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

Posted in Mystery on Oct 13, 2023

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✍️ 45 stories

“Strange Days” by Jeanine Rogers

Submitted to Contest #220

Willow sat in a chair beside Santiago in front of a fire pit. They had been married for one month. Willow and Santiago met in College. Willow was a Freshman, and Santiago was a Senior. She fell for Santiago instantly. Santiago thought she was too young for him to date her. Santiago thought of her like a little sister who followed him around. Sometimes, Santiago would hold her hand, but that was as far as it ever went. Santiago graduated and started his career in clean energy technology on the West Coast. They didn't see each other for years ...

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“Little Boy Blue” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

Submitted to Contest #220

“Are you hungry?”A rather simple question and yet for some, the answer lies deeply hidden beneath layers of complexity.He was very hungry. Though the family kitchen held copious amounts of food, to the little boy it was empty. To the uneducated eye his belief of emptiness was somewhat delusional.None the less, his hunger persisted. Empty promises lurked menacingly behind boxes and bags of food.He was just a little boy who lived with a good family. They looked after him as best as they could, but he had a hole somewhere in his belly that neve...

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“A Surprise Awaits a Reporter” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #220

A Surprise Awaits a Reporter Scene One – Walking Through the Woods – Camera in Hand Why did I think that I was taking a short cut? I don’t even live in this part of town, and have only visited it a very few times. And I am getting very tired. It’s been a long day and the sun is beginning to set. I might not be able to take the pictures that the editor wanted me to take. And what does ‘a strange red light over a potato field as the sun set’ actually mean? And why trust what some boy had to say on the subject? He ma...

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“I Will Never Take a Nap Again!” by Karen Best Wright

Submitted to Contest #220

"Wake up. Let me help you get off the floor and onto the couch." I think that's what I heard a woman say. It didn't sound like my mom's voice. My head pounded, and I was too tired to care. I kept my eyes closed as a warm blanket covered me."Are you hungry?" The stranger asked."No, my head hurts too bad to eat," I muttered. I gradually opened my eyes and saw a woman I didn't know. I was lying on a plaid couch I had never seen, covered with a soft woolen blanket that wasn't mine. I thought I was dreaming, but my head hurt too severely for it t...

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“Eat and Enjoy” by Nik Alxndr

Submitted to Contest #220

“Are you hungry?”“I reckon I'll let you know when my stomach wakes up.” Jake said, grinding the backs of his calloused fingers against his bronze eyes. Yawning, he tried to get up, stretching as he went.“What?” His shoulders and chest raised to almost sitting height but his waist wouldn't move and his feet didn't shift more than an inch or two. An object stretched across his waist; tight, broad and pressing into his abdomen.“Seriously, what?”Propping himself up on his elbows, he looked past his faded denim shirt. A broad, black strap held hi...

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“Wish You Were Here” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #220

“Are you hungry?” Words dropped into my dream state. Swirling me around in a blur of confusion. I push up into consciousness and my eyes open of their own accord, not yet mine. They relay visual information to my brain, but my brain coughs, splutters then hiccups. “Very,” I say it because that is the only thing that makes sense right now. My stomach growls as though to punctuate the one fact that I can hold onto. I smile and she returns the smile. I watch her turn and leave the room. She closes the door behind her. I lay ...

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“Deceptive Shadows” by Ebone Brown

Submitted to Contest #220

In the quiet midst of Natalie's world, a soft veil of loneliness surrounded her like a cloak. Her life, once a tapestry woven with the laughter and love of her parents, had unraveled into a shadowy abyss. Her mother and father, those beacons of light that had illuminated her path, were gone, leaving behind an emptiness that gnawed at her very core. The days grew long, each moment stretching into eternity as she grappled with the overwhelming sense of loss. It was as though the world had conspired to steal her happiness, leaving her with on...

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“Are you hungry?” by Kristy Cole

Submitted to Contest #220

Now “Are you hungry?” Was I? My first thought wasn’t Who said that? or Why am I so cold?, it was instinct to just think about the question I’d been asked. The answer was yes, ravenous actually, but I couldn’t find the energy to say it, so a weak, hoarse grunt came out instead. “Here, it’s not as hot as it could be but it should still warm you up a bit.” I took in more about the voice this time, it was soft and light; gentle, as though it wanted to look after me. I couldn’t quite remember if I’d heard it somewhere before, but it both comforte...

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“Pippa’s Sick Day” by Chelsey B

Submitted to Contest #220

* trigger warning for vomit It all started when I was ripped from my sleep by someone shaking my arm. “Pippa? Come on Pip, wake up. How are you feeling? Are you hungry?” a soft voice asked. My head was pounding, and my heavy eyelids refused to open. I didn’t know where I was, or what was happening. Every part of me felt heavy with weakness. A light switched on, and I groaned, but I was too tired to do much else about it. I longed to surrender to the darkness that was pulling at me. I don’t know how much time had passed when I fel...

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“Strange awakenings ” by Eddie McKenzie

Submitted to Contest #220

“Are you hungry?” the voice asked, soft as the Spring breeze, but unlike the springtime breezes, the voice instilled upon me nothing less than an icy dread that chilled me to my very core. I had hoped to feign my continued slumber for a while yet, long enough to discern what truly was reality and not just the lingering fantastical afterimages of a dream I had yet to fully awaken. But I had never been an actor, and now I can be quite certain that my treacherously quickening breath had been more than enough to alert whatsoever shared my s...

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“A Tale of Hocus Pocus!” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #220

"Are you hungry?" Ruth heard. She muttered a response, inaudibly. Mysteriously, she had gone to sleep last night in her own bed in her own humble pad. Crying herself to sleep, she had been broken-hearted. Ruth had phoned her big sister, the well-respected senior witching in her family. Ruth had told big sissie her tale of woe. The debonair Old Wizard Blizzard had dumped her, ghosted her, and traded her in for firm young flesh. Humiliating. In the dark reaches of last night, her older sister, Prunella Positive Prue, had mumbled her own sweari...

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“The Maid of Honor” by Alicia Small-Conaty

Submitted to Contest #220

I could feel the warm caress of sunlight trailing from my fingers to my shoulder as I stretched and turned over. My eyes were still closed, one hand scratching my scalp as a yawn erupted from my throat in response to my body’s awakening. I didn’t want to open my eyes. That would mean the end of my nap and the end of my escape. I didn’t know how long I had been away, but if the sun was out, I probably missed the rest of the debauchery of the wedding after-party. My best friend, Cassie, had finally met her match and traversed down the aisle to...

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“A Fork in the Road ” by Sofia Nesta

Submitted to Contest #220

TW: Anorexia Nervosa “Are you hungry?” Out of the giant fluffy cloud where I had just gotten the chance to lay my head on, I’m transported into a dark abyss. Waves of color path my vision, as I flow through a whirlwind of tunnels and into the great unknown. A bundle of assorted polygons begin to fill my line of vision as I keep treading forward into a desert path, wondering where my thoughts will take me next. I can begin to make out the outline of a figure standing directly over me: one circle for a head protruding several s...

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“Chocolate Chip Cookie” by Pebble K

Submitted to Contest #220

“Are you hungry?” A whisper asks me. I do not wake up. The room I am in is dark and shadowed, and the only source of light comes from a small blue fish tank across from me. It is one of those rectangular ones, with one seagull within it. It smiles at me as I got off the floor. In front of the cage is a single cookie. I take the cookie. I am not particularly hungry, but it seems the right thing to do at the moment. The seagull watches me with orange eyes. The cookie doesn’t feel like anything. I can see it in my hand, but I can not fe...

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“Pieces” by Jarrel Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #220

I can remember vividly Isaac Torres and my house on fire. His face was blue. Everything was blue. It was after 6pm and the sun was taking off with all the day’s vibrant hues. There was a stark emptiness in Isaac’s expression, but I can’t seem to picture that particular detail, like a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces, even though you know what it’s supposed to be based on the cover of the box it comes in. His smile, though, I can recall at will; the smile of a welcoming presence, of a confidant without having to work for the distinctio...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 45 stories

“Strange Days” by Jeanine Rogers

“Little Boy Blue” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

“A Surprise Awaits a Reporter” by John Steckley

“I Will Never Take a Nap Again!” by Karen Best Wright

“Eat and Enjoy” by Nik Alxndr

“Wish You Were Here” by Jed Cope

“Deceptive Shadows” by Ebone Brown

“Are you hungry?” by Kristy Cole

“Pippa’s Sick Day” by Chelsey B

“Strange awakenings ” by Eddie McKenzie

“A Tale of Hocus Pocus!” by Julie Grenness

“The Maid of Honor” by Alicia Small-Conaty

“A Fork in the Road ” by Sofia Nesta

“Chocolate Chip Cookie” by Pebble K

“Pieces” by Jarrel Jefferson

🌟 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.

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

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.

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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