Write about a character who visits their hometown for the holidays and reconnects with a former love interest.

Posted in Holiday on Dec 15, 2023

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✍️ 65 stories

“Last Holiday” by Ellie Miller

Submitted to Contest #229

Every palm tree was dressed in lights. Traffic zoomed by on either side of the median barrier. Crowds—families, couples, tourists—were all over the sidewalk. The open shops were packed. Cameras clicked and flashed at the decorations painting the downtown area. I was leaving too much of my fate to this coat. Normally, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything hooded. The hood on this oversized coat blocked at least a third of my vision. I had to turn my head to watch my six, a big no-no for me. Because it was ...

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“Tina's Treasures” by Haley Roeder

Submitted to Contest #229

Barnaby Mimms ran the largest scrapyard in New Haven, North Carolina. He inherited it from his father, who inherited it from his father. Barnaby’s grandfather had recently passed away and his father had retired to sunny southern California where he decided, absurdly, to take up surfing at the age of 58. Barnaby was now all alone at the age of 28, unless you counted the 350 million dollars that he kept stashed in three offshore accounts. Barnaby’s facility, Tina’s Treasures, deconstructed totaled cars for useful parts and sold them. What re...

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“Foolishly Hopeful” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #229

I'm dead on my feet, my head still buzzing from endless hours of whining jet engines. Stiff and numb from what seems like days waiting and sitting in narrow and uncomfortable seats. Exhausted from lack of sleep, dehydration and too many peanuts.It's been years since I've been home. My job has taken me all over the world. I enjoy my work but flitting about doesn't lend itself to making friends. That's okay, I tell myself. I'm not very good at making and keeping friends. I've learned that it's less painful to say goodbye with a smile, than won...

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“Blackmail and White Christmas” by Ben Battles

Submitted to Contest #229

The night I rolled into Eastbrook, after fifteen years away, the cold air burned in my lungs as if I’d swallowed a hot coal, my frozen breath was the smoke rising from my chimney esophagus. When I moved uptown, I thought for sure I’d left this small town behind. I thought I’d never walk these streets again, but then I never thought I’d take a gig like this either. Empty pockets are a powerful motivator. Turnabout is fair play though, that’s what I tell myself. Policing blackmail is a joke, you always run the risk the blackmailer releas...

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“The Biscuits and Gravy at Lola's ” by Megan Spencer

Submitted to Contest #229

*Sensitive content: grief/pregnancy loss mentioned* There is something about coming back to this small town for the holidays. It’s got all the makings of a holiday movie. Fresh snow on the ground, festive lights hung through main street, Michael Bublé’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas playing on my car radio for probably the hundredth time on my eight hour drive here. The town residents are spread throughout main street, some window shopping, others actually shopping last minute gifts, and some eating at the little cafés spread down...

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“A Reunion with Eggnog” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #229

The snowfall didn’t abate on my journey home. I hadn’t been back in a long time. I lived on a different continent, so it wasn’t exactly easy to hop across the water and be back at my family home. It was worthwhile making the visit to spend Christmas with my folks. They were getting older, and so was I, and I suddenly didn’t feel like celebrating the holidays alone anymore. Once I got within one hundred miles of my birthplace, I knew it by the characteristic snowfall that used to plague us every winter. It was beautified by distance and me...

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“Merry Second Chances” by Kathleen Jessup

Submitted to Contest #229

Pulling up to my parents’ home after five years away is exciting and daunting. I take one last look in the rear-vision mirror, fixing my lip gloss, before leaving the car’s icy air-conditioning. There’s no doubt about it; it’s Summer in North Queensland, Australia. A wave of heat engulfs me, armpits crying in response. More sweat beads on my forehead while simultaneously trickling down my spine, pooling at the top of my underwear. It’s one reason I moved abroad, preferring the sun to kiss my skin for three months of the year, rather than t...

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“In The Snow.” by Emanuel Diaz

Submitted to Contest #229

Suzuharu Yuto (スズハルユウト), at 27 years old, was a man steeped in tradition, a vestige of a bygone era. With raven-black hair and a countenance that mirrored the classic ideals of Japanese beauty, he moved through life with a sense of purpose—his convictions rooted in the romantic notions of love that echoed through the pages of ancient poetry. Ehime Prefecture, with its serene landscapes and traditional charm, served as the perfect backdrop for Suzuharu's steadfast beliefs. In a world where love was often a fleeting whisper drowned by the c...

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“homecoming.” by Katie-lea Crane

Submitted to Contest #229

When it was the day before December Jaymie went to her hometown in Cooktown in cairns to spend Christmas with her family and when she arrived, she was greeted by her family and friends from when she used to live there, and she was so excited to be back that she basically screamed down the whole airport terminal and she then went with her family to her old house where she had so many good memories from her old life and she misses it and when her mother sees her and she suddenly says “you should stay here and live with us” and Jaymie thought a...

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“Feast and Survival in the Holidays” by Andrew Sweet

Submitted to Contest #229

A police transport zipped by overhead just above seasonal signs that read, in most cases, the generic “Happy Holidays.” Larken Marche leveraged her laser swordspear to keep her upright as she crunched through the knee-deep snow that covered most of 56th street. She glared at the whiteness covering the streets below, bringing to a freeze all of the normally bustling commerce, and more importantly, passable walkways and streets in the dregs. She pulled her cloak more tightly around her shoulders and watched her breath mist before her in dismay...

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“Someday” by C.N. Jung

Submitted to Contest #229

“Look, dad.” Sara sighed. She held the phone under one arm while she struggled to coral the wild papers strewn across her desk into a neat pile. “Not this time, okay? Maybe this summer. I’ve got work coming out of my ears, and some major tests coming up after the break. I have to study.” Sara got the papers in order. She stuck them into the briefcase she was holding. “Law school isn’t a walk in the park, you know.” “Sara, honey, I know you're busy.” A deep voice breathed from the phone. Sara did a quick glance around her cubicle. Every...

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“Fixing a Misunderstanding” by John King

Submitted to Contest #229

Fixing a Misunderstanding Paul was sitting at his desk in the office finishing some reports. He was a detective with the Fort Worth Police Department and he was going home to Texarkana, Texas, for Christmas. It had been a rough year. His six-year marriage had ended four months ago because his wife, Patricia, wanted him to leave the force and get a regular job. Paul had considered it, but he had been a detective for ten years. The pay was steady, he loved the work and he just couldn’t find anything else he wanted to do. He was thirty-two yea...

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“A Decade Through December” by Charlotte Sheffield

Submitted to Contest #229

“How’ve you been?” He blew the steam across his coffee before taking a sip. How’ve you been? Really? After all this time, that’s all you’ve got? I took my mittens off and placed them on the table. “Pretty good. It’s nice being home for the holiday. It’s been a rough year, but we’re getting through it.” “We?” “Yeah. We.” I held up my hand just as I had dozens of times over the past few weeks. The ring reflected the multitude of lights that lit up the small coffee shop. He leaned forward to get a better look. “Oh yeah. I keep up with you onlin...

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“North Pole Drama ” by Daniel Mueller

Submitted to Contest #229

Content Warning: Language, Crude HumourSNOWFLAKE SCANDAL: SANTA’S SECRET AFFAIR UNDER THE MISTLETOE — MRS. CLAUS CALLS FOR SLEIGH GPS CHECK!The North Pole Herald newspapers were scattered across the hands of thousands of elves in Gingerbread Town Square. The entire village was in a high-pitched uproar. “Who dared to write such a spiteful article? Santa would never do such a thing!” “I have a friend in the Ministry of North Pole Surveillance, and she said Mrs. Claus’ request is real! The elves are supposedly sneaking drinks of cocoa to ...

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“Lumberjacks and Louis Vuitton” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #229

Maya dropped her monogrammed Louis Vuitton duffle bag on the wide front porch of the old Victorian house belonging to the Myer’s family. Maya gave her older sister, Trina, a hug, embracing her niece she had never met, propped on her sister’s hip. “Welcome home, sis,” Trina said, bouncing the baby up higher on her hip. Trina dressed herself in blue Wrangler denims and a blue sweater that likely came from Sears over a decade ago. Maya noted her own attire, a Fendi velour sweatsuit and Gucci sneakers. It was the first ...

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Write about a character who visits their hometown for the holidays and reconnects with a former love interest.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 65 stories

“Last Holiday” by Ellie Miller

“Tina's Treasures” by Haley Roeder

“Foolishly Hopeful” by Trudy Jas

“Blackmail and White Christmas” by Ben Battles

“The Biscuits and Gravy at Lola's ” by Megan Spencer

“A Reunion with Eggnog” by Keelan LaForge

“Merry Second Chances” by Kathleen Jessup

“In The Snow.” by Emanuel Diaz

“homecoming.” by Katie-lea Crane

“Feast and Survival in the Holidays” by Andrew Sweet

“Someday” by C.N. Jung

“Fixing a Misunderstanding” by John King

“A Decade Through December” by Charlotte Sheffield

“North Pole Drama ” by Daniel Mueller

“Lumberjacks and Louis Vuitton” by Madeline Honig

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a festive party gone wrong that’s saved by some holiday magic.

Write a story in which a cynical character gets amnesia on Christmas Eve.

Start or end your story with a character finding out the love of their life is actually royalty.

Write a story in which a character is stuck reliving their worst Christmas ever, over and over again.

Contest #229

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

171

Contest entries

64

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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