Set your story in a kitchen, either early in the day or late at night.

Posted in Short Story on Sep 27, 2024

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✍️ 85 stories

“Enough” by Cristine Burke

Submitted to Contest #270

“Dodge boys…we’re the Dodge boys!” Adeline wakes to the same annoyingly cheerful car jingle playing on the radio every morning at 7am. Why can’t her mother ever listen to a different station? Classic rock? Reggae? Hell, she’d even settle for smooth jazz at this point. She drags herself out of her warm bed, throws on a sweatshirt, slides into her beat-up Birkenstocks and trudges down the hallway toward the kitchen. As she enters, the overhead, fluorescent light casts a blinding glare in her half-opened eyes. Once fully awake, she su...

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“See you next year!” by Marie Fielding

Submitted to Contest #270

'See you later!' She screams at us, mere mortal members of the family.She slams the door, setting me off.'I've told you a hundred times! Do not slam this door! This house has been standing for hundreds of years and you kids will be the ones wrecking it!''She's out already. She can't hear you.' My husband says.I know. But I have to say it. It makes me feel better and it makes me feel like I have an important role to play around here. The Guardian of the Ancient Walls: Me.'And don't shout!' I yell as an afterthought. 'Why is she always sh...

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“If Memory Serves” by Kathleen Sutter

Submitted to Contest #270

(This story may be difficult for someone struggling with mental health issues or with the loss of someone close to them) If Memory ServesSunlight splashed through the east window of her kitchen and caught the specks in the air, making the light seem ethereal, touchable, magic. She’d always loved this window, the way the light played through it, transforming the air into fairy dust and the day into possibility. Making the house look golden and the world so clean.Apparently her violets loved the window, too; since she had moved them there, th...

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“Fancy Dress” by Juliet Martin

Submitted to Contest #270

Pete squeezed his way down the side passage to arrive at the back door. The fist above his head grazed the raw walls. He had to duck to fit it into the kitchen.From the hallway, the party rumbled like a pot coming to a simmer. Jesse arrived in the kitchen seeking napkins for the blood flowing down his face. “You’re here!” He said. “The others are already in the living room. I’ll take you.”He led the way back towards the hall, wiping his nose with his sleeve. “Jesse.” A woman blocked their way. She put a hand to Jesse’s cheek. “Look at you.” ...

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“Daylight Savings” by Melissa Grillett

Submitted to Contest #270

I nodded to the front desk lady as I strode through the lobby, “Happy Daylight Savings,” she cheerfully said, putting her hair up with a purple hair tie. The phone started ringing. I was the first one in the kitchen at 4:30 a.m. I flicked on the lights. I clocked in then walked down the line, flicked on the deep fryer, turning on the knobs to the flat top then hitting the switch on the ovens. I went into the walk-in and glared at the unfinished peeled potatoes from the night before,”What dumbass didn’t-”, then it hit me. I closed...

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“A Resounding Silence” by Tara D. Wilson

Submitted to Contest #270

*Trigger Warning: Some gore and foul language.*“This is ridiculous!” Gwendolyn stated out loud. Her irritation was met with silence, something she wasn’t used to from her husband, as he sat at the small kitchen table. She was perched upon the floor on her knees, scrubbing her blue and white checkerboard tile that set perfectly within her bright lemon-hued kitchen, adorned with white cabinets and window frames. She was acutely aware of how out of place she looked as she carried on with the menial task at almost 9:00 PM, only the dim light abo...

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“The extinction of a kitchen colony” by Fletcher Fox

Submitted to Contest #270

A trail of pheromones was left by the scouts to lead fellow colony members down the trail to the nourishment the one scout had discovered. The ant colony lived in the kitchen, specifically in the damp wooden cabinet below the sink. The false sun was still not yet overhead when the scout left the trail. Other workers soon followed it, the corpses of cockroaches (unknowingly poisoned by the giant beings that lit the false sun) being surrounded and consumed by worker ants, who had gathered after having followed the scout-created trail. Th...

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“Food is a Love Language” by Sofia Fleming

Submitted to Contest #270

I hum as I pull out the fresh ingredients from my fridge and cupboards. The salmon bakes in the oven while a small pot of olive oil sits on the stove on medium heat. I set a timer for 50 minutes for the salmon with one hand, leave a bagel in the toaster, and grab a chef’s knife with the other. My hands return to slice a carrot and celery stalk, as well as chop a small onion. For some reason, chopping onions and shredding chillis don’t tend to get me unless I touch my eyes. Never been much of a crier, I guess. Working fast helps but the slic...

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“Recipe for a Good Night” by Rebecca K.

Submitted to Contest #270

Rachel had never been a good sleeper. Since early childhood she had been prone to insomnia, spending nights willing herself to fall asleep NOW, but eventually giving up and reading, watching TV, or prowling through the house. In recent years, these sleepless-night activities had mostly been replaced by scrolling on her phone. This was allegedly one of the worst things you could do for your “sleep hygiene”, but it was an easy option that generally didn’t disturb bedmates.As an adult, she timidly asked her doctor about sleeping pills and recei...

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“Split” by Trey Blevins

Submitted to Contest #270

"If you're not gonna take this seriously, I'm leaving. Tonight." Am I to let the fruit sog in melting Neapolitan? I bought this three blocks away and hurried through evening heat to store it in time that it wouldn't melt fully, and now it's freezer burnt on one end. I try to enjoy it finally, in the comfort of my own home on my own time, and I initially succeed in spite of its hardened crystals and wilting, leaky banana, and I am asked to ignore it at such a point? Ignore it now that anything short of reluctant haste would render it mush, if...

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“Kitchen Requiem” by G Holden

Submitted to Contest #270

Moonlight banked off the clouds, sending pearly shivers of light through the kitchen windows. It tousled the leaves of the wilted herbs, planted in rectangular pots along the windowsill, sending skeletal shadows across the linoleum floor. Andrea crept across the kitchen. She could smell mint in her quiet breaths that disturbed the silence of the kitchen; the sort of silence that tugged your ribs uncomfortably into your lungs. She moved slowly around the highchair, her feet cold despite her socks, trying dearly not to wake the others in...

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“Bargain Bread Pan ” by Lenora Ewin

Submitted to Contest #270

Sam walked into the kitchen and dropped her bag with a deep sigh that made Charlie’s head tilt. She had declined going out this weekend, though an outing would have been a welcome distraction, but it would only be postponing dealing with the problems she had been having. She knew she had to meet her little ‘problem’ head-on, and she knew that it was best to face it alone. Or somewhat alone. Charlie was a given, and she was grateful for the comfort that his presence had. In response to her sigh he did his duty in comforting her and padd...

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“The Pantry Door” by Sophia Cook

Submitted to Contest #270

Mama always left the pantry light on, on account of the roaches. It didn’t help. When I wanted to make tuna salad for my little sister (with extra mayonnaise so there’d be enough for me too), I would open the pantry door and then cough a little bit before going in. I didn’t want to see the vermin scurrying across the tins of beans and boxes of biscuit mix. I’d grab a can of tuna fish from the mostly empty shelves and run out as quick as I could, slamming the louvered door behind as though it could keep the roaches in. If Mama had let the cat...

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“Man on fire” by Misty Dyan Batson

Submitted to Contest #270

It was still an hour before sunrise, the kitchen was dimly lit with an oil lamp sitting on the linoleum floor, lighting up the cupboard doors as if the rug was on fire. “Why do you use that thing?” William looked up at his wife standing in the doorway leaning on the frame. “We have electricity; you know” She said smiling. He was sitting on the linoleum next to the oil lamp that he bought a year earlier from ‘Your junk, my junk’, a thrift store at the edge of town that sold things that people didn’t want anymore. “I like it” William said...

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“Fly Away Kitchen ” by Noah Shackelford

Submitted to Contest #270

I opened my eyes to look at the sunlight streaming into the window of my apartment. In the rays of light dust particles floated and danced around. I sat up in my futon, and my entire head and shoulders became bathed in this light. I winced, as it was far too bright for my sensitive eyes to handle. I pushed the blankets off myself and stood up. But when I took my first step I almost tripped and hit my head on the counter, as my foot had gotten caught in the blanket. I shook it out viciously and attempted to start my morning routine in a...

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Set your story in a kitchen, either early in the day or late at night.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 85 stories

“Enough” by Cristine Burke

“See you next year!” by Marie Fielding

“If Memory Serves” by Kathleen Sutter

“Fancy Dress” by Juliet Martin

“Daylight Savings” by Melissa Grillett

“A Resounding Silence” by Tara D. Wilson

“The extinction of a kitchen colony” by Fletcher Fox

“Food is a Love Language” by Sofia Fleming

“Recipe for a Good Night” by Rebecca K.

“Split” by Trey Blevins

“Kitchen Requiem” by G Holden

“Bargain Bread Pan ” by Lenora Ewin

“The Pantry Door” by Sophia Cook

“Man on fire” by Misty Dyan Batson

“Fly Away Kitchen ” by Noah Shackelford

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in the form of a recipe.

Start or end your story with two people discussing an important matter over a meal.

Write a story inspired by the saying “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

Write a story about someone searching for a missing ingredient, literally or metaphorically.

Contest #270

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

341

Contest entries

134

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: