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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

“Milk” by Stephanie Kaye

Submitted to Contest #61

The phrase “dead of winter” always confused me, for that is when things seem most alive to me, its silence amplifying even the smallest of sounds; the clean, cold air distilling the perfume of the forest; the blinding whiteness that somehow makes up for the forfeiture of color. The season itself became a sort of reflecting pool for my mind, a place to look for the tiniest of fissures as in a February lake. The baby had finally succumbed to sleep, her body a warm bath in my arms. There had been many nights like this lately, in which the act ...

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“Lavender Lady” by John Meiners, Jr

Submitted to Contest #61

                           Lavender Lady                                  by                            John Mei...

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“Cherry Pie” by Isabella Buitrago

Submitted to Contest #61

As I walked down the street in the quiet hours of the morning I turned onto the street where I lived, pulling my flannel tightly around myself. There was one house on the end of the street that had the lights on in the kitchen and the window was open. As I wobbled passed this little cottage-like home I was stopped by the smell of a freshly baked cherry pie. Almost instantly I took off running to the comfort and safety of my own home. But I couldn't run faster than the memories as it all came tumbling back over me.He stood over be with a knif...

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“Unrelenting Evocations of the Past” by Patrick Hurley

Submitted to Contest #61

*BANG* the cooking sheet fell to the floor with a clatter, dropped from Hakim’s singed hands of. How did I manage to forget my oven mitts??, thought Hakim as he ran over to the sink and stuck his hands under the cool running water. Relief washed over him, and he walked back to pick up the cookies from the ground, this time armed with the oven mitts which he had placed by the side of the oven in preparation, but had completely forgotten about by the time the cookies were finished. At least they managed to stay on the sheet, Madison would’ve k...

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“Granny's House ” by Dorothy Claybourn

Submitted to Contest #61

Last night I was hungry, being late I decided I wanted a Bacon sandwich. Knowing it would kill my stomach, I tried to talk myself out of it. As I stood over the hot castiron skillet, inhaling the aroma of the sizzling bacon in the skillet, I couldn't help but think back to the time my Granny taught me to cook bacon. We were in Blackburn at her house; being a small town, it was quiet, and of course, we had the doors and windows open to get the fresh air in the place. The castiron skillet was on the castiron wood cookstove, and I was bare...

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“Underground” by Dozzy Nika

Submitted to Contest #61

We have known Eugene as a struggling business man who sells carpentry tools, He moves into a new apartment, becomes a super distributor of cement, iron and steel few weeks after his wife is buried. Papa says that Eugene’s wife’s relatives almost fought him during his wife’s burial for his defiance in allowing them see his wife’s corpse when she was lying-in-state; how he guarded the coffin was unusual till she got laid down. Papa is always lively and creates stories from events that don’t have life in them – literally, not worth telling. He ...

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“Her essence” by F. B. Lee

Submitted to Contest #61

It was another cold dreary November day. The trees looked dead and lonely from the loss of their leaves and nothing to look forward to until spring. I felt just like them alone and waiting. Waiting to run into that special someone, actually anyone. It had been a long time. Oh yeah since Her. I pushed her out of my mind instantly, I needed to forget. So here I am in the stupid mall again. Shopping for little things trying to forget Her. She violated my brain again. It was over, she had made that clear. So I had to move on and now I was ok ...

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“The cedar chest” by Kim Peterman-Conn

Submitted to Contest #61

Trigger warning: child abuse   Tracey stood quietly as the line moved slowly by. People she knew and others she only recognized from stories and pictures from her mother's work. Voices that seemed a million miles away offered condolences for the loss of Tracey's mother. "Am I too old to be considered an orphin?" Her father had passed from cancer a few years earlier, the same dreadful disease that had stolen her mother now. After the funeral she decided to go to the park where her parents often took her when she was younger to try to bri...

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“power of a two by two stall” by Manal Humail

Submitted to Contest #61

Another day passed mopping floors at ‘the plaza’, God! I hate summer here , first of all summer in Chicago is not actually summer , it’s still cold. I don’t drink, even though I am 32 and I live alone , I mean there is literally no one to tell me I cant , I am grown man but every time this thought comes to my mind of drinking I just remember my mother back in Pakistan and the promise I made to her , “you are going just to to earn money , nothing else and nothing more , don’t forget you're roots , you are a Muslim and...

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“Day at the Beach” by Kate Bibb

Submitted to Contest #61

I clamber out of the faded blue Toyota on stiff legs and trip almost immediately. My swan dive plunges me dangerously close to the sizzling-hot asphalt, but I'm laughing despite nearly faceplanting to my demise. I'm clumsy under normal circumstances, but, intoxicated by my lack of sleep and a surplus of giggles, I'm a threat to national safety. Watch out, Americans, or I might trip on you! I hear Landen slam the passenger door shut, scowling. He folds his arms across his chest and stares at me chidingly. "Rose, get a grip. We can't have you...

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“Aashi Dey's Peach "Punch"” by Shravani Thota

Submitted to Contest #61

Had she been sore that day? That was a phase that seemed to have passed long ago.  She spent these days being rather desolate. She sat against the cane sofa, the atmosphere in the living room was that of ecstatic happiness, excitement and pomp. It had been years since she witnessed anything of that sort, though she was away, she could say, there wasn't much happening at home. Her mom, dad and brother had attained almost a saintly devotion, they had been thriving, her brother was preparing for what most people claim to be amongst the tou...

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“Cinnamon and Spice” by Ry G

Submitted to Contest #61

I was sitting in my car, relaxed and listening to music. I was driving to the mall to buy myself a new pair of shoes. When I got to the mall, I excitedly hopped out of my car and walked across the parking lot and through the entrance doors.  As I walked through the mall, I observed the things that were happening around me. I do this a lot, in many places. I think people are fascinating, because everyone is so special and unique. My friends call it people-watching, but I think that’s kind of creepy, so I call it being observant.  ...

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“Ale” by Sandra Claros

Submitted to Contest #61

His name was Alejandro de las Tres Lunas – Ale, for shorty – according to the certificate we received in the box with a pink lace on it and an information card with his weight at birth, the name of his mother and his entyre  background:  - Look ! – said mom, reading the paper- here it says the dog makes some tricks, like standing on two feet, bringing the stuff we need?, but he eats a lot. He - no, there is no grammar mistake in here, because the members of our family considered him one new member in a shor...

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“Resurrection” by RS Bhide

Submitted to Contest #61

Mr. Francis Hubbard was a creature of habit. Every morning, his alarm went off at 6.15 am. After performing his ablutions, he went for a brisk walk around the block, returning precisely at 6.45 am. His breakfast, consisting of two slices of toasted bread buttered on one side, and one hard-boiled egg (boiled exactly for twelve minutes), was served to him at 7 am. He ate at the kitchen table whilst he read four different newspapers, paying special attention to the finance sections. At 7.55 am, he took a three-minute shower, stepping out of the...

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“Serve It With Floss” by Colin Devonshire

Submitted to Contest #61

Write about a character who smells something familiar and is instantly taken back to the first moment they smelled it. Serve it with Floss by Colin Devonshire - colin@dark-novels.com “Hi, Mr Perkins, your father is in his room.” “Is he okay? No dramas?” “He is fine.” “Thanks, I’ll go and see him. Oh, my son is in the garden with one of your carers. Can you show him the way to his grandad’s room when he’s ready?” “Of course. Have a nice visit,” the nurse smiled and bustled down the corridor. “Hello dad, how are you feeling today?...

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Contest #61

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