Write a story about someone forced out of their home.

Posted in Narrative on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 55 stories

“within the fires” by Alex Sultan

Submitted to Contest #137

If I remember the date right, it was early September. I think it was the ninth. It’s hard to tell—I didn’t feel like myself back then. I would often lose track of time. On that day, word came to me that we lost the war. I was walking alongside a cart of debris through the remains of our town, and two women spoke as if they were disappointed. The great empire of Japan had surrendered. Two of our cities were destroyed. Reduced to ash and rubble. Even then, I could only think of you, and I cried. - - -Kyoka heard the drone of the planes before ...

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“Guava” by Kaiomi Inniss

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #137

Dear daughter, The day my mother died, I was relieved. I sat in her living room, watching the guavas fall from the tree, rotting in the grass, oozing that sweet juice. Flies swarming over the bruised green fruit, the pungent guava scent wafting through the house. I closed the window. My mother had a garden. Carefully crafted she would say, but to me, it looked like pure chaos. Madness. She always said to me, it is important to remember why you planted a seed. And when you plant that seed, offer it up to the gods. She ...

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“Ouroboros” by Kelsey H

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #137

Ava parked in the dark space between streetlights, under the shadow of a tree. She looked across the road at her sister’s house and saw the light spilling from the bare kitchen window, casting a ghostly rectangle across the lawn.“Just act like everything is normal,” she’d said to Annemarie. “Make him something nice for dinner and crush a sleeping pill into it. Make sure he has a whiskey with it.”Don’t you remember, she could have added.She left the ignition running and the vapor from the exhaust floated like mist around the car. Hands ready ...

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“The Sound” by Brendan Sanders

Submitted to Contest #137

There it was, that awful screeching. Has it been two hours already? I must have dozed off, understandable since I don’t sleep much these days. I sit up from my chair. I put the fire out and close the chimney. I move sluggish through the empty dark corridors of the mansion. I’m not even looking where I walk as I’ve done this over and over again, once every two hours for as long as I could remember. Searching for the screeching. It only lasts three minutes. It’s...

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“The Rabbi's Lament” by Thomas Giorgione

Submitted to Contest #137

15th of August 2005, in the Gaza Strip.Two Israeli paratroopers jogged down a dirt road, and protesters rabbled around the bend. A short, thin, but vicious warrior, Lavi walked off the road. He settled down on a flat gray rock and checked his M16. The other paratrooper Ariel stood and stared, with his hollow green eyes, at Lavi.“Why do you check it so much?” Ariel asked. “M16s they are always working.”“I have my reasons,” Lavi said.“What reasons?”“Today’s reason? I’m stalling.”“Why?” Ariel asked.“Because I don’t want to do this.” Two methodi...

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“Cutting Tension” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #137

The fire in the hearth crackled. Awkward introductions had been made. At the head of the table, Sir Danielle Longbow was enjoying the dizzying strength of the beer. Her brown eyes met her mother’s and the mirth on Alexandra’s face fell away. “How did you meet?” Rose Fletcher asked, pointing from Danielle to Lupita Smith. “We killed some monsters in the prison. You must have heard the story?” Lupita s...

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“When the sky shone blue” by Jessamie R.

Submitted to Contest #137

Wednesday 14th March 1945 Will it ever end? The suffering, the pain. Will life ever return to what it once was? Will the sun ever shine on a land so peaceful and green? Will Papa ever come home to us? I don’t know. We don’t know. Mrs. Woźniak gave me this empty notebook, she told me to write in it, that it will help pass the time. Although, I am unsure if I like it. It is chilly today. The ice is skittering across the floor like translucent snakes riding the wind. The blizzard hisses and wails through the narrow gaps by the ceil...

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“The Tree in the Backyard of a House on Russet Street” by Robin Davidson

Submitted to Contest #137

I stacked my dad’s books in the doorway of his office, pretending to build a brick wall. His office should be sealed off, anyway. No one else belongs here on Russet Street, in our house. I blew some dust off the bookshelf, the part where I’d carved my name with a butter knife 13 years ago. When my dad found the carving, he called me an asshole and told me if I were going to carve my name into his beautiful, reclaimed wood shelf, I could at least spell it right. I’d forgotten the ‘e’ in Davey. Besides me and mom, my dad loved only two other...

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“Roommates” by Lisa Massimilla

Submitted to Contest #137

I had just entered that in-between phase of sleep and wakefulness when my cell phone rang. Normally I shut it off before going to bed because of this very reason but I fell asleep watching a video. Damn near gave me a heart attack because the phone was close to my ear and the ringtone is a voice telling me to answer it. The fact that my best friend is the only one who has that ringtone saved my phone from getting flung across the room. Fully awake, I answered it and tapped on the speaker.“What’s wrong Luka?” There was a long pause befor...

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“Under the Gazebo” by Julian Steele

Submitted to Contest #137

Trigger warning: strong language; physical violence, gore, or abuse; suicide or self-harm.I can make out a few vigilant silhouettes behind the neighbours' curtains, trailing me—a stranger—as I pull the keys out from my travel backpack. Some things never change in the suburbs. The lock resists for a second but then turns and, once again, I step onto the garden walk. After so many years, I’m finally home again.They haven't bothered to change the locks. I imagine mother continually nagging father to change them or, at the very least, call someo...

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“Summoned” by James Grasham

Submitted to Contest #137

Content warning: There are a couple of instances of foul language in this story. *** The roaring fire eased the aching in Gerrod’s old knees as he stretched out in the soft, plump armchair. I could get used to this, he thought as he watched the orange flames dance merrily in the hearth. He removed the leather-bound tome from his lap and deposited it on the table. “The First Age Conquests of Emperor Gordos by Scholar First Class Vayo Chen” had Gerrod’s eyelids drooping. History had become his passion since he’d retired, but this particula...

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“Does the Cap and Gown Make Me Grown?” by Sue Hunter

Submitted to Contest #137

She stood there, a can of soda clutched in her hand. The bathroom was the only place in the house where she could be alone. The condensation from the drink was cold, making her hands freeze. It was a good feeling. The cold kept her from getting stuck in her own head. She leaned over the sink, taking a tentative sip in the hopes it would keep herself from getting sick. It didn’t work. The noise from the party bled through the doors. Her party. Her graduation party. Amy sat the ...

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“Rise of Nightbreeze” by Ravea LaGeorge

Submitted to Contest #137

It started with a hum. The dawn was coming, and she thought it would be the perfect chance to practice her newest creation. A simple hum. One simple gesture. A way with sound, a wave of fingers, and an ember floated down to the earth below her feet. Lighting the grass on fire before being snuffed out by her bare foot. She giggled at the sting before she hummed again, focusing on her fingers and watching as more embers rained down from her fingers. Littering the ground like fresh rain, sizzling on the dewdrops. But it did not sizzle one emb...

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“The Removal of Rosalie” by Sylvia Courtner

Submitted to Contest #137

Rosalie's fondest dream was marrying her high school sweetheart and starting a family. Faced with the prospect of the Vietnam War draft potentially separating their intertwined hearts, a simple ceremony at their local community center linked their loving souls legally. Against all odds, he returned to her after two long years, battle scars tucked deep within his psyche. They started their family in Georgia military housing, but eventually saved enough to load their meager belongings into a rusty station wagon, trekking from the sweltering so...

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“Shadow of Tomorrow” by Maddie Logemann

Submitted to Contest #137

Shut in the dry dust, in the dark, phone cord tangles between her fingers. The elastic spiral of it is crimped and stretched now and it doesn’t spring back the way it used to when she unwinds it from her thumb. Between boxes of pasta and sacks of rice, a crate of potatoes and one of peeling onions, she listens to the static-eaten voice crackling over the line. “Just for tonight. That’s all I— I just need tonight.” The sound buzzes and hums in her ear. So human. So artificial. Phones are funny like that, distorting the things you know ...

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Write a story about someone forced out of their home.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 55 stories

“within the fires” by Alex Sultan

“Guava” by Kaiomi Inniss

“Ouroboros” by Kelsey H

“The Sound” by Brendan Sanders

“The Rabbi's Lament” by Thomas Giorgione

“Cutting Tension” by Graham Kinross

“When the sky shone blue” by Jessamie R.

“The Tree in the Backyard of a House on Russet Street” by Robin Davidson

“Roommates” by Lisa Massimilla

“Under the Gazebo” by Julian Steele

“Summoned” by James Grasham

“Does the Cap and Gown Make Me Grown?” by Sue Hunter

“Rise of Nightbreeze” by Ravea LaGeorge

“The Removal of Rosalie” by Sylvia Courtner

“Shadow of Tomorrow” by Maddie Logemann

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a scientist.

Write about a character who gets called an Einstein ironically.

Write a story about somebody in love with someone from their past.

Write a story about a character forced to give up something important to stand up for what they believe in.

Contest #137

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

218

Contest entries

117

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: