Write about a character who smells something familiar and is instantly taken back to the first moment they smelled it.

Posted in Short Story on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 219 stories

“Another Place, Another Time” by Muskan Dewan

Submitted to Contest #61

Time is an illusion. From everything that has happened to everything that will happen, all of it is a stream of memories that have been kept as souvenirs by the human mind. It’s funny how whenever one is having fun time flies away. On the other hand, whenever someone is going through something horrible, it feels like time has stopped. Every second that passes by feels like an hour where you are left staring at the face of doom, and there is nothing you can do about it. In one’s lifetime, they are prone to forgetting ...

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“"Caramel Cookies"” by Mithila Nanhe

Submitted to Contest #61

That day was the happiest day of my life and a day to cherish, rest of my life .It was our friend Kimi's 3rd Wedding Anniversary and her daughter Soma's birthday. So It was the month of December with double celebration. Actually not, it was tripple celebration and tripple the happiness because we all friends were invited with our family by Kimi and her husband Rohan to join their anniversary and Soma's Birthday celebration. The date was 12th December . We were group of 15 friends.She had invited all of us. Out of which some coul...

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“A smell to remember...” by Bella Dowd

Submitted to Contest #61

The crisp air drifted through my open window, the smell of mountain air enveloping my face as I breathed in the scent of the trees. I sighed, looking out from my desk as a cold wind blew through my hair, ruffling the paper in my hand. I stared down at the letter; the signature spot still blank despite having written it three weeks ago. Dear all friends and family, I am very sorry to inform you that... I couldn’t read more. How could I send this? How could I make certain that what ha...

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“A Lingering Sense” by Kristen Lewis

Submitted to Contest #61

Heat. As soon as she smelled it she felt it. A burning cinnamon inside her nostrils, singing her sinuses. It was the harshness that remained even after it had passed. It always caught her after the person wore it was long gone, hitting her hard, filling her, and leaving its presence even in its absence. The feeling would remain long after the scent. Like a recent memory in her brain like she could reach out and grab but grasp nothing but air. Millie had long ago given up on whipping her head around in the streets to look for the wearer as ...

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“Boomerang” by Mary Corbin

Submitted to Contest #61

It was an age that begged for adventure and change. Frances and Doran Booth were sitting at their favorite pizza place in the Sunset, enjoying their last pie before hitting the road. It was bittersweet, the site of their first date, and it seemed a fitting place for their last meal. Max, their friend for decades, was here with them as a final send-off, plowing through an IPA and holding court on the virtues of their town. “Oh, I predict you two will go on your little walkabout and come right back here to live,” Max said with a toothy...

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“Blue Walls” by Kait Lemi

Submitted to Contest #61

`When I wake up, I feel myself gasping for air. My head is pounding. I’m pretty sure that you could hear my rapid heart rate on the other side of the world. But when I turn my head, he’s still sound asleep. Watching him sleep, my breathing slowly returns back to normal. I run my fingers through his thick brown hair. I move my hand from his hair to his cheek, admiring him with every touch. He sleepily pulls my body against his and engulfs me in his arms. My face is pressed against his warm, bare chest and I can feel his strong arms wrapped ...

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“The Scent” by Jessica Bailey

Submitted to Contest #61

There it was. The scent I would never in my lifetime forget. It was perfect, and it made my mouth water. Though it was all around me, I couldn’t pinpoint where exactly it was coming from. But it didn’t matter either way. All that mattered was the memory filling my mind of how wonderful that aroma would always be. I glanced down at the steaming cup of hot chocolate in my hands, loving the warmth emanating from it. The smell was delectable, but that wasn’t what I had sniffed originally. No, it was something else; something my mother used...

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“A Sweet Remembrance” by Beth Edgar

Submitted to Contest #61

I hurriedly walked towards the front door. I had to work late and Wednesdays are my Nana nights. Nana is my grandmother. She is completely blind and stubbornly independent. She lives alone in the house that she and my grandfather purchased back in the fifties. I check on her daily, but Wednesdays and Sundays are the times I have set aside to actually visit her. As I reach to knock on the door, my arm becomes entangled in my purse and the bag of groceries I brought for Nana and all of it cras...

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“The Smell of Death” by Kane Fedde

Submitted to Contest #61

When a person dies, there is no dramatic outtake of breath, or anything significant to mark their ending. They just stop. The air in their lungs, the beating of their heart, the thoughts going through their mind, they all just stop at once. That's how you know you're doing your job right. At least, that's what his master always told him. But it never feels right. It never feels like something that should happen, just because of him. But there's nothing to be done about it, now. The man under him is dead, and he slides his blade from hi...

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“New smells” by Cyriah Daniels

Submitted to Contest #61

The same boring routine that most of society had adopted. Skipping, Stepping, Hopping around people stopped in the road that was normal. All because of this mindless soulmate act. A form of acceptance or gratification and if you didn’t have one you were outcast. There were so many ways that someone could possibly find a soulmate and yet some didn’t have one. The selfishness of the higher government put onto the shoulders of big companies as it always had been. Not caring about the physical, mental, or emotional being as if that wasn’t a pres...

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“Electric Earth” by Paige Erwin

Submitted to Contest #61

The rain pours down around me. I forgot my umbrella and the water soaks through my clothes. I don’t mind. I never have. The only complaint I have is that my shoes and socks have been drowned in dirty city rain, making a sick squelching sound with every step that I shouldn’t be able to hear over the traffic and quick steps of my fellow commuters. Everyone around me runs from cover to cover. Umbrellas, purses, or newspapers held overhead as they try to protect themselves. I’m sure I look crazy casually walking in the downpour. I’m in no hurry....

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“Fro Yo at Death Dow” by Claire Komoroski

Submitted to Contest #61

"Miss..." The new worker paused trying to figure out how to say Danny's last name. "Gator....Hunt....were?" "Gatourhuntswere." She corrected the teen. "Gay.... Tour... hunthswere." He tried again and handed Danny her blueberry pomegranate frozen yogurt. She took the frozen yogurt from him, and got a small whiff of the treat, which sent her flying into the past. "Fro Yo at death dow!" Twenty employees sang together while they tried to clean up the mess the last group party made. Danny was only here right now because she promised her father ...

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“It'll be okay” by Clary Fray

Submitted to Contest #61

It was an hour after midnight. It had only been three hours since she had lost her best friend. But it felt like eternity, it felt as though the world had decided to take a pause, making sure she'd feel every ounce of pain, and making sure she'd remember it for a very long time. Life is beautiful but sometimes unforgiving. Beautiful. "The lungs are beautiful and she did great" Then... "S-She had a stroke. I'm so sorry..." Unforgiving. It was one word to describe CF. It was unforgiving and it can take away a lot from someone. ...

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“Clean Chemical Fruity” by Tim Combes

Submitted to Contest #61

The smell of her hair, that clean chemical fruity smell like dried laundry, dryer sheets, bad for the environment, the way she would use dryer sheets but wouldn’t eat red meat, "it takes two and a half pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef," but she would still drink two percent milk if the store was out of oat milk or if she didn’t feel like going to the grocery store, corner deli, bodega, the way the men behind the counter would ogle her, the way I didn’t worry about it because she was mine, mine, mine, mine“Mind if I sit here?” Cal...

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“About ramen and a bitter-sweet dessert” by L Hinz

Submitted to Contest #61

It’s hot. The fresh noodles and their spicy flavour are filling my mouth. A thin film of sweat covers my forehead. With closed eyes I carefully chew and swallow. A familiar warmth instantly spreads through my throat and stomach. I smile and open my eyes.‘So, Ela, what do you think?’I look down at the steaming bowl of ramen. After a few seconds I lift myhead. Merely 5 inches separates Luigi’s face from mine. He has bent over thecounter. His former white apron is sprinkled with dark stains after a long dayof cooking and serving bowls. The heat...

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Write about a character who smells something familiar and is instantly taken back to the first moment they smelled it.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 219 stories

“Another Place, Another Time” by Muskan Dewan

“"Caramel Cookies"” by Mithila Nanhe

“A smell to remember...” by Bella Dowd

“A Lingering Sense” by Kristen Lewis

“Boomerang” by Mary Corbin

“Blue Walls” by Kait Lemi

“The Scent” by Jessica Bailey

“A Sweet Remembrance” by Beth Edgar

“The Smell of Death” by Kane Fedde

“New smells” by Cyriah Daniels

“Electric Earth” by Paige Erwin

“Fro Yo at Death Dow” by Claire Komoroski

“It'll be okay” by Clary Fray

“Clean Chemical Fruity” by Tim Combes

“About ramen and a bitter-sweet dessert” by L Hinz

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character passing down their favorite childhood toy to a new generation.

Write about a character who goes to — or purposefully avoids — their high school reunion.

Write about a character discovering something new about their past that changes how they remember an important moment.

Write about a character who’s obsessed with an era they never lived through.

Contest #61

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

719

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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