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

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 219 stories

“Memories🤯” by Ari Berri

Submitted to Contest #61

My name is Hanna Denor. I think.I'm 16. When I was eight, I got in a bad accident at the mall, and forgot everything. I was lost, and my parents never looked for me. Mall security found me, and I cried when I couldn't answer their questions.I was taken to the hospital, and tested. I was scared out of my mind, and after a couple of days they brought me to a foster family.My parents never looked for me, and nobody knew who I was, so I was named Hanna, and adopted by the Denor's.They keep saying my memory will probaly come back, but it hasn't y...

17 comments 17

Read story

“Orange and spice” by Omani Saleem

Submitted to Contest #61

There’s a short sharp pain on my hand as an oil splash lands on my skin. Breaking me out of my thoughts. I look down at the pan of chips I am frying. They are starting to burn, the edges turning brown. This is not good; I'm going to be in so much trouble. I quickly take the pan off the fire and start scooping the chips out of the pan with the spatula in my hand. I put it on a plate, and then I look up at the clock. Its eight o clock, I'm late. I rush around the kitchen setting plates and cups on four different trays, I set the glass cup with...

9 comments 9

Read story

“A Selkie's Love” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #61

“Mama, Mama,” a seventeen-year-old girl called out as she gleefully raced through the front door to her step-mother of sixteen years. The girl wrapped her arms around her step-mother’s waist in a tight hug, holding a brown paper bag behind her back. “Guess what I convinced Papa to buy me at the store today?" Her step mother smiled. “What, sweetheart?” The girl produced a heavy, five pound candle from the brown bag. “A candle.” “A twenty-five dollar candle,” the father said as he walked in. “I swear, they’re just making up the prices these...

9 comments 9

Read story

“Sweet Dorin” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #61

I’m alive. Whir.But I don’t want to be.Whir.Not like this. Every inhale. Every exhale. The sound persists. It’s stained on my mind, never relenting. The cruel brain that operated on me should listen. He should be tortured by the vibration that dominates me now. But he won’t know. He’s long since dead, leaving his punishment to sweet Dorin.Whir.Just stop breathing. My lips clamp together. “Lea?” Dorin’s voice is the only thing that keeps me here. I strain to see him, my body stiff, broken, planted. As he enters my room, I ...

31 comments 31

Read story

“Ephemeral gardenia ” by Bianca TRSH

Submitted to Contest #61

Your flowers are blooming, the garden looks more beautiful than ever, all the flowers are here, all the flowers except you. I still come by every day, I quit my job so I could take care of it, but I didn't have the courage to move into the house we used to share. Right now is empty, the lovely life we used to share is gone, the only thing that's left are memories. Memories of cozy afternoons by the fireplace reading books, Sunday mornings eating your horrid cooking that I loved so much, movie nights with junk food, running under the ra...

6 comments 6

Read story

“Of Lavender and Pine Needle” by P. J. Quirindongo

Submitted to Contest #61

Barcelona, October 2017 Life sucked, period. Ian tapped his fingers on the table, his breakfast untouched and cold, while he gazed at the crowded streets from the window of the hotel that he’d been staying at for the last two days after his husband died two nights ago. All memory of Carlos, his handsome and goofy husband with a smile etched on his lips, began fading away with each passing minute. Ian hardly remembered the sound of his voice. His eyes burned with the moisture that built up in his eyes. He tightened his hands into fists and bi...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Cigar Smoke and Easy Cheese” by Stephanie Albright

Submitted to Contest #61

I got a call in mid-October that I had been dreading. My uncle, the man who taught me to love the sunrise, drink coffee, taught me the ‘secret knock’ and squirt Easy Cheese directly into my mouth was gone. He always had a roll of peppermint Lifesavers in his pocket and if he had one so did I. I had known the last time I saw him would likely be the last visit. I’m not sure if that made it better or worse. He always wanted to move to the beach, but he waited too long. That’s what we talked about the last time I saw him. He smoked ...

5 comments 5

Read story

“Larry and friends” by Jagdeep Singh

Submitted to Contest #61

There was a small town named PresentVille in which lived a 12 year old boy, (Thin, wears dull clothes and glasses) his name was Larry who lives in a small room in the backyard of a house. He was adopted when he was 5 by a couple who was hoping a strong, brilliant and handsome child but he turned out to be a disappointment for them. They decided not to spend much money on him instead his father makes him to help him in his wood cutting work and his mother makes him do all the household work like laundry, dusting and cleaning. He was quite a p...

20 comments 20

Read story

“The Warming Effects of Chocolate Cupcakes” by Madison Smith

Submitted to Contest #61

It had been a hell of a week. There were exams, projects, and homework up the wazoo, and by the time she got to Thursday night, Emilia’s brain was royally fried. She stared up at her ceiling, headphones blasting her On Repeat playlist in her ears at it diligently had for the past two hours. Her week was over and all the stress was gone. Sitting up, Emilia opened her laptop to put on a movie to settle down with when her grades popped up on the open tab. &nbs...

18 comments 18

Read story

“Past and Pipe Smoke ” by Katina Foster

Submitted to Contest #61

On an otherwise unremarkable Saturday morning, I did something rather impulsive. I bought my dream car. Well, it wasn't my dream car yet. I paid the nice lady who was selling it the full asking price of five hundred dollars, signed the paperwork and prayed that the damn thing would start. It did. Even more impressive, it only stalled out once during the ten mile drive across town. I was grateful for the relatively short drive, as the interior's thick smokey smell was nearly choking me by the time I reached my destination. I parked ...

40 comments 40

Read story

“Old Spice and Old Men” by Dave Bolin

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #61

Daniel pulled the house key he had carried since he was 12 from his pocket, and jiggled it into the defiant doorknob. Why hadn’t Dad just replaced this old knob years ago? “Doorknob is fine! Helps keep burglars out.” Burglars aren’t using keys, Dad. The lock lost the battle, and Daniel stepped into the foyer. Motes of dust floated in the afternoon sun streaming through the half closed blinds, tiny apparitions in a house that had always haunted Daniel. He threw his keys instinctively on the buffet, scratched in the one area from years of ...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Memories of blood” by Fplldg Wakdwwdg

Submitted to Contest #61

When they dieMemories of bloodThe building seemed to be an old one. The internal impression was even worse. Plaster crumbled from the ceiling, which leaked at many points. The stinky floor had formed a layer of algae to make it even slippery. The lab was on the 4th floor but Lynn had to use the stairs as the lift was clearly unusable. It looked like the stairs would never end. One coming after another and no climax to be found. It was good to see there was at least no bloodstain on the stairs. She was sick o...

10 comments 10

Read story

“Some Sunny Day” by S. Closson

Submitted to Contest #61

Trigger warning: suicide The smell of Camel cigarettes and spilt booze fill the hotel room. Foggy blue clouds cling to the ceiling like ghostly cowards trying to avoid their date with the Grim Reaper. The lone smoldering cigarette that rests atop the overflowing crystal ashtray has burnt up almost entirely. The only thing keeping the air from becoming entirely stagnant is the little window unit near the door, but despite the rattling machine’s best efforts, the thick haze remains. The glass screen of the wood-encased Telet...

6 comments 6

Read story

“A New Home” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #61

“How’s it going? Dad and I are so excited to hear everything!”“It’s—it’s great.”“Have you gone to the Empire State Building yet? Or Central Park?”“I’ve just been a little busy…work, you know....”The other end of the line falls quiet for a moment, before Mom launches into the newest adventures from my hometown—the elk bugling, the changing of the aspen leaves from green to vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges.I nod along, staring at a spot on the wall.“—and the Atkinsons next door adopted a new puppy—you’d love him, they can’t wait for you two ...

11 comments 11

Read story

“Looking Back Lemons” by Iris Silverman

Submitted to Contest #61

The flight has been delayed another 30 minutes. Outside, the clouds are more like thick winter comforters than summer throw blankets. Renee Luke looks at the clock. She thinks there might be just enough time to get a meal in before she has to give the next update to the passengers. Behind the desk she squeezes a fresh lemon over her chicken piccata. The capers swim in small wading pools of butter atop the perfectly browned chicken. Renee’s nose is tingling. She looks around anxiously. Eating in public makes her nervous. Like a ripple effect,...

17 comments 17

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

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

Adults – 122 stories

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

Adults – 139 stories

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

Dramatic – 139 stories

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

Adults – 100 stories

Contest #61

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Blast from the Past

$50

Prize money

719

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 02, 2020 EST

Won by Phoebe Barr 🏆

Title: Olive Bread

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

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

“Memories🤯” by Ari Berri

“Orange and spice” by Omani Saleem

“A Selkie's Love” by Lily Kingston

“Sweet Dorin” by Molly Leasure

“Ephemeral gardenia ” by Bianca TRSH

“Of Lavender and Pine Needle” by P. J. Quirindongo

“Cigar Smoke and Easy Cheese” by Stephanie Albright

“Larry and friends” by Jagdeep Singh

“The Warming Effects of Chocolate Cupcakes” by Madison Smith

“Past and Pipe Smoke ” by Katina Foster

“Old Spice and Old Men” by Dave Bolin

“Memories of blood” by Fplldg Wakdwwdg

“Some Sunny Day” by S. Closson

“A New Home” by Lani Lane

“Looking Back Lemons” by Iris Silverman

🌟 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 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: