Start your story with a character staring at a picture they don’t remember taking.

Posted in Mystery on Mar 29, 2024

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✍️ 72 stories

“Picturing a Gentle Soul” by Carol Hopkins

Submitted to Contest #244

Picturing a gentle soulIt showed up on Facebook, that picture of me and my brother, Chris. A family member had posted it. I had never seen it before. Yet, I was told I’d taken it. It was taken soon after our mother died. Now, he too is gone. His life stolen by an impaired driver as he was driving home from work. The photo was both a comfort and a stab in the heart. In it he’s smiling despite the grief he carried. I remember that day, but not the photo. He was going through a separation from his wife of eight years, amplifying his heartache. ...

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“Photograph of Forgotten Trials” by Phoenix Fox

Submitted to Contest #244

In the dim light of Tripp’s attic, where memories gathered dust and secrets lingered in the air, Briggs and Tripp were on a quest not just for camping gear, but for traces of their youth. The attic, a time capsule of their shared history, was cluttered with remnants of days spent playing sports and nights dreaming of adventures yet to come.Briggs, tall and lean with the scholarly look afforded by his glasses, and Tripp, slightly shorter with the sun-kissed hair of a lifelong athlete, were now men in their late twenties. Yet, in this space, t...

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“Musings in Sepia Brown” by Larisa Mendez

Submitted to Contest #244

*Mild allusion to corporal punishment* I’m not sure what I’m looking at. I mean, I know it’s a photograph, taken in what’s likely the late 1970s or early 80s, grainy, featuring me, my two brothers, my sister, and my parents. My mother never believed in the “Sunday best” wardrobe customs of the time and place, and so my sister and I are dressed pragmatically, in matching red corduroy overalls with white tees, also collared with brown corduroy — seemingly the branding palette and texture of that age. My brothers are toddler- and infant-sized...

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“Waikiki, 1996” by Jeff Macloud

Submitted to Contest #244

“What’s this?” Bram asked, holding up a beautifully framed eight by ten photo he had picked off the sofa table. He had never seen it before. Juni looked up from her spot at the kitchen counter, seemingly thrown by the question, and squinting. Bram loved that his wife routinely surprised him by rotating the pictures and art in the house. It wasn't unusual for him to find pieces he had not previously seen. It took Juni a moment to answer. “You don’t remember,” she asked, now smiling, wiping her hands on the kitchen towel and swinging it back o...

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“Under the Oak Tree” by Tess Allen

Submitted to Contest #244

I stare at the photo held between my thumb and pointer. It’s of her. Face on. As if she’s looking right at me. With those eyes. Swirly pools of green with flecks of brown. Those eyes I used to know. I glance at the little brown suitcase, its open lid marked with the initials ‘EJM’ in scrawly black marker. I tap the photo repeatedly against my other palm, as if in time with the ticking clock on the bedside table. Willing myself to recall. You’d think I’d know when this was taken. And yet, the answer escapes me. As if my memories are held back...

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“The Boy in the Van” by Clarissa Corpuz

Submitted to Contest #244

August walks through the aisle of extraordinary photos taken from different lenses but taken by the same gifted eyes. Once she dreamed for her works to be a part of this very distinguished Gallery and now here she is. One of her works was chosen to be here after being recognized from winning an international competition. All her hard work paid off. “Mommy. Look! Why is that boy smiling and crying at the same time? Is he crazy?” A little girl asked her mother as she points at the next display. August couldn’t see what the girl was pointing so...

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“Adrian” by Thomas Wetzel

Submitted to Contest #244

Kate stared at her phone. The time was 4:10 am but the ping of an incoming email had stirred her from her sleep and now that she had read the message sleep was no longer an option. She had been staring at the image on-screen for several minutes but still she continued to stare. She herself was there in the party photo, and she clearly remembered the night when it was taken just over a year ago - the various Halloween costumes, including Jacob ridiculously dressed up as Tekashi 69, rendered the mental recall process immediately simple - ...

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“Recollection of Sangin” by Joshua Sulentic

Submitted to Contest #244

[This story contains references to Post-Traumatic Stress, suicide, mental injury, and combat. Reader discretion is advised.] “Who’s that, Daddy?” My daughter looked up at me with big green eyes, full of her typical childlike curiosity. I pulled the slightly faded polaroid out of the picture book we were thumbing through and showed it to her a bit better. “I’m not sure, kiddo.” I studied the picture to try to make out the face, but the quality wasn’t very good. It was me and another guy in desert combat uniforms and plate carriers with our he...

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“Behind the shelf” by A.B. Boatman

Submitted to Contest #244

Grey shadows seemed to move at the edge of my vision, like something was watching me; something I would never be able to catch in the act. Like whispers just behind a curtain. I brought my attention back to the photograph in my hand. It was a vaguely familiar face; large, bright eyes of grey blue, framed by glasses that complimented the shape of her face; stark eyebrows against pale skin. A wide, easy smile. She was undeniably beautiful. And it was undeniably me that was next to her. The problem was, I had no clu...

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“Sunny Days” by Wendy Rappeport

Submitted to Contest #244

Sunny stared at the photo she didn't remember taking. Who was that stick-thin figure with no hair, no eyebrows, no eyelashes, white as a ghost. She gasped, goodness me, it was her! She dredged her brain and tried to think when the photo had been taken. Maybe Ashley took it. She tried to meditate to escape from her thoughts, but all she could do was to go over the past months. Usually she could focus on her young grandson with his cheery smile, blond wavy hair and deep brown eyes, but today she kept reminiscing, with interjections from that m...

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“Coming Together” by Ivan Cervantes

Submitted to Contest #244

This picture. It is the same round face. Same black glasses. Same dark brown hair. Same green eyes... Everything matches mine. It is saved on my phone, yet... Where did it come from? This place is the same as that cafe I visit a lot, but I never take pictures there. So why would there be a selfie of me? Did someone else take it? No, I look to be completely aware of the camera so it shouldn't be so... "Hey Ushas! What you looking at?" Jenny wrapped her hands around me as she peered over my shoulder to see what I was looking at. "Oh, hey Jenny...

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“The Picture” by Lan Nguyen

Submitted to Contest #244

I’m glad I’ve changed, physically. Embarking on college, I learned how to dress myself well, do makeup, and smile more. It was beyond me speaking of the ulterior motive for such a change. I just made it. I just acted differently and had different views on things compared to my high school days. Aha! Were they laughing at me? They were making fun of my hideous face altogether. The leaves of the sycamore tree by the window, whom I oftentimes greeted warmly in the morning, were hurling a chorus of derision towards me, me in this very photo I wa...

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Start your story with a character staring at a picture they don’t remember taking.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 72 stories

“Picturing a Gentle Soul” by Carol Hopkins

“Photograph of Forgotten Trials” by Phoenix Fox

“Musings in Sepia Brown” by Larisa Mendez

“Waikiki, 1996” by Jeff Macloud

“Under the Oak Tree” by Tess Allen

“The Boy in the Van” by Clarissa Corpuz

“Adrian” by Thomas Wetzel

“Recollection of Sangin” by Joshua Sulentic

“Behind the shelf” by A.B. Boatman

“Sunny Days” by Wendy Rappeport

“Coming Together” by Ivan Cervantes

“The Picture” by Lan Nguyen

🌟 Similar prompts

Center your story around a photo that goes viral.

Write a story about a character who risks their life to take a photo.

Write about a character who sees a photo they shouldn’t have seen.

Begin or end your story with a character taking a selfie.

Contest #244

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

239

Contest entries

91

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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