Write about a character putting something into a time capsule.

Posted in Science Fiction on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 141 stories

“The Tin Box Grave” by Yellow Flower

Submitted to Contest #62

The snow covered everything in our tiny town. My friend and I sat huddled together in the homemade tree house. The oak planks were the only thing that held us from falling. Our big winter coats rubbed on each other. We had the tin box lying in the middle of us. No one wanted to touch it. No one wanted to see it. It had too many memories attached to it. … “Come on Jimmy! Don't be a baby! Lets go!” My lungs shoved out. I was trying to keep my head above the murky water. “Jimmy?!...LETS GO!” Billy shouted beside me. His voice was m...

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“Be Back Soon” by L.B Rinker

Submitted to Contest #62

I put my ashes in a time capsule a couple towns over. Twenty years from now, it will be opened. The spectators' curiosity will certainly lead to a DNA test of some kind. In their records they'll find my name, Olivia Green. I'll finally be declared legally dead, murdered, or so they'll assume. I will finally be able to live a life untethered to this world, to its responsibilities.. I've spent years dreaming of that kind of release, I suppose that's why they call it "longing".. When that train comes today I won't be waiting idly by admiring ...

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“Maybe” by Roth Sassin (inactive)

Submitted to Contest #62

I look at the shovel in my hand, then at the airtight box, then at the ground. I sigh and heft the shovel up. I bring it down, and it hits the ground with a dull, muffled thump. I scoop out the dry soil and put it on the ground. I do it again and again until there is a hole, three feet deep, and 1 foot wide. I put my head in my hands. My shoulders shake as I silently sob. Would I have buried this time capsule if the gangs hadn't taken over? If the government hadn't collapsed? I slowly stop crying as I go over to the airtight box, and open ...

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“To the Amazing Future Ellie Rose Lynn...” by Grace Lynn

Submitted to Contest #62

“Here seems right,” Mom said, pushing her shovel into the soft dirt under the large tree. “I think it was over here.” “Sounds good.” I responded, putting down the digging tools in the grass next to the tree. We began digging into the soil, stopping when our shovels clinked against something hard. “Just what I thought. Ellie, come see.” Mom has taken the hand trowel and started to uncover the small aluminum box. Once it’s out, she places it on the grass and brushes the dirt back into the small hole in the ground. I pack it down fi...

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“Our Memories Shall Live on Forever ” by Olisadebe O

Submitted to Contest #62

We had completed our final year of secondary school and we were determined to make the memories we had created over the years live on forever, that's why we were here. As we sat down on the grass and formed a circle, all the memories came flooding back. The playful squeals and innocent giggles of young children running around the park reminded me of our earlier years when we would come down to this exact same park every day after school and play and laugh exactly like they did, oh how I wish the clocks could turn back so we could rel...

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“Parting Wisdom” by Michael Crone

Submitted to Contest #62

“I think this is it.” Carean mumbles to himself. He pulls his backpack off his shoulder and begins to rummage through it. “Not that. Nope. Did I forget it? Ah, no here it is.” He grabs the journal and opens to the bookmarked page. A large tree, twisted and beautiful, is drawn across it. A large X is drawn at its base, near a large root and a hole in the trunk. Carean searches for the spot. Once he finds it, he removes the small garden shovel from his backpack and crams it into the earth. Clink! His shovel strikes something metal. “...

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“What Was Left Unsaid. ” by Felix Bill

Submitted to Contest #62

Less than lovers, but more by a stretch than friends, Sam and Lou had escaped work for a stolen evening and reached a place where the skies were endless. Above them each cloud was perfect, a bilious accumulation of grey edged in bright sunlight. To the south the grass dropped away off the edge of the world and the tops of distant tower blocks rose like toadstools over the horizon line, above which darker skies threatened to erupt into a storm. A bottle of whiskey sat between them on the yellowed grass, a little less than half already gone. T...

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“Dallas Homecoming ” by Shelby Roseman

Submitted to Contest #62

When she was young, her and her brother learned about time capsules. In a world that was not afraid of change, something resting underground, patiently awaiting the light again, was almost inspiring. Almost. She and Mikey had tried to create time capsules to bury and dig up when they were older and wiser, but their family moved every year. They did their best to keep track of the dates and locations of all the capsules. They eventually lost track of the list between moves and bouts of puberty, but their young spirits told them they could...

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“an immigrant’s home” by Matias Matias

Submitted to Contest #62

Back then, for Pedro to put food in his wife and son’s mouths would cost him around 600 pesos and would last up to a month. The mechanic business on the banks of the great Parana had been started with the greatest of intentions but with the fall of the economy, the residents of the river either learned to fix the boats themselves or they adopted a paddle. That nasal pressure pressing his eyeballs into the back of his sockets and clammy hands gripping the little wooden box so tightly that the tips of his fingers turned white and shook, with t...

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“Bowties, Lipsticks & Guilt” by Christopher Cayen-Cyr

Submitted to Contest #62

Tick. Tock. With every cigarette puff he drew, Victor was reminded of the passing of time by the mechanical ticking of his watch as his wrist got sufficiently close to his ear for the sound to be audible. He could have gone without these steady reminders; it was about time he invested in a smart watch instead. Analog was being phased out for a reason. Ten seconds had passed since the cigarette had been lit. How easily seconds turned into minutes, he thought. Minutes just as easily turned into hours, and hours into days, weeks, years. Just ...

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“Treasure Hunting” by Nicole Davis

Submitted to Contest #62

Our feet crunched the browning leaves as we trekked through the park. The crisp, cool morning air was more enlivening than my cup of coffee had been. Thanks to my jean jacket, I was comfortable as we continued to an old spot that only I knew of.My hands are warmed not by mittens but by the hands of love. One was much fuller and form-fitting than the other. I looked to the woman whose hand daintily clasped mine and received a smile that parted her red lips. Her curly, blonde locks bobbed as we walked along. Sicily is my guiding ship and...

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“A Year to Heal” by Jessica Mills

Submitted to Contest #62

The shovel strikes a rock hidden in the dark brown soil. “Why is the dirt still so hard to dig in? I thought getting it wet would make it easier” Julie says to Billy as she puts all of her body weight on the shovel with her right foot and pushes hard into the ground. “I don’t know, but keep digging” Billy replies “We only need to go a little bit deeper for it to fit”. It is an unseasonably warm spring afternoon. Julie and Billy are digging the hole in Julie’s backyard for the time capsule they created as part of their recov...

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“Today is Not a Day for Soundbites ” by Brenda Liddy

Submitted to Contest #62

Today is Not a Day for Soundbites. If I was asked what I would put in a time capsule, I would reply, ‘The Good Friday Agreement’. And if you want to know why, read my story: I was born on the very same day that Tony Blair stood on the steps of Stormont and delivered his famous eulogy: A day like today is not a day for, sort of, sound bites, really – we can leave those at home – but I feel the hand of history upon our shoulders, I really do. So while Tony stood on the steps of that historic building on that historic day, feeling t...

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“The TIME CAPSULE- then and now.” by Judith Veder

Submitted to Contest #62

THE TIME CAPSULE-then and now. In 1990, I interred not a body but my time capsule in Van Cortlandt Park, in the Bronx. I played there as a child; I climbed rocks, chased birds, skated on the lake in winter and rowed boats there in the summer. It was only fitting that the capsule be buried and hidden there, in the burial ground on vault hill. 1990 was a good year- Germany was reunited; Namibia became independent...

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“Timely Action” by Megan Snyder

Submitted to Contest #62

Fall, 1988 It was a beautiful fall day. The crowd was huddled up in their warm coats and looking forward to the promise of hot apple cider and apple pie after the ceremony. The mayor went up on stage to a round of applause. “Fifty years ago, this town placed a time capsule in the middle of Town Square to celebrate Bloomsburg’s 100th anniversary. Today, we celebrate our fine town with a beautiful fall festival, parade, and fireworks. Welcome to Bloomsburg’s 150th anniversary!” The crowd all clapped and cheered. “Now, it is time to ope...

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Write about a character putting something into a time capsule.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 141 stories

“The Tin Box Grave” by Yellow Flower

“Be Back Soon” by L.B Rinker

“Maybe” by Roth Sassin (inactive)

“To the Amazing Future Ellie Rose Lynn...” by Grace Lynn

“Our Memories Shall Live on Forever ” by Olisadebe O

“Parting Wisdom” by Michael Crone

“What Was Left Unsaid. ” by Felix Bill

“Dallas Homecoming ” by Shelby Roseman

“an immigrant’s home” by Matias Matias

“Bowties, Lipsticks & Guilt” by Christopher Cayen-Cyr

“Treasure Hunting” by Nicole Davis

“A Year to Heal” by Jessica Mills

“Today is Not a Day for Soundbites ” by Brenda Liddy

“The TIME CAPSULE- then and now.” by Judith Veder

“Timely Action” by Megan Snyder

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who can suddenly only “remember” their future, not their past.

Write about a character who’s had their future foretold from birth — but isn’t sure if they believe it.

Write about two characters on the verge of a life-changing event, but one has rigged the outcome.

Write about a character preparing to go into stasis for decades (or centuries).

Contest #62

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

620

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: