" May asked her brother, Jun. Jun shook his head. "Who?" May smiled mischievously. "You don't know? Apparently he served in World War I." "Like Father?" "No, you idiot. Father served in the second World War." Jun stared up at May with eyes wide. May always knew more than he did. She knew everyone's birthdays, when the sun went down, and how to multiply. Jun, on the other hand, had trouble reading books and adding numbers. Jun liked hearing stories though. He couldn't read...

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“Reliving 1966” by Ann Metlay

Submitted to Contest #80

More than fifty years ago, I entered a world I had never known existed. This was the summer of 1966, Chicago, featuring Mayor Daley, and ice cream cookies his Mob gave to Black children when their parents delivered them their ballots, unmarked. They let that mob vote for them! I climbed the stairs of gang-infested high-rise buildings. I was mesmerized seven or eight times by the words of Martin Luther King. I emerged a very different person. The electrifying Fourth of July was an afternoon with Dr. King and a march to City Hall o...

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“Memories” by Jessica Miller

Submitted to Contest #80

Last year when my family got together for the holidays my great-grandmother sat at the table like she always did and just watched all of us. She never really says much to anyone, but I could tell when she began to get irritated at some of the things and conversations going on around her. When my cousins started complaining about how they did not get the exact new model of phone they wanted for Christmas she just shook her head, sighed and stared off into the distance. One of my cousins saw her shake her head at them and asked why she did it....

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“Hugh” by Victor Flute

Submitted to Contest #80

Hugh sat on the settee and looked at his grandfather who was dwarfed by his arm chair. “Dad said you were taller than him once and weighed sixteen stone” “I did but marrying your grandmother allowed me to halve my weight in a few years. Before then I was a vegetarian in a meat eating world and was fed lots of potatoes and cheese. You grandmother was a vegetarian and so I was fed a better diet. Over the last twelve years I have shrunk several inches – that’s what age does to one.” Hugh’s grandmother came in carrying a tray and her husband lea...

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“Fred the Painter” by Sean Flanagan

Submitted to Contest #80

Fred the Painter An elderly gent by the name of Fred entered Level 4, Room 10 of the British Tate Modern on a Sunday at noon, not knowing quite what to expect. The building buzzed with curiosity. Some saw him as a curiosity to be admired; others as a wonderful tale, perhaps full of historical value, to be filed away in the history books, to be read a generation later, in the dim light of a half-lit office, to be strung together into a grand narrative by a writer who eventually saw to it that Fred’s life was written down. Fred, or Freddy as s...

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“A Time of Terror” by Lauren Starr

Submitted to Contest #80

German was going through a lot of changes in 1935 when Charlotte went to visit her sisters with her husband and young son. They talked about many things, how she was doing in America, how her family was growing, as well as how her sisters were doing. While in town one afternoon, there was a large crowd forming and her sisters hurried to join, urging Charlotte to come with them. As they stood there, someone began to speak up in front of the crowd on a raised platform. Confused by the way the crowd was behaving around them, Charlotte tried t...

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“The Highjacked Revolution” by Norman Musiiwa

Submitted to Contest #80

THE HIGHJACKED REVOLUTION By Norman Musiiwa My father is popularly known as Mr Able. At the age of ninety he is rather too strong for his age. He fights hard against a slight forward tilt that he feels betrays him. The old man hardly uses a walking stick unless he is unwell, a rare occurrence in his life. Mr Able brags about his health and always encourages his grandchildren to take up masculine jobs that train them to think strong and live strong. He recommends joviality and says it helps the body resists disease and keeps the heart f...

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“To Whomever Found My Body” by HB Wilding

Submitted to Contest #80

To Whomever Found My Body,I do apologise for the right state I must seem. Hopefully what is left of me is still presentable in an open casket. Doubtful though, considering I have no family and even fewer friends. Please do open the windows if my decomposition has befouled the room and I deeply apologise for being such an inconvenience. God willing the newspapers soaked up most of me.I leave it all to you of course (except if it is you Mrs. Macready my solicitor knows about the silverware). It is not much: the flat, some furnishings and half ...

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“MR. WILLIAMS” by Michael Williams

Submitted to Contest #80

He was older in his younger years for his endured experience. He was younger in his older years as he tried to make up for years that were lost. He was Mr. Williams. According to our every-day standards, the older Mr. Williams was a bit scrambled with his thinking. He had always enjoyed telling stories and occasional tall tales. It would be up to the listener ...

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“The Last Nazi” by Martin Buckell

Submitted to Contest #80

It was about three o’clock in the afternoon, mid May, with a cool breeze dampening down the warmth of the spring sunshine. I was wearing the same blue suit I’d had on for the past week, crinkled from the hours sat in the car, driving the length and breadth of the country. I was unshaven, tired and had drunk far too much caffeine and way past caring. I pulled up outside number 13 Cedar Lane, got out the car and walked up the gravel drive. The old cottage was set back from the road, surrounded by a clutch of evergreen trees, its exterior ove...

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“The fall” by Lia Cross

Submitted to Contest #80

“Time to take your medication Jeanne.” Rosa my nurse says in a tender voice which held such gentility . I turn to the clock to see it’s four o’clock and I release a deep sigh.“Right on time like always dear, it amazes me how you are always punctual back, in my day I was the laziest creature on earth. You could never get me out of bed even if you bribed me.” I laugh at the thought of how I was then and how so much has changed.“ I wouldn’t believe that even if an angel descended and told me that, Jean you hardly sleep even on medicat...

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“Surviving Darkness” by Stephanie Baker

Submitted to Contest #80

The sun is warm on my back. I can feel its rays penetrate my old down jacket, and ease the goose pimples. I turn my small body, wanting to feel its radiation on my face. My eyes are closed and I’m smiling. It’s been so long since I’ve felt like this; since I’ve felt warm. I will my body to absorb all the light and warmth it can, as I know this wont last. Before I am ready, it’s gone, and I feel the cold encompass me once again. I open my eyes to the bleak, grey world I’ve only ever known. Across the small fire ...

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Write about an elderly character who was part of a historic movement years ago.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 134 stories

“Ain Jalut” by A.P. Simmons

“Man of our Community ” by Jonalyn Saguilot

“Lost” by Ro Sheli

“Reliving 1966” by Ann Metlay

“Memories” by Jessica Miller

“Hugh” by Victor Flute

“Fred the Painter” by Sean Flanagan

“A Time of Terror” by Lauren Starr

“The Highjacked Revolution” by Norman Musiiwa

“To Whomever Found My Body” by HB Wilding

“MR. WILLIAMS” by Michael Williams

“The Last Nazi” by Martin Buckell

“The fall” by Lia Cross

“Surviving Darkness” by Stephanie Baker

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who never planned to make history but is now about to deliver a speech in front of millions.

Write about a child witnessing a major historical event.

Start your story with someone entering a museum, and end it with them settling down to join a sit-in.

Start your story with a major news event breaking — one that will change the world forever.

Contest #80

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

672

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: