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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

“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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“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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“Vanilla” by Lee Doe

Submitted to Contest #61

The shattering of glass, a clear depiction. The start of a new cycle. Another beginning. “Mom! Nan is seizing again,”  'What do we do?" “She does it all the time, she’s probably fine,” “Probably?”  “Get her meds!”  They were too late, I was already gone.  The sun pierced through the sheltered canopy of trees and burned our eyes, but It was not our most prominent problem.   Physical pain itself was nothing, not in comparison to the most deadly of sensations.  Fear.  There was of cour...

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“Lavender Lady” by John Meiners, Jr

Submitted to Contest #61

                           Lavender Lady                                  by                            John Mei...

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“Ann/Kim” by Ala Arafat

Submitted to Contest #61

I feel almost weightless as I lay in here.. Why am I smelling my mother's perfume? Everything goes dark for a moment.. Then it's all too bright.. I open my eyes slowly, as if worried I'll be blinded by the light.. I have never been in this room before in my life, in fact, I don't have a clue as to where this room is. I'm dreaming. That has to be it. This is one of those weird dream that feels extremely real. I ate a large grilled cheese sandwich before going to sleep, will never do that again. I get out of bed and leave the room to find my...

5 comments 5
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“Just Like Mommy” by Yahya La Fille

Submitted to Contest #61

It is the eve of day before the long weekend and not a sound can be heard. No cars zoomed by, no birds chirped, and no one walked along the streets. On this silent road sat a middle-aged man on an old wooden bench at a bus stop. Not in the middle of nowhere, but in the outskirts of a big city. Patiently, he sat in the glass shelter, filled with calm anticipation for the beginning of his near-two-hour ride home. His face was long and exhausted, where creases of his wrinkles made home to particles of dirt from the industrial warehouse he labor...

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“That Smell” by David Dicaire

Submitted to Contest #61

That Smell Howard Small waited for the rumbling bus as it chugged down the street. It reminded the octogenarian of himself, slow, steady and making all kinds of noise. The vehicle eased onto the stop and the big doors opened. It took some effort, but he managed to climb the steps and waved his pass. He didn’t have to because the driver was very familiar with him. It was Wednesday, around three-thirty and Harold was going grocery shopping. This was a weekly ritual. He shuffled along and there didn’t seem to be an...

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“The Man Hidden By Light” by J.M. Topp

Submitted to Contest #61

Harsh light from a torch awoke me from my slumber. The gatekeeper had probably risen early this morning searching for a bite to eat from the larder as per usual. I yawned creaking my wax limbs and shaking the soot from wick atop my head. He would usually visit thirty minutes before the break of dawn but there was an odd look on his hardened face this morning. He was worried about something. I sniffed the air as he passed me. Sulfur and gunpowder. I felt chills through my brass base. He smelt of a siege. A few replacements ago, some sixty ...

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“It's a Springsteen Thing” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #61

June in Central New York it's already hot and humid and sitting out there in folding chairs on the football field in cap and gown was torture beyond words.  It was 1976 and in another month the country would lose its mind in the Bi-centennial.  Already the school administration had Elton John's Philadelphia Freedom blasting through two overused Peevee speakers as all of our parents filled the bleachers, fanning themselves with the ceremony programs.  It was almost ten o'clock in the morning. "Hey Doug, so where are you spendi...

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“The Call of the Forest” by Shanna Adams

Submitted to Contest #61

I walk the same way every morning. It's so ingrained in my body that I don't even have to pay attention to where I am going anymore. I pop in my headphones, and off I go! I space out and drift into my own little world as I make my way to work.  Today went quite a bit differently. As I plodded along in my zombie state, a flowery scent touched my nose ever so slightly. Its vague subtlety awakened my senses enough to force me back into life. I stopped and looked around. Everything looked normal. Well, I think it does. I don't remember an...

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“THE GIRL” by Esther Salami

Submitted to Contest #61

It is three pm and I am already tired of waiting for my flight. Time seems to be very slow today. I could chat or maybe read an ebook but I am not in the mood for any. I got thirsty so I decided to get a bottled water at a shop. I had finished the one I bought earlier. My steps were a little slower than how I normally walked. Probably because I was singing my favourite raggae song; redemption by Bob Marley.  As I strolled, I watched an airplane took off. It was a sight I had gotten used to over the years, still, whenever i watched it, I...

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“Scent Number 101” by Judith Buskohl

Submitted to Contest #61

There stood Craig on the busy corner waiting for the light to turn to walk so that he could get across to his building of employment. He was late as it was and these lights were all against him today. He would get lectured from his boss once more and he had told he would get fired if he was late again. What was his exercise going to be this time? He wanted to scream at the lights to hurry up, so they wouldn’t make him any later. What was he going to tell the boss? On this street corner was the first time in a long ...

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“Floral Notes” by Renee Nadine

Submitted to Contest #61

His fingers trace the bend of the mug handle.  The ceramic is warm from the hot coffee inside.  Around him the fancy iron leg chairs scrape on the cobblestone patio periodically.  Scooters pass by on the narrow street with their feminine horns bleating now and then.  Samuel is suspended amongst these sounds, hanging in the ethers, everywhere and yet attached to nothing.  He sits in dormancy. Early morning diners sit at the outside café.  Their conversations are low, the kind that suit a day just starting. &nbs...

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“A Thousand Grains Of Sand” by Tera King

Submitted to Contest #61

I turn down the music as I approach the parking lot, eyes scanning for the nearest spot. I park and turn off my car, but don’t get out.I’m not sure I’m ready.Then again, I don’t think I ever will be. With a sigh, i get out of my car, shoving my phone into my hoodie pocket. This beach was a special place for my family and I. We went every chance we got, and I’d practically grown up here. Every grain of sand held a memory of mine, from the moment I could form memories to now. I had a necklace with sand from this beach, my twin brother had...

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“Whiskey” by ASHTON NOBLE

Submitted to Contest #61

  The old man opened the door to his study and sitting at his mahogany desk was a young man who hastened to close its right hand drawer.    Their eyes locked on each other.    "Why are you in my study," said the old man. "you should be asleep."    "I wanted to write a letter before bed Sir," came the young mans hoarse reply.    "In the dark?"    "The light of the fire helps me to think," he answered, pointing to the large brick ...

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