Write a story about someone who must fit their entire life in a single suitcase.

Posted in Short Story on Jan 17, 2025

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✍️ 113 stories

“Susie's Suitcase” by Kathleen Majorsky

Submitted to Contest #286

“Owww!”Well, this is no way to start an exciting adventure. Susie threw me on the bed with such force that my wheels were spinning and started to get tangled in the pink rumpled sheets. If my wheels hadn’t already been able to swivel 360 degrees, they would have fallen off. Then how could we quickly trot through a crowded airport if I had a broken wheel?! Susie would replace me in a heartbeat if that happened. Gasp!And to think of all the trips we’ve been on. Thailand. Indonesia. Russia. South Korea. Australia. Japan. Oh and how could I forg...

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“Barrio 31” by Barbara Minshall

Submitted to Contest #286

BARRIO 31Argentina, 1977"Everybody, Get Out!" I was jolted awake in the middle of the night by yelling and banging outside. My mother rushed into my room--or rather, my space--separated from the living room by a tired old sheet hung up to give a fifteen-year-old some privacy. We lived in villas miseria, Barrio 31, one of the shantytown slums in the heart of Buenos Aires, situated between two wealthy neighborhoods of Recoleta and Puerto Madero. Papa had moved us here to escape uprisings in Paraguay, with dreams of a better life, only to find ...

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“The Weight of Names” by Chance Cansler

Submitted to Contest #286

Moonlight filtered through the shattered stained glass of Saint Sophia, casting fractured shadows across the rubble-strewn floor. Mykola stood amid the ruins, his breath visible in the cold night air as he surveyed what remained of the once-majestic church. The massive bronze chandelier lay twisted among the debris, its crystals scattered like frozen tears across the marble. Above, the damaged dome gaped open to the star-filled sky, a wound in the very heart of their sanctuary. His foot struck something solid, and he bent to retrieve it—a sm...

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“Sunrise” by Steve Mowles

Submitted to Contest #286

SunriseIt was a grey chilly summer day in San Francisco and Frank was daydreaming about warm afternoons in southern California. He remembered the sultry embrace of the sun on his face and endless days that seemed to crawl towards sunset like a summer creek meandering across a meadow.Without thinking Frank shoved all of his meager possessions into a duffle bag and headed for the door. He shivered in the chilly damp air as he trudged up Army Street towards the freeway with his thumb pointed out.He was lost in thought about balmy summer ev...

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“Heart Family” by Briana Harden

Submitted to Contest #286

I’m sorry it’s been so long. I’ve been through a lot recently, but I finally feel ready to talk about it. Mrs. Hastings made the best cakes in town. Everyone said so, especially Mr. Hastings, who’d proudly share her creations with his friends at the chicken farm. Every week, Mrs. Hastings baked tirelessly to ensure each order was ready for the weekend. I was her official “Queen of Taste Testing.” For every order, she’d bake a small cake on the side just for us, a quiet victory for another happy customer. We’d sit at the old kitchen table, th...

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“We must stop doing this 1/20/25” by Eamonn O'Hara

Submitted to Contest #286

“We must stop doing this,” Larry said quietly. “Pshhh. Stop being so controlling. Don't underestimate me.”Phuong and Larry have been at this for years. It started as a purely money-saving effort, but at some point, it just became their thing. Phuong was, in Larry’s opinion, pushing the envelope. Especially now that she is three months pregnant.“I’m not fucking being controlling or underestimating you, babe, and you know it. You are pushing it. You are pushing the… pushing the fuckin’ envelope, babe.” said Larry, shaking his head.Phuong alway...

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“Briefcase Buddy's Briefcase” by Jem Gray

Submitted to Contest #286

Monty, ann ebony-coated Hare, found himself standing in a makeshift graveyard.Once upon a time, this area had been full of pine trees, Long Leggy Lanky hikers and the odd Long Leggy Lanky robber who gave his spoils away. Today, Sherwood Forest was no more than a massacre of brown chewed up stumps.Wisely, despite the mass murder of the trees, the Long Leggy Lankies of this particular forest had decided to retain the forest’s legacy, at least by its title, for a little while longer. Monty the Hare squinted up at the sign “Sherwood Forest, 5 mi...

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“Belongings” by 𝗢wen 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿

Submitted to Contest #286

She came up from the subway tunnels blinking into sunlight, but the sky was hazy with smoke or dust. Wes was too young for the endless stairs, and so she carried him on her hip with Dani in the sling round her front. Dani, at least, was sleeping now — a small blessing. The stranger who had offered to carry her suitcase set it down with a smile that stopped at his eyes. And everyone ahead of them had spilled into the street to look at the smoky sky, then look at the scene in front of them. Some sobbed. Some had been sobbing since the fir...

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“To them” by Alyce Kelly

Submitted to Contest #286

When you think of dirt you think of brown. You don't ever think of the deep dark hickory or the lighter caramel. Rarely do you think of the umber or the chesnut. Dirt is just dirt. Inconsequential and trod on. We were dirt. To them. 1942Izaak looked fondly at the painting in the store window. His last piece which he had sold before he had been made to clear out his studio. Tucking the new leather suitcase under his arm he made his way up the path away from town to the little house on the rise. Already the town had started to empty alrea...

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“Compacting lives” by Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #286

“Explain to me why we must do this again!” said Lancelot. “I did not see the point of doing it last time and it will keep me from working on my Hero’s To Do List!” “Well, I think it is fun!” replied Elaine. “But this time I want a larger case.”Little Plump Jo, the current Artisan in Residence in Malory Tennyson’s Cloudbank Cabin for Arthurian Studies, had required her main characters to condense the expanse of their lives into portable packages to show a potted history of their lives back in November 2022, in reply to a NaNoWriMo prompt. And...

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“Maybe Baby” by Chelsea Brown

Submitted to Contest #286

28 by 18 by 1228 by 18 by 1228 by 18 by 12Those were the measurements that had been marching through my head, and that my life had to fit into- in inches. In inches. If I wasn’t so scared I’d be more inclined to be more pissed off. I’m pregnant- I don’t want to be (but I kind of want to be) but I’m 30, I just lost my job, and the father is a jackass. I guess a lot of fathers are- mine isn’t, but my family tends to be the exception, not the rule. I miss them so much, but they’re in Pennsylvania, I’m in Florida (for the job I just lost), and I...

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“Plenty of Space in a Suitcase” by Darren Horton

Submitted to Contest #286

‘So, that’s the plan. Squeeze your life in a suitcase and trek about on the continent for a few months?’ James, topping up the korma in his slow cooker with coconut cream, asked his younger brother.‘That’s about the sum of it. After what Maggie and her lawyer did to me, shouldn’t be much of a squeeze. A holdall bag should do the trick,’ Luke, sat on a kitchen stool on the other side of the stone counter, answered breezily.As he stirred the korma and looked at his brother, a glimmer in James’s dark brown eyes coincided with the forming of a w...

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“A Tale of Two Lives” by Jae Po

Submitted to Contest #286

It's Mommy’s weekend again. My purple suitcase with yellow and blue flowers is in the corner of my room, waiting for me to fill it. I pick it up, put it on my bed, and start getting everything I want to take to Mommy’s house. The same things I always take. My life. My whole life. Hanging on one of the few hangers in my closet is my bright-blue dress. It goes in first. It’s my only dress here, and the dress I love, in my favorite color. My daddy bought me this dress. I pull out my favorite shirt from my dresser. It’s yellow, with short ...

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“Into The Unknown” by Ben Cooper

Submitted to Contest #286

Growing up in a caste system where it is difficult to pursue your dreams because of the concrete social structure has been tough. The only way out of the physical labor working class is through education. So, each year during my primary and secondary schooling, I studied hard to get the very best marks. Without scoring high on primary school exams, there would be no moving on to secondary school. I just had to put in my best effort. I didn’t have a choice where I was born or who my parents would be, but am honored to be the oldest son, Rafae...

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“Life Boiled Down” by Lady Senie

Submitted to Contest #286

Why does my life have to be so complicated? Can't I just have something simple for once? A simple love story. A happily ever after. Instead, I'm stuck in this messed-up fairytale of his own design. Bottom line, I can't love him or even like him. His name is Hanomond Whitman and I believe he is the Antichrist. Three and a half years ago, that would have been a joke. But that was before millions of people and all children and babies vanished in thin air, leaving only their earthly possessions behind. People were terrified and confused by...

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Write a story about someone who must fit their entire life in a single suitcase.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 113 stories

“Susie's Suitcase” by Kathleen Majorsky

“Barrio 31” by Barbara Minshall

“The Weight of Names” by Chance Cansler

“Sunrise” by Steve Mowles

“Heart Family” by Briana Harden

“We must stop doing this 1/20/25” by Eamonn O'Hara

“Briefcase Buddy's Briefcase” by Jem Gray

“Belongings” by 𝗢wen 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿

“To them” by Alyce Kelly

“Compacting lives” by Jo Freitag

“Maybe Baby” by Chelsea Brown

“Plenty of Space in a Suitcase” by Darren Horton

“A Tale of Two Lives” by Jae Po

“Into The Unknown” by Ben Cooper

“Life Boiled Down” by Lady Senie

🌟 Similar prompts

Center your story around a character who’s struggling to let go.

Write a story about a cherished heirloom that has journeyed through multiple generations.

Center your story around a character who’s afraid of being forgotten.

Write a story with the line “You never know a good thing until it’s gone.”

Contest #286

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

368

Contest entries

146

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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