Write a story inspired by this quote from Ally Condie: "Growing apart doesn't change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled. I'm glad for that."

Posted in Sad on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 161 stories

“Never Too Late” by Alice Penfold

Submitted to Contest #40

I’d arrived early, although I knew you would be late. Some things never change. It was never intentional; you had a strained relationship with time, always losing track of it, never allowing enough of it to get from one place to another, then arriving apologetically a few minutes after you were supposed to.Still, ‘Cuppa and Chatter’ was a pleasant enough place to wait. It was a small, independent coffee shop, perched on the corner of our childhood high street in sleepy Somerset. My suggestion, after hours spent researching the near-identical...

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“It was, it is, and it will always be. ” by Angie Al

Submitted to Contest #40

I glanced down at my screen for the 50th time that hour. You only texted her an hour and a half ago. Give her time. I sigh and look out the window, watching two blue jays chase each other's tails. If only life could feel that carefree again. Two best friends, always at each other's sides, roasting the other in the way only friends could. And you've done it again Angie. Wishing for the past to reappear. I shake my head. Is it really so wrong to long for the return of a friendship that had seemed to be rock solid? *ding* My eyelids ...

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“Boo Boo” by Esther Andrews

Submitted to Contest #40

I’ve always longed for an elusive something…a void in my life I never seem able to fill. Early in my career, I became a workaholic, with my drive for perfection steering me on my unrelenting path. But year after year, the elusive 'it' was missing. In parallel, I sought out relationships, failing miserably at every turn. The gap between what I had and what wasn’t there only seemed to grow. Shouldn’t one of these two most obvious things fill me up?I then pursued an endless laundry list of hobbies—climbing, hiking, camping, ...

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“Blue Eyes” by Lauren Ford

Submitted to Contest #40

When I saw you again I nearly let my composure slip. Nearly. I am a well-trained machine now and even you couldn’t break me. But you sure came close and that is something I will never forget. It wasn’t simply a rush of nostalgia or the shock of déjà vu. It was the contrast of old meets new. You looked so different and yet just the same somehow and it was difficult for my brain to process how that could be so. I shouldn’t be able to recognise you after all these years. The first thing I noticed was your eyes of course. It’s ...

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“Sisters and Irish Twins” by Kathryn El-Assal

Submitted to Contest #40

What are the chances of two sets of Irish twins on the same block? Actually, not so surprising when it’s the 1950s and both sets of parents are Catholic. Yes, Aria and I both had sisters born within twelve months of our own births. My sister, Jennifer, entered the family on my actual birthday, while Aria and Zora had birthdays a week apart. I don’t think I heard the expression Irish twins till college, but if I did, I probably thought it referred to actual twins, and didn’t have a derogatory connotation.In high school, my mom worked in a loc...

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“Dear Luke” by Charlotte Fell-James

Submitted to Contest #40

You stopped answering my calls. That was when I should have realised. I thought you’d stopped caring, or that you’d gotten so busy in your new town, that you had no place for you best friend. If only I had known.It was the texts that often went unanswered for days at a time. And even when you did reply, it was monosyllabic answers at best. I won't pretend it didn't hurt. But it all makes so much sense, looking back now.Every time I had tried to meet up with you, there was another thing in the way. Even when you had a new exhibit, you were to...

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“Entangled” by LeighAnne Ferreol

Submitted to Contest #40

The man raised the ax above his head and swung it at me. I felt the sharp pain as the blade dug into my trunk. My branches shook with fear making my needles rustle. The man dug the ax into me again and again. Why was he doing this to me? I had seen this man before. He came from the big house almost every day. Usually, he left us alone, but every winter he came to the forest and took a pine back to his horrible lair. We didn’t know what they did to us in that house, all we knew was that in spring they would drag the dead carcass to the ...

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“My childhood friend” by Anh Ngo Hong

Submitted to Contest #40

“ You’re going to be great one day.” George squeezed my shoulder tight.“ Thanks brother, you too. One day you and I are going to be great together.” I said. We looked away, tried to find something interesting to distract this hard reality.Some minutes passed in silence, two innocent souls were deeply in their own thoughts. Every memories came back like a waterfall, tremendously tried to break our hearts into millions of pieces.“Never thought one day we have to go through this.” George said, and I looked at him. It looked like he was trying&n...

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“Til death does us part - Navya jain ” by Navya Jain

Submitted to Contest #40

I still remember that day when Addison and I made that stupid oath. Or I may have forgotten it if I hadn’t run into her at that wedding.“ Laura Black!”I turned as soon as I heard my name. It’s a natural instinct, someone says your name you immediately turn to see who it is. And then I saw her. Her bright red hair was impossible to miss, and so was her cheery disposition. If you saw her you were most likely to smile yourself.“ Addison Smith! It’s been so long.” I smiled at her not knowing what to say.We had been friends once. The best of...

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“WE BELONG” by K J

Submitted to Contest #40

Aria walked slowly through the rapidly muddying grass, leaning on her daughter, Emily, for stability. Distracted by her own whirling memories, she barely registered the rain falling on to the headstones around her, turning them a dark grey to match the sky above. The small black scarf wrapped around her head and giant the umbrella held up by Jake, her daughter’s new boyfriend; did little to keep the rain off her face. Aria hoped it would help hide the inevitable tears.They stopped under a temporary awning, with the rest of the gathered crowd...

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“Farewell My Heroine” by Bruno Lowagie

Submitted to Contest #40

I ring the bell. When no one answers, I let myself in.Her place looks abandoned. The table hasn’t been cleared; the cup of coffee on the table isn’t empty; the coffee is still lukewarm. I walk into her kitchen; the dishes of the previous day haven’t been done. I inspect her bedroom; the bed hasn’t been made.She must have left her apartment the moment I called her, telling her I wanted to talk about us and about our relationship. I enter the room she uses as her personal office. I notice that she didn’t even take her computer with her, yet so...

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“The Parting” by Barbara Eustace

Submitted to Contest #40

“Do you really have to go?”“You know I can’t stay any longer.”“I wish you could.”“It’s not as if it’s a surprise is it? We both knew this day was coming, didn’t we?”“I know, but...”“Let it go then.”“Truth be told, Joe, I’m surprised you didn’t leave me sooner. Every day I’ve been expecting you to leave for the past 18 months.”“I stayed as long as I could.”“It’s still not long enough.”“It’s not been right for over three years now, you know that. And now it’s time. Now I must go.”“Jessie’s still angry you’re leaving yo...

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“Handprints” by Ash Hanneson

Submitted to Contest #40

Skipping they tumbled along the trail made hard from years of childhood feet running along. Hand in hand, laughing, vision blurred by heartbreak. Together they slipped under the branch of the big oak tree, bumping heads that never used to reach. They slide into a scene of the past whispering like a call back to a time long forgotten. Here, they sat, like not a moment has passed. Her dress, a beautiful million dollar dress for the happiest day of her life, was torn from the undergrowth and just as dirty as the childhood play clothes caked in ...

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“Our Roots Are Tangled” by Katerina Ratina

Submitted to Contest #40

We met when we were ten, and although the memory is vague, my parents have told me the story so many times that it’s seared itself into my head, and I couldn’t forget it if I tried.We were in the library at the same time that day, and we were looking at the same section of books. Apparently, you loved fantasy as much as I did, which I found to be quite the shock. We got to talking, and we found that despite the similar taste in genre, we had read few of the same books.At the time, my favorite book in the whole world was Fablehaven by Brandon...

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“The Endurance of Oak Trees and Gooseberries” by Rachelle McKeown

Submitted to Contest #40

The oak tree we used to climb as kids still stands, but now it’s one of the few trees left at the edge of our father’s farm, which has since turned into an empty field. I remember when the field was vibrant with peppers of all colors and we would pass by them and stumble upon the zucchini and yellow squash. Beyond the squash were the tomatoes, and after the tomatoes were the lettuce and spinach. Sometimes we would snag a leaf of lettuce on our way to the tree or grab a tomato and eat it like an apple. On our last skip out to the tree, I had ...

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Write a story inspired by this quote from Ally Condie: "Growing apart doesn't change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled. I'm glad for that."

Submissions are closed

✍️ 161 stories

“Never Too Late” by Alice Penfold

“It was, it is, and it will always be. ” by Angie Al

“Boo Boo” by Esther Andrews

“Blue Eyes” by Lauren Ford

“Sisters and Irish Twins” by Kathryn El-Assal

“Dear Luke” by Charlotte Fell-James

“Entangled” by LeighAnne Ferreol

“My childhood friend” by Anh Ngo Hong

“Til death does us part - Navya jain ” by Navya Jain

“WE BELONG” by K J

“Farewell My Heroine” by Bruno Lowagie

“The Parting” by Barbara Eustace

“Handprints” by Ash Hanneson

“Our Roots Are Tangled” by Katerina Ratina

“The Endurance of Oak Trees and Gooseberries” by Rachelle McKeown

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about two people who meet and become instant friends.

Write a story about friends who wind up on a misadventure.

Write a story about one event from the different perspectives of multiple friends.

Write a story about someone turning to a friend in a time of need.

Contest #40

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

622

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: