You arrive at a destination you promised an old friend you’d visit after they passed, only to find them there too.

Posted in Mystery on Oct 13, 2023

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✍️ 66 stories

“Friendship of Jealously ” by Elayna Torrez

Submitted to Contest #220

It’s been 5 years since one of my good friends died… She and I met during our high school years. Her name was Michelle Duncen, but she went by Shelley. She liked the name Shelley. We were best friends, we did sleepover parties, and worked on school projects together. We were like sisters! After we got out of high school, we went to the same college. She always loved to help me with projects at college. After college, she studied law enforcement and eventually she got a job as a homicide detective, but while working on a murder case…., s...

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“Hello” by Cecilia Toomey

Submitted to Contest #220

This story contains profanity and implies sexual violence, violence and sensitive mental health concerns.Leaves falling slowlyDriftingSlow dancingLetting the wind carry themThey hold hands without a careWhere will they go?Light and smilingA dreamWho knows?Together, that’s whereJust keep holdingThe wind picks upStronger nowA storm brewingMore leaves passingLeaves bumpingRippingPullingWho were they?They glance aroundThey only seeThe other leavesAll rushingRushingGoneWhen they landThey don’t know whereNot together, that’s whereOn the groundWher...

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“The Creek” by Maunikha Rasineni

Submitted to Contest #220

No matter what happened, I had Ellen, and Ellen had me. Until I didn’t. It’s funny when you’re happy one moment, then the next you feel like you’ve lost everything your life has depended on. At least, that’s how I’d felt. It was raining hard. I could barely see 2 metres away from me. “You don’t have to go.” I whined from my place on my bed, where I’d stayed for the entire week because of my broken leg. “And who’s going to get the groceries, Sierra? You?” She said jokingly. Only if it was me, I wouldn’t have had to fac...

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“The Voice of a Moonbow” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #220

"That's what you get for twelve thousand?" Art Berkshire said. "We could have bought a house for that when we were first married." "Yes, dear," Betsy said with a tear in her eye."I mean, it's robbery. Instead of suits, they should have worn masks."Betsy didn't respond, and she knew she wouldn't need to for a while because his rants required little response. Fifty-three years had taught her when she should chime in."You know they reuse the coffin shell but still charge for it. Highway robbery!" Betsy looked out the window as they drove o...

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“Just Beautiful” by Catherine Randles

Submitted to Contest #220

HOSPITAL “What was it like?” Tom’s voice snapped me out of my daydreaming. I turned around to face him and realised he was holding his hands together in his lap, twisting them somewhat impatiently. I had been in the middle of telling him about a waterfall I’d seen during cross country. A smile appeared on my face. “It was..” My voice trailed off as I tried to find the right adjective. Tom had always been the more literate out of the two of us; he had a way with words that no one else seemed able to replicate. “It was beautiful.” I finishe...

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“TREY'S CLIMB” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #220

Trey Murphy 07/01/1998-10/13/2023. Beloved son, brother and friend. Always in our hearts. Forever missed. I can't believe you're gone. I knew this day was coming. I just didn't expect it to come so soon. I miss you, Trey. You fought hard despite your diagnosis. You were always smiling and you made me smile. Deep inside my heart, I was crying. I wanted you to stay with me. I didn't want to let you go but God had other plans for you. Trey, what am I going to do without you? We had so many plans. There were so many things we wanted to do to...

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“Offer of a Lifetime ” by Eric Reid

Submitted to Contest #220

It had been two weeks since I said goodbye to my best friend. Fred and I had known each other since middle school. It was quite a shock. He disappeared hiking the Appalachian mountains on the start of his would be world tour he had been on after his dad's death. They never found his body, so it was more of a memorial service than a funeral. There I was sitting in a cheap hotel room in Paris about to embark on my own journey. We had always talked about travelling the world together. I hadn't been able to join Fred on his journey as I had ...

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“No Regrets” by Allan Marshall

Submitted to Contest #220

The emptiness and helplessness Gus felt when he heard the news, his Grandfather had sacrificed so much after both his parents had died. The train journey home was a non event, he had no memory of it. When Gus returned home to Lamont, his sister, Sissy, had arranged everything. The numbness continued, he had no feelings. He had promised he’d walk with grandfather once term holidays were here and he could no longer thole the pleasantries he had been pretending to fain. He slipped away from the crowd. One of their favourite walks meant climbing...

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“If I Could Reach the Other Side” by Gabrielle-Lyn Simmonds

Submitted to Contest #220

It’s so quiet it's almost creepy, but that's a dead country town for you. Not scared of ghosts, are you?I scoff. You know I don’t believe in any of that.Aw, you don’t believe in anything. I got another trick in me, that’ll show you.You would shuffle the deck in a delicate riffle, deft hands working a movement designed to please only me.How about it? Pick a card?My fingers, flushed red at the tips with winter’s bite, absent-mindedly trace the buttons of the camera. A polaroid, vintage. The one you found in the antiques store, and bought with ...

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“Dear Old Friend” by Megan Bacher

Submitted to Contest #220

I offer a kind smile and hand my remaining two dollars to the taxi driver. He deserves a tip. For the first person I spoke to since being out, he was kind and talked to me like a normal human being. Though he did not know my background, picking me up from the top security jail must have been his first clue. The brisk breeze feels warm against my chilled skin. Now since I am out of that hell hole, I ought to be outside more. Thirty five years in a cell really blows – my skin is white as a ghost. Leaves crunch beneath my feet with ev...

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“Destination” by Chris Rees

Submitted to Contest #220

“There is not a guidebook for knowing how long is long enough to feel OK after someone passes on. There should be, it would make everything so much simpler and provide a clear and obvious goal to work toward. It is infuriating that such a set marker doesn’t exist. It’s not that I cannot stop mourning, it’s that I don’t know when I’m allowed to put it down and stop picking it up. I was at our bar last night; it was trivia night, and I was sitting in our booth, and everyone knew it. It took a little while, roughly 3 beers and two trivia rounds...

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“All That Remains” by Faith Palma

Submitted to Contest #220

I am filled suddenly with the sense of being carried. I imagine it is my father, carrying me to bed after I fell asleep on the couch. I hope when I wake up I am in my bedroom once more, staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars peeling off of my ceiling. I hope I can hear my mother’s twinkling laugh as she opens the door and chides me for sleeping through the day. I hope I will wake up to my sister belting the wrong lyrics to a song she doesn’t know. I know I won’t. I will never wake up again. ——❈—— “Cassid...

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“Goodbye Sofia” by Aseret Franco

Submitted to Contest #220

Seven days had passed since Sofia had passed away. Emily still couldn’t believe it, but she was holding it strong. She arrived at the little island a few minutes away from her hometown, it only took her one small trip on a rented boat to get there. A sense of nostalgia washed over her. It was a place where they had often had adventures, a place where they had imagined creating countless memories. She found herself standing in awe of the beauty that surrounded her. The place held a serene atmosphere, with gentle whispers of the wind and a sen...

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“The Tall Stone” by Chris Miller

Submitted to Contest #220

The gravestone was unusually tall. It stood at the head of an unmade bed of earth. Tom had missed the funeral, but not by much. Filled but not finished, the grave still smelled of the turned earth. A pink worm flexed and headed into the heap. Tom thought of the grave he’d dug for Bruce. No headstone for him, just a spot under the tree where he’d played in the autumn leaves as a puppy. Cleanly cut in rain-beaded granite were the words: Samuel van Wyk I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom ...

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“Counting Tadpoles” by Jeannie Donnelly

Submitted to Contest #220

We were ten, maybe 12 years old when Richie Galanter and I finished a hot game of street handball. August in New Jersey was a sweltering oven and we were both dripping in sweat. “Wanna go to the creek?” Richie asked as he bounced the pink handball on the sidewalk. “We could count the tadpoles.” The creek was in the woods behind the school. It wasn’t deep enough to swim in but we could take off our sneakers and...

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You arrive at a destination you promised an old friend you’d visit after they passed, only to find them there too.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 66 stories

“Friendship of Jealously ” by Elayna Torrez

“Hello” by Cecilia Toomey

“The Creek” by Maunikha Rasineni

“The Voice of a Moonbow” by Daniel Rogers

“Just Beautiful” by Catherine Randles

“TREY'S CLIMB” by Melinda Madrigal

“Offer of a Lifetime ” by Eric Reid

“No Regrets” by Allan Marshall

“If I Could Reach the Other Side” by Gabrielle-Lyn Simmonds

“Dear Old Friend” by Megan Bacher

“Destination” by Chris Rees

“All That Remains” by Faith Palma

“Goodbye Sofia” by Aseret Franco

“The Tall Stone” by Chris Miller

“Counting Tadpoles” by Jeannie Donnelly

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character walking through a desert landscape, when they stumble across something unexpected. “That shouldn’t be there,” they muse.

As a child you’re helping your grandparent bake. When you’re sent to the pantry to fetch an ingredient, you discover something odd.

Begin your story with a protagonist taking shelter under a bridge during a thunderstorm. An animal scurries past which shouldn’t exist. Against their better judgment, they decide to follow it out.

You’re awakened from your nap by someone asking, “Are you hungry?”. You fell asleep somewhere else entirely.

Contest #220

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

253

Contest entries

129

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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