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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

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

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✍️ 219 stories

“When we first met” by Sirius Alstien Basumatary

Submitted to Contest #61

It is another hot day at West Bruke. Sun is blooming above the clear Monday sky, like a sunflower at the middle of a Periwinkle garden, brightening the day with pleasant weather. Bus arrives at a terminus. Opening the door, passengers plod out of the bus, and a guy name Daren Sendras steps out at last with a messenger bag.“Why car’s tire punctures at the wrong day? and it’s gonna be hot today for sure,” he says, wiping sweat off his forehead.His Oxfords strides on the smooth concrete sidewalk. The reflection of sunlight on his wrist wat...

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“Magnolia” by T. Rezy

Submitted to Contest #61

It was Matt's 11th birthday. He had been looking forward to this day for what seemed like forever to a boy of his age. Not because he wanted the presents or the party, or even the Arsenal themed birthday cake that was waiting for him on the kitchen table. What he was looking forward to was seeing his father. He had promised Matt that he would be there on his birthday. Matt glared out of his bedroom window, waiting, overlooking his neatly paved driveway, anticipating his father's car to come cruising down the adjacent road and pull into the d...

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“Sickly Sweet” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #61

The music was pounding, and Jason already had a headache. He kept the smile on his face, knowing that he couldn’t be seen to be grumpy, not today of all days. Everyone else in the room was grinning, a whole host of rictus skulls in various states of inebriation. The group bobbed along to the music, shaking the floor ever so slightly out of time with the bass from the speakers, as though the dancers were fighting the band.And there, no longer in the centre of the crowd but still orbited like the sun, was his sister Carol. The ridiculously lon...

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“Scent of the air” by Dina Ahmed

Submitted to Contest #61

Its September, and it is the time of the month when the weather is chilly, not too hot, not really cold. Wind makes the tree leaves move slowly. People are wearing long sleeves shirts, walking in the streets and enjoying the weather. It may not be everyone’s favorite season but it is Diala’s favorite season.  Diala is a 25 year old lady. She lives with her partner in a lovely two bedroom apartment in a very quiet district. She works as an artist and thats what makes everything in her life feel like an art. She is a pretty petite lady,...

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“Candy Corn” by Cheryl Fulks

Submitted to Contest #61

Candy Corn Katy stuck her head in her boss office and told him she was done with her report and would be leaving early. Mr. Madison smiled and asked her what she was in such a hurry for. Katy grinned as she told him she wanted to pick up dinner so she would have time to get home and dress up for the trick or treaters. Bill Madison, her boss told her he tried to avoid at all cost the commotion of the night and was going to make sure he worked as late as possible so his wife, Nellie would have to give out the candy. Ka...

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“The Winter Apple ” by Serendipity May

Submitted to Contest #61

I had forgotten all about that moment, it had been so long that it had ceased to exist to me. All the thoughts I had at that moment had I forgotten had just left me over time. I had not meant to forget them but I did. I look back at it now and I laugh a little bit at how I regret not remembering some of the thoughts I had. Most importantly, when I needed them the most they weren't there for me to even tell. Not at the happy times, not the sad times that were full of gloom and despair. The smell couldn't compare to cookies fresh from the oven...

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“Imposters” by Priscilla 🌹

Submitted to Contest #61

“How about you start by telling me what happened the other night?” Her pen hovered over the clipboard on her knee. I sat in a large armchair across from her that always sunk too low to lean back comfortably. “I was in the airplane,” I began. Her pen scribbled. “Everything was fine at first. Then they closed the doors. I heard the airlock hiss and then the vents--” I paused. The scratching of pen on paper stopped. “Then the vents turned on,” I continued. “You know, the ones that blow air above every seat? They say recycled air has no smell...

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“Morgue Room B” by Ashley Mallory

Submitted to Contest #61

My mother was obsessed with J.D Salinger. If you have to know, she was a bit off. She swore from the moment I was born that I “embodied” the spirit of his writing. In particular, she always read me “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.” Every night after bath, she would squeeze me with my towel and tell me to meet her in bed after I brushed my teeth. At the age of seven I could recite direct dialogue from a short story about a deranged man who kills himself next to his wife. To say death was romanticized from a young age for me would be a complete ...

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“HAPPY NEVER AFTER” by Winnie Eka-williams

Submitted to Contest #61

Kemi did not believe she was married, in the car she kept stealing glances at her ring and giggling to herself. She could not wrap her head around the fact that she was so in love and happy "you're the most beautiful woman in the world, I can't believe you're mine " Tomi smiled her. " And I wonder how I got so lucky to be Mrs Kemi Tomiwa" she smiled back. When he wasn't looking she pinched herself to check if she wasn't dreaming. she remembered how broken and alone she was , she remembered it like it was just last night sitting in a pool...

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“Scentiment” by Amy Asuncion

Submitted to Contest #61

As I walk hastily in a wide solemn place, I startlingly collided with a random man. I was overly preoccupied that I didn't even see him coming. I was pushed away, making my knee to bend down onto the ground.  Out of the blue, there was a familiar scent that gently tickled my nostrils from within. The whole surrounding was centralized with Air conditioner yet, it didn't depurate the memories brought by the pleasure of nostalgia. There was a sudden scratch on the brow of my kneecap—visibly tiny but too hurtful that tears were abo...

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“My Christmas Holiday” by Cheeahmahkah Asadu

Submitted to Contest #61

It was my favourite time of the year, everyone's favourite time of the year if we are being honest, Christmas and I was packing my clothes and shoes from school for the long anticipated holiday. I hummed in unison with the old Christmas track album our hostel matron played. It was distant but yet gloriously divine. We had something similar at our family house and we would play all the tracks on repeat for the whole night into Christmas. "Where are you going to spend your holiday?" Victoria, one of my hostel mates had asked me. "I am not ...

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“Burn It in the Sun” by Jill Davies

Submitted to Contest #61

Time was a human construct. It was created to measure the length of days, days in a month and duration of the Earth’s orbit around the sun. The standard unit for time in scientific measurement was the second, which is considered a standardized thing. An atomic clock, which uses electron transition in the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum as a frequency standard, is meant to measure time with enough precision to synchronize the power grid, global positioning satellites and nuclear reactors all at once.But time was also relati...

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“Blind Date” by Matt Render

Submitted to Contest #61

Dear Diary, I’m writing this Saturday night, I’m in The bathroom. I need to make this quick. I couldn’t wait until the morning. As soon as she walked into the bar, I knew I’d hit the jackpot.  She was tall. She was blonde. She had the right red shirt and the red lipstick. She had the coy smile and those “fuck me” eyes as I greeted her.  Usually, Id never end up with such attractive dates.  There was usually something off about the face— a crooked nose, eyes too close together, big forehead, and sometimes all of th...

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“Lavender Love” by Dr. Reemanshu Bansal

Submitted to Contest #61

Short story by Jujus Pearls God has bestowed us with a wonderful sensory system. All the five senses play a pivotal role in our lives and are connected with our emotions and certain situations, be it happy or sad. Sharon was a preterm baby. Her mother delivered her during her seventh month of pregnancy. She stayed in neonatal intensive care unit for two months and was discharged once she weighed two kilograms. She was born after a gap of twenty years of marriage. So, in this way she was a special child. Her mother was devoted and gave up h...

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“A Karoo Farm” by Heather Van Rensburg

Submitted to Contest #61

Damn! My car had hit a pothole, and now I am stuck in this hot, dry, and dusty little Karoo town until another tyre to fit my car could be located. I buy a cold drink and find a bench under a bedraggled excuse for a tree. I feel as bedraggled as the tree with me blouse sticking to my body and my hair hanging limply down my neck. As I try vainly to get the sand out of my shoes, I notice an old man who had been intensely watching me negotiate with the mechanic now limping his way to the bench to sit down beside me. I have no idea why cars can...

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