Write about an encounter with someone new to you who changed your life forever.

Posted in Nonfiction on Nov 8, 2024

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✍️ 104 stories

“The Difference” by Dave Volpe

Submitted to Contest #276

Since last week my days have been…different. As a creature of habit, I started this day the same: Three eggs and two medjool dates. Eat them standing at the counter. In silence. The way I like it. Popping my bubble of peace with any needle of conversation is the same as kicking my knee out from behind as I lift piping coffee to my lips and nails rake a chalkboard. Might as well walk under a ladder and open an umbrella inside because once that bubble pops, forget about it. Day’s a wash. So as far as mornings went, this one was perfect. I...

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“Stranger Danger” by Kyla Davis

Submitted to Contest #276

In late August 1982, I traveled with my parents to visit my grandfather, who was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and needed long-term care. What was meant to be a long weekend stretched into an extended stay, leaving me to fly home alone to return to work. My mother, anxious about the idea, was relieved when a middle-aged man we met at the airport—a fellow passenger—offered to look out for me. I saw him as a father figure. I was mistaken. It was a mistake I had made before—and would repeat again over the years. I wanted to bel...

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“A Name Too Big For Me” by Archie Arboleda

Submitted to Contest #276

Nothing brings my family together quite as good as a funeral. They’re like ants to spilled sugar. This time, the sugar being my grandmother's will. The last bit of her belongings spanning from her time here in the Philippines, Holland, Hawaii, and finally where she spent most of her time, with us in America. However, she wanted to die in the house her husband built for her, so she spent the last bit of time she had left in this world reminiscing about a man who was no longer there. Something that runs in our family, apparently. Our father, m...

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“The Strength to Fall” by Monera Shaik

Submitted to Contest #276

The gym was filled with the usual noise—the quick squeak of sneakers on hardwood, the relentless bounce of basketballs, and the hum of teammates talking. It was game day, and my head was a whirlwind. I should’ve been focused, ready, but my mind kept racing to places I didn’t want it to go.For years, I’d been carrying the weight of something I didn’t fully understand myself—bipolar disorder. It wasn’t the diagnosis that bothered me, not really. It was the fear of what people would think if they knew. No one saw the constant shifts in my mood—...

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“Rescue Rainbows” by Sun Shine

Submitted to Contest #276

Totality lasted four minutes and fifteen seconds. International peace warriors, hippies, crust-punks, road dogs, hobos, Natives, locals and hillbillies would converge in the Ouachita National Forest in southeastern Oklahoma to pray for peace during this well-advertised total solar eclipse event. The collaborators from several counter-culture communities built the Heartfire on top of a clear-cut hill for a maximum viewing experience situated far from the primitive camps along dirt logging roads. Super-Happy Funtime Camp was nearly a mile bey...

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“Friends with Benefits” by Becky Phillips

Submitted to Contest #276

(Sexual Encounter) Thinking back to my childhood, I can clearly remember sneaking into my dad's Playboy magazine stash and gazing at the beautiful women and their big boobs. I would later return to my room and play with myself, imagining those women being with me. Little did I know that this was the start of something much bigger than myself. In college, I'd talk to other girls about their sexual escapades, but I was a virgin until I was 18. So many boys kept telling me, “Look me up when you hit 18. I ain’t no jail bait.” I knew that I...

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“The Center of Attention” by Hope Flinchum

Submitted to Contest #276

“I don’t care if you hang out with him, but I won’t be around if you do.”The only thing that matched the heat of my anger was the depth of my confusion. Ruthie had been there. I couldn’t fathom why she wanted to hang out with Blake, who was the single most obnoxious man to ever disgrace the halls of our school.Let me set the scene. It was the fall semester, and my best (and only) friend and I were sitting in the student center, studying.Enter man: he’s five-foot-ten, dirty blonde hair, and a smirk that says he’s looking forward to the fight ...

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“We Almost Never” by Cameron Snider

Submitted to Contest #276

I never thought I’d find love. I grew up the kind of man that wears a sweatshirt all day, keeps my head down, and plays games (nearly every day) with a close-knit friend group. From middle school all the way to my earlier twenties; time was nothing, and it wasn’t as though I were searching for anything in life anyway. If there was a reward for not catching context clues, I’d be king - especially when it came to women. Things like never following up with the date who invited me to prom, or perhaps, on the more whimsical side of ‘love’, n...

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“Second life” by Sohaiba Nz

Submitted to Contest #276

In a world where the only sensation that cuts through the numbness is pain, I’ve become accustomed to the ache of an existence seemingly devoid of true feeling. Every day, I wake up with a lingering soreness, sometimes a dull throb in my joints, other times a sharp pang in my stomach or temples, as if something unseen is pressing on me. Pain has been a loyal companion, the only connection I have to my own body. Where others speak of joy, fear, and love, I feel only this dull, lingering discomfort.But lately, something has been unsettling my ...

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“Shrek pulls me out of the silver cage” by Alice Sprinceana

Submitted to Contest #276

For New Year’s Eve, I had a hunch that something was about to happen in the upcoming year, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what specifically. It’s effortless to say that I wasn’t prepared for what the goddess Fortuna had in store for me, and how I would find myself having to overpass treacherous waters on a very crappy raft held together by what seemed to be ice cream picks with chewing gum. Metaphorically. Maybe. Much like Aeneas, I didn’t have much clue where I was drifting. After yet another failed attempt of finding someone who I w...

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“Serendipity” by Paromita De

Submitted to Contest #276

It was a hot sweaty summer, and I went to my appointed Jury Duty location around 8 am in the morning with shorts and a tank top. It was not my best appearance. My hair was in a bun and I carried my expresso from the local coffee shop on one hand, and my super heavy handbag on the other. I shoved magazines and books, and a daily planner in there incase I had any time to read while waiting to be called. Last I heard there was no dress code. As I went through security. I was somewhat relieved that I atleast will get a break from my daily routin...

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“The Remote Connection” by Marisa Cole

Submitted to Contest #276

*This story contains multiple trigger warnings including Mental Health, Substance Abuse, Physical Violence and Abuse, as well as Suicidal Thoughts.* To me, these men saved my life. The summer of 2013 was indeed one of the hardest times of my life. I was ten years old and my life couldn’t possibly get worse. My mother and I lived in our family’s basement, sharing our space with a large pantry and utility room. We had no privacy to speak of, for a ten-year-old child you might see how this was unnerving. My uncle an abusive drunk who ...

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“The giedd of us two together” by Bells Smetek

Submitted to Contest #276

for K. He is introduced in the most bizarre way possible.“He’s you, but different,” my partner says. Ages later, there is this incredible pain. Ages before, a single stranded figure cries out on an empty island, “Eadwacer!” I knew that story from before. It didn’t make any sense and it was delightful in it. How countless scholars tried to understand the Old English verses, only to come up with nothing, with possibilities and doubts, and question marks. I love it dearly, for the very love of contrariness. * And so, he is introduced. We sit do...

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“The Way She Was Born” by Olivia Barthold

Submitted to Contest #276

Trigger Warning: Mentions of car crashes, blood, bodily fluids, PTSD. You will probably never believe this story, even though I lived through it, I still have trouble believing what happened that day. I'll never forget the day I met her, little Luna-Bug. It was June 2nd, 2023, around 4 am, I was woken up by an incredible pain in my pelvis, and the sensation that I needed to use the bathroom. The way my body felt; was not right, my back felt like it was being pinched, my mind was cloudy as if I were in a fog, I had a strong pain across my st...

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“Every Time it Hurts” by Goon Ryane

Submitted to Contest #276

In an effort to press herself flat against the wall, she ran her funny bone into the corner of an antique brass picture frame. The pain shot through her arm; an uncomfortable tingle bloomed in her hand. She huffed a silent profanity but maintained a smile to the onlookers who cast glances at her over their shoulder. This was so far from her scene, if she could have it her way she’d be back at home – three twisted teas deep – sprawled out on her carpet floor. But Lydia had insisted, begged even, that she come with her tonight. She said she ne...

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Write about an encounter with someone new to you who changed your life forever.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 104 stories

“The Difference” by Dave Volpe

“Stranger Danger” by Kyla Davis

“A Name Too Big For Me” by Archie Arboleda

“The Strength to Fall” by Monera Shaik

“Rescue Rainbows” by Sun Shine

“Friends with Benefits” by Becky Phillips

“The Center of Attention” by Hope Flinchum

“We Almost Never” by Cameron Snider

“Second life” by Sohaiba Nz

“Shrek pulls me out of the silver cage” by Alice Sprinceana

“Serendipity” by Paromita De

“The Remote Connection” by Marisa Cole

“The giedd of us two together” by Bells Smetek

“The Way She Was Born” by Olivia Barthold

“Every Time it Hurts” by Goon Ryane

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a date you went on that took an unexpected turn.

Write about something you do now that has become routine, but that the old you — or friends and family from your past — would never believe if they couldn’t witness it today with their own eyes.

Write about a relationship or friendship that was unexpected or so outside your usual type that you kept it a secret from your loved ones. (Bonus points if it didn’t stay secret for long!)

Write about a time you approached a situation with one strong feeling or belief, only to have your perspective shift completely by the end.

Contest #276

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

226

Contest entries

109

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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