A mysterious letter is delivered to your character's home. It's not addressed to them, but they can't resist peeking...

Posted in Mystery on Aug 18, 2023

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✍️ 65 stories

“The Rendezvous ” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #212

The rain orchestrates its own symphony as it drops on Wesley’s umbrella and the variety of objects one might find lining a city sidewalk on their way home. A healthy middle-aged man, with chiseled features and light grey eyes that look black because they set deep in his brow; broad and tall with a lengthy stride, shortens his steps and takes his time to enjoy the weather that few appreciate. Just the night prior, he had spent the evening on the porch watching the lightning flash and tear the sky asunder, something he has always found beautif...

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“You Have Won” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #212

It’s been a month since the cell phone incident, and Oscar and Dolores have returned to their usual selves. That is to say, she nags him, and he ignores her. Oscar is sitting in his favorite overstuffed easy chair when he sits straight up and looks toward the front window. He begins slipping on his slippers and gets out of the chair. Dolores’s head snaps up. “Where are you going?” “The mailman just came. I’m going out to get the mail.” “Dressed like that!” “Slippers? You’re going out just wearing slippers!” ...

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“Heroism, Hope and Litigation” by Cecilia Englishby

Submitted to Contest #212

Within the gloomily dated confines of her childhood home, Jessica sat cross-legged on the floor, sorting the final pieces of paperwork left over in her father’s study. Mostly it was just notes on his favorite subjects and hobbies, whatever they were at the time. It all seemed rather useless to her personally, but she still diligently created folders for each subject and filed them alphabetically into waiting boxes for storage. Edward Jonas Maylin had passed away rather suddenly four months earlier. The funeral was held three days later. He...

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“Fated Delivery” by Inna Daki

Submitted to Contest #212

Fated DeliveryAnd in the front door of Efferty Drasso’s house, a letter is being dropped by the postman. Addressed to someone that Efferty doesn’t even know exist, but soon, he is going to find out more than he would bargain for.“Oh man, what a day…how dare he even say those things to me?! All the things I did for the company the whole month went down the river just like that! That asshole!”. These are his thoughts as he steps on his front door. “But the bills and letters keep coming no matter the crappy day you had to endure” he scoffed. An...

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“Pretty in Purple. ” by Lexxi Z

Submitted to Contest #212

Most people try to stay clear of trouble. I am not most people. I should have been. It would have led me down a much easier path, but here we are. Before I get too far ahead of myself, let me set the scene for you. August, hot and blistering, was here and I was in the thick of it. I had just moved to the sprawling three acre plot of what I hoped would one day be a farm, on a day thick with humidity. The heat was bad enough, and humidity was new to me, so when the mail arrived, I did not retrieve it immediately. I could see a vague shape...

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“The Ties That Bind” by Anthony Carello

Submitted to Contest #212

In a village forgotten by time, kilometers from the British hub of London, George groggily stumbled down the hallway of his two-bedroom house. The floors gave a slight creak under the weight of his steps. When he got to the living room, he put his robe on and opened the curtain in a quick motion. The early morning light was sharp in his still sleepy eyes, but he wanted to take in the morning. Hmmm! Saturday! My favourite day of the week and since Alice took the kids to go visit the in-law… George’s lips perked upward into a grin, h...

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“Ouroboros” by Jeff Veyera

Submitted to Contest #212

It was an envelope. A white envelope which felt oddly heavy as Neve Temple ran her fingers over its edges as she contemplated what to do with it. The oddly-flourished iridescent green lettering had her address on it all right, but the name of the addressee---one Gyles Mayhew---didn’t live here. She could ...

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“Thorns” by Sofia Baquedano

Submitted to Contest #212

Matilda was running late. She knew so not because she’d looked at her phone and checked the time, but because she could feel it. As she brushed her teeth and stared at them in the mirror for a second too long, making sure she’d gotten all the spots, she could feel the tick-tacking of an unseen clock. She ran to the kitchen, had a piece of toast and gulped down black coffee. She sprinted back to the bathroom and brushed her teeth one more time, to get the bitter taste out: she despised coffee. Finally, having grabbed her purse a...

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“Sealed by Infinity” by James Milne

Submitted to Contest #212

Ruth's day had been rotten. Point of fact, she was closer to tears by the time she had got to her doorstep, than she had ever been in public - at least since she was a kid. The shame and pain had her hand shaking when she went to unlock the door. Australians are supposed to be tough. We never let the world in on just how crap we might be doing. The door opened easily, and as it did, a letter that had been jammed in, and Ruth had been too preoccupied to notice, shot straight into her face. Causing her to yell, step backwards, miss the s...

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“The Threat Of The Menacing Mind” by RJ Johnston

Submitted to Contest #212

The letter was delivered by registered mail and I had to sign for it. I hadn't noticed it wasn't for me because I was excited to get a handwritten letter in this digital age. I should have looked closer. I should have paid closer attention. I signed for the letter and thanked the courier. He nodded and went on his way, leaving me holding the little square of paper and wondering who sent this delightfully outmoded means of communication? Then I saw the name and who it was addressed to and it was not me... The address was mine but the name wa...

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“The mysterious letter” by Melissa Sharr

Submitted to Contest #212

In a small town nestled in the rolling hills, lived a man named Alex. One sunny morning, as Alex was going about their daily routine, a mysterious letter arrived at their doorstep. It lay innocently on the welcome mat, its appearance captivating and enigmatic. Curiosity gnawed at Alex's mind. Although the envelope bore no address, it beckoned to be explored, its call impossible to resist. With trembling hands, they picked it up, gently tracing the delicate creases. Unable to suppress their burning curiosity, Alex gingerly slipped a fi...

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“Dementia in Love” by Kari Polk

Submitted to Contest #212

There is nothing like starting off life as a young adult in your own place hours away from everything you know.Rose Lee stood on the balcony of her new house in East LA, letting it all marinate . In two days she would start her new job as a psychologist at Thrive minds counseling and Psychology. It was everything that that she could ever dream of . She worked so hard to get to where she is now .People around her told her that the odds were against her since being raised by a single mother.Her father died when she was only 7 years old and her...

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“THE TRAUMATIZER” by Hooria Adil

Submitted to Contest #212

Fret seemed to riddle his willpower; he suppressed a cold shiver. His irises were paralyzed with fear, a fear that half-unmanned him. His heart hung silent, the beating stationary in the air. His hands were cold and clammy – the proof were the marks of sweat embalmed on the letter – as he shakily handed it over.Twitching reptilian eyes, a watery smile. Hair, a fine moist merlot concealed by the scarlet shako - such an uncanny mailman.His nervousness was a sorrowful sight.And so, with the letter given, his job done, the postman turned around,...

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“Hair of Secrets” by Heidi Poole

Submitted to Contest #212

Coral had never minded bending the truth to suit herself, but she hated liars. She knew it was a little hypocritical to live by that, but a white lie never hurt anyone. Her parents didn’t need to know she’d spent the night at Tommy’s house, they thought she was at Tina’s. Her history teacher didn’t need to know she was vaping in the bathrooms, he thought she was helping a younger kid to the sick bay. Her younger brother Aidan didn’t need to know she was the one who accidentally broke his Lego set, he thought the dog had knocked it off the ta...

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“Daniel's Letter From Heaven” by Kristin Johnson

Submitted to Contest #212

The sky is gray and rainy in Palm Springs on the street. A mysterious envelope descends. Daniel Wilson, 11, carrying a school backpack, counts off on his fingers as he points to the raindrops. The other children look at him and shrug: "what a weirdo." The letter falls onto the sidewalk. Daniel's schoolmate Maria, 11, cute, picks up the letter and looks at the writing, then holds out the envelope to Daniel. "Take it. It's got your name on it aaand...it's poison!" Daniel takes the envelope and sees the name "DANIEL" on...

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A mysterious letter is delivered to your character's home. It's not addressed to them, but they can't resist peeking...

Submissions are closed

✍️ 65 stories

“The Rendezvous ” by Ty Warmbrodt

“You Have Won” by Ralph Aldrich

“Heroism, Hope and Litigation” by Cecilia Englishby

“Fated Delivery” by Inna Daki

“Pretty in Purple. ” by Lexxi Z

“The Ties That Bind” by Anthony Carello

“Ouroboros” by Jeff Veyera

“Thorns” by Sofia Baquedano

“Sealed by Infinity” by James Milne

“The Threat Of The Menacing Mind” by RJ Johnston

“The mysterious letter” by Melissa Sharr

“Dementia in Love” by Kari Polk

“THE TRAUMATIZER” by Hooria Adil

“Hair of Secrets” by Heidi Poole

“Daniel's Letter From Heaven” by Kristin Johnson

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in the form of a letter, or multiple letters back and forth.

Write an epistolary story set during a major historical event. The event may be the subject of the letters directly, or be referenced in the background.

Write a story about a pair of pen pals.

Set your story in a post office.

Contest #212

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

304

Contest entries

129

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: