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

“Desert Sage” by Claire Lindsey

Submitted to Contest #61

I like to watch raindrops on the windows of moving cars. I’m always entranced by their wobbling, tentative dance as they search for the path of least resistance. Once they find a path, it’s a sudden race down an established rivulet, rushing across a blurry backdrop of the trees and scenery beyond the glass. The raindrops, of course, aren’t aware of the world beyond the window and for a little while, neither am I. God, I wish it would rain.Marcus and I have been driving for a while, taking turns at the wheel, the U-Haul trailer behind our SUV...

9 comments 9

Read story

“Redolent” by Alexandra Marie

Submitted to Contest #61

October 25th, 2015Olivia stirred at the inhuman sound rising from her empty stomach. Lazily, she glanced at the clock to see just how much time she had left before she HAD to roll out of bed. It was 9:30am. She bolted upright, cursing herself for forgetting to set her alarm last night. She had only been working at the newspaper for two weeks and being late is no way to make a name for yourself. Kicking her legs over the side of the bed, Olivia threw on the jeans she wore yesterday to dinner with her father and yanked a blouse off its ha...

15 comments 15

Read story

“You're Rightfully Mine” by Mihret Adal Gidi

Submitted to Contest #61

She is slowly walking down the stairs; fearful extended steps she is taking. It’s in the middle of the night and she is expecting no one at all, but she is sure she heard something, as she went back to bed after she uses the bathroom.Her apartment is not big; a bedroom, living room and an open kitchen. She is walking to the kitchen and to the counter, where she last left her phone. Her spaces are orderly for any odd drama and it's been quite today... well at list before the bumping sound she heard.“It was here,” she whispers to herself, unsu...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Smells of my Past” by Keri Dyck

Submitted to Contest #61

It’s incredible the way one breath of wind can bring back the colours of my history. All those things that I thought were stored deep in the vaults of my mind can come flooding back so easily. Currently, I work at a grocery store. I’ve got to wear a mask because, you know, Covid, but my sense of smell isn’t hindered by it as much I thought it would be. And there are so many things there to smell! Okay, that sounds weird, but hear me out. I don’t go around sniffing loudly; scents just kind of come and are gone, and I try not to be too...

4 comments 4

Read story

“The Scent of Wine and Roses” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #61

Well-Meaning Minnie. That’s what I nickname her, and I don’t delude myself I’m the only one. I also don’t delude myself that she doesn’t have some idea, because in most matters, she isn’t stupid, and I even fancy she’d take it as a compliment, though probably only as a representative of the Wellbeing Service, rather than a personal one. Even if it doesn’t get a red squiggle, I still maintain that wellbeing as one word is a linguistic abomination, but this isn’t the time to get onto that particular soapbox. &nb...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Oranges and Tomatoes” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #61

This is the history of a majestic, clingy, succulent scent of spices and sugar, ribboned with bitter orange. It has always been with me. It even existed before I was born, and waited for me until I walked into it, through the crystal curtain, across the seamed and cracked linoleum, in search of the substance that would hold everything together in my simple world. I always thought the source of the scent was something I should want, and that is the reason why my still-chubby small hands - still learning to grip a spoon - reached for i...

3 comments 3

Read story

“A Rose, by any other Name” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #61

“Hello?”“Rose Alison Walker?”“Speaking, how may I help you?”“Hello Mrs. Walker, I’m Anthony Bannister, I work for NPR, and I was wondering if I could interview you about your memories of the events of May 31st and June 1st 1921.”“Are you a white man Mr. Bannister?”“Yes, Mrs. Walker, I am. But I’m proud to say that my parents marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and I want to let the world know what happened to you and your town.”“Well it’s about time young man. White folk always wanted to cover it up.”“I’m coming to Tulsa next week, may I...

6 comments 6

Read story

“When We Met” by Chris Buono

Submitted to Contest #61

Apples and cinnamon with the hint of vanilla and a touch of dead leaves. Matthew was instantly caught off guard. He fell to a sitting position on the old plaid couch and attempted to regain his breath. The breathing became difficult as a lump formed in his throat and tears welled, threatening to spill from his eyes down his cheeks. “Paw Paw,” the voice of Matthew’s granddaughter came from far off, “Paw Paw, are you okay?” The nine-year-old began to call for h...

6 comments 6

Read story

“That Blasted Cologne ” by Shelley Els

Submitted to Contest #61

What was I thinking? Waiting till the day before Christmas to get a present for my husband. This place is madness! I search the department store, trying to figure out where I should start first. The ties? No, he has plenty. The underwear? I may as well just give him a lump of coal. Then from the corner of my eye I notice a pretty young thing spraying perfume onto little red cards and handing them to passersby. That’s it! Cologne. He’s worn the same old man cologne since college. ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“HONEY AND CINNAMON” by Agbesanwa Ayomide

Submitted to Contest #61

I turned off the car and studied the house looming in front of me. It was like a small mansion but a mansion all right. For someone that grew up in an orphanage and was later brought up in a modest sized house, I was intimidated by the one in front of me. Don’t worry, it’s just a house, it won’t bite, Lena, my fiancée said dryly I laughed at that, I’m not scared it will, after all its just a house, I said intentionally repeating her words making her laugh. Come on, let’s go inside and meet the in- laws, I concluded. I came down and wen...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Where the Fireflies Danced ” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #61

The dimly lit sky brushed with faint pink streaks was nature’s sign for the kids to go home if their mothers or elder sisters haven’t made their siren’s call yet while ensuring that the steamed rice for dinner won’t be burned or mushy. It was the first day of the summer school holiday and the kids played the whole day like it was their last and couldn’t be bothered about the time. ‘Let’s play one last game before dinner time,’ said the skinny boy, panting from non-stop back and forth run. His cheeks flushed red from the heat of hi...

0 comments 0

Read story

“One Festive Night” by Maurice Mullen

Submitted to Contest #61

The house was in an especially festive mood that evening for the holiday season. The dining room was decorated in holly and mistletoe. The candles in the chandelier over the dining table shone bright and warm. There was a beautiful golden suckling pig on the spit over the hearth that filled the house with delicious smell of roasting pork. Uncle Mike was bringing a special friend Captain Sam for dinner that night which had everyone in the house keyed up with excitement. Captain Sam was an adventurous sailor who had traveled the world, and...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Now Smile” by Cathryn V

Submitted to Contest #61

The daily news changes only with rising numbers of pandemic deaths and lost jobs for months now. A thousand-piece puzzle of a grotesque clown sits on the corner table ready to be broken up and stuck back in the box. Books I’ve finished are stacked like a tower of Babel, but I cannot remember any of them. My wish is to go somewhere, anywhere that the virus has never been. Boredom leads me to the antique pine cabinet where today’s project is cleaning and reorganizing the shelves. In the back is a box made of cardboard gone soft f...

7 comments 7

Read story

“Let the Fire Do the Work” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #61

Outside her house, there’s a tree on fire. Her hand holding the blue coffee mug that says “Another Morning” doesn’t even shake as she looks out the window and sees the tabby flames consume the branch Chet fell from that summer he broke his arm. That summer he turned eleven and got sweet on the girl two houses down who was either named Marie or Mary and begged her to let him go to sleep-away camp. She had never been eager to let him out of her sight, and after her divorce, her anxiety over his care only intensified. She would wait until h...

1 comment 1

Read story

“The Remembered Past” by Tim Maddox

Submitted to Contest #61

My God, how it’s changed. It wasn’t the first time the thought had crossed my mind on this business trip. The old capital had a rich history that was for the most part spared thanks to the ancient canals and sheer cliffs surrounding the royal palace, St. Ambrose’s Cathedral, and the Order of the Kestrel’s citadel. The Great Fire had however burned much of the Heights District and the densely populated Satin Row, and the food riots in the aftermath had ravaged everything from downtown to the harbor. That was five years ago, and you’d need to ...

2 comments 2

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

“Desert Sage” by Claire Lindsey

“Redolent” by Alexandra Marie

“You're Rightfully Mine” by Mihret Adal Gidi

“Smells of my Past” by Keri Dyck

“The Scent of Wine and Roses” by Deborah Mercer

“Oranges and Tomatoes” by Kathleen March

“A Rose, by any other Name” by Ali Anthony Bell

“When We Met” by Chris Buono

“That Blasted Cologne ” by Shelley Els

“HONEY AND CINNAMON” by Agbesanwa Ayomide

“Where the Fireflies Danced ” by Aisa M

“One Festive Night” by Maurice Mullen

“Now Smile” by Cathryn V

“Let the Fire Do the Work” by Story Time

“The Remembered Past” by Tim Maddox

🌟 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: