Start your story with someone sitting on a crowded train and end it with them looking out over beautiful natural scenery.

Posted in Spring on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 258 stories

“Tulips” by Grace Anya

Submitted to Contest #90

Content warning: domestic violence, assault, mental illness I looked up to see a woman in a grey jacket staring at me. One of her eyebrows was raised and her nose was turned up at me. She shifted in her seat and looked towards the window on her left. She held a large pink-faced baby in her lap. The baby was in a light blue dress covered with white daisies. The baby was pointing at the man who had his hand on the long pole commuters hold on to for dear life twice a day. Once at 6AM when surbubia opened its mouth and spilled its ...

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“DC Metro” by Riley Cooper

Submitted to Contest #90

There was a familiarity in the discomfort of the DC Metro, in the reek of cigarettes and grime; while always unpleasant, it was such a normal part of her day-to-day life that she rarely even thought about it. That evening, though, something had changed in her. Her job in the city was far from bad. She was a higher-up in her sales firm, and she made good enough numbers to be allowed the luxury of a private office. She had an hour for lunch each day, and her front yard was the National Mall: every afternoon was a differe...

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“When She Fell” by Aoife J

Submitted to Contest #90

Sarah adjusted her head against the hot glass. With the smug sun belting through the window and the knee of a tightly suited man digging into her, she was regretting her choice of transportation. She found it fitting that her final decision was one of regret. It was in keeping with the theme of her life. The man sitting next to her seemed totally unaware of his wandering knee. He spoke into his phone at a volume so high one would think he was combatting the noise inside a fighter jet cockpit, and not the modest sounds inside the carriage o...

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“Observation” by Ava Ludwig

Submitted to Contest #90

She sat in a crowded train full of restless people awaiting their arrival. The atmosphere smelt of garden-picked berries and freshly brewed coffee from the cafe at the end of the car. The speaker overhead screeched of direction for our estimated time of arrival and pressured conductor humor. “On your right-hand side, you will notice a field of stray sheep and brown cows wandering the grounds in search of tall grass. On your left, you will see an arrangement of sights. Beginning with a glimpse of the Smoky Mountains, which are nearly 300 mill...

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“Wanderlust” by Bobby Spina

Submitted to Contest #90

I wasn't sure how I managed to get the only empty cabin on the train, let alone find it, especially when considering how abruptly crowded the train was with other folks who were diagnosed with a serious case of wanderlust. And yet, here I was, sitting comfortably on the cushiony seats made of a particular red fabric that smelled like the inside of a musty car. But I had been on the train long enough at this point that my nose was almost immune to it.I looked out the cabin window, my hazel eyes faintly reflecting off the glass. The English co...

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“The Millennial Festival” by Lunny Muffin

Submitted to Contest #90

“Damn it” he thought. “I’m going to be late on my first day.”The crowd was not moving. The invaders had occupied every inch of the train. They had moved randomly and uncoordinated, filling into the train platforms and eventually into the cabins. The onlookers just stared with confusion, and the commuters watched with deep annoyance. The crowd was full of young and old people, each wearing colors and masks of every kind. Today was a very special day on the city, it was the Millennial festival. The crowd pushed the commuters and continued...

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“The 8:15 Train to Vanessa” by Daniel Brown

Submitted to Contest #90

“The 8:15 train to Vanessa is leaving the station. Stand clear of the closing doors.” I wander in after a rush of people scramble into the train. Three high schoolers chat about drugs and swing around a pole. A nondescript businessman mumbles to himself in a cracked phone. And two lanky thirty-something lovebirds point handguns at everyone. They're fake and I'm smart-ass Lamar today. “Empty those pockets. Let's go,” the guy shouts in a goofy stroll down the car. People drop their wallets, watches, and more in the girl...

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“Dinosaur Train” by Tolson Cordell

Submitted to Contest #90

The distant chatter. The train wheels turning. the rumbling of the carts behind me. It was all comforting in some type of way. I was on a journey forward to a smaller town in Russia named Miass, from what i’ve heard it is relatively nice but I was still rather anxious about moving to a new country. I had another 7 hours to go and I was starting to feel a bit tired. I open my bag and take out a stuffed animal my grandmother had given me. It was a dinosaur, a small green T-rex with two tiny little arms and a comically large head. I begi...

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“The difference between city living and country living” by Ryden Lee

Submitted to Contest #90

"Did you see what Linda from Accounting did?" one commuter spoke to another. I stared at the floor of the train and clutched my suitcase between my legs. I could feel the warm thighs of the person sitting next to me touching that of mine. Many commuters walked out of the train to the bustling streets of New York and some came in.""Marymount train station, Please alight if needed." a monotone voice came from the speakers of the train. Okay, this is my stop I thought to myself as I squeezed between the sea of people. I swiftly got off th...

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“Living life: A Regrowth” by Grace Olukoya

Submitted to Contest #90

The discomfort inside the train I rode that early Monday morning was unbelievable. Kaduna was my origin, Abuja, the Federal Capital of Nigeria was my destination and an invitation to sleep during the ride was barely a few blinks away. It was only 6:30 a.m but tiredness was already waging a war against me, against my eyes. Noise from passengers on the overcrowded train was a blessing and a curse. A blessing to keep me awake on this trip which was a first for me and a curse because it prevented me from getting much needed rest. There was ...

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“La Vita e Bella” by Amanda Adoyi

Submitted to Contest #90

La Vita é Bella The whirring and wheezing sounds that emanated from the old train seemed to get louder with each mile covered. Anita sat, hurdled up in a corner, bound in place by an overweight woman on the right of her and a crate of live chickens underneath her booted feet. Somewhere above her head, she felt her skull weighed down by what she guessed were luggage that had nowhere to go. Now and then one of the bags seemed to assume sentiency and move a little despite being untouched and she shuddered at the thought of what it could be, but...

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“A Little Advice” by Dzyun .

Submitted to Contest #90

Zohair (Zoo-hair) raced across town. He had a bagel in one hand and a trunk-style suit case in the other. He climbed down stone steps and finally made it to the train station just before the big line began to form. He found a bench and set his bag on the ground and began to eat his bagel. He checked his watch, there was only fifteen minutes until the train arrived, but this train was always either early or late. The station was over loaded with people and their over loaded bags. Their were families, business men and women, and a few who Zoha...

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“Chinatown” by Robert Vucsko

Submitted to Contest #90

The grimy tiled walls of the curved underground tunnel rushed by as gloomily lit wall lanterns pulsed out of the darkness, marking unseen intervals as the train sped to the next stop. We hit top speed for just a few moments before the gears began their gradual wind-down as we slowed again. The linked cars rattled and swayed and screeched as we burst into the light of the LaSalle Street station. The 5:43 stopped and slid open its doors, and the train became engorged with commuters. Many more streamed down through the turnstiles as we pulled a...

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“Trains, Trees and an Old Man” by Jacob Reed

Submitted to Contest #90

“Excuse me, sir. This is my stop.” ‘Excuse me’ was merely a courtesy on these trains. What people really meant was ‘I will do anything it takes to get to that door, even at your expense.’ “Sorry about that.” He pushed his way through the crowd of commuters and tourists to the door, before disappearing into the awaiting masses in the corridor beyond. Near the back of the car I was riding in was an elderly man watching the passengers wrestle for position. I had seen him before, never paying him much attention, but today was a leisure ...

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“Trainfishing” by Nikita Linivenko

Submitted to Contest #90

I give up on trying to read the Irvine Welsh novel, what with the bloke across from me yammering on. “David Bowie was such a big fan of Shallow Grave, that’s why he let Danny Boyle use his music in Trainspotting.” I nod along and out the corner of my eye tick off the people shuffling past periodically up and down the car. Much like Lavrentiy Beria, I have a knack for names and faces, but mostly faces, a nack which I, much like Stalin’s personal bitch-boy, use to screw over just about everyone I lay my eyes on. Know that bit in Fight Club, ...

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Start your story with someone sitting on a crowded train and end it with them looking out over beautiful natural scenery.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 258 stories

“Tulips” by Grace Anya

“DC Metro” by Riley Cooper

“When She Fell” by Aoife J

“Observation” by Ava Ludwig

“Wanderlust” by Bobby Spina

“The Millennial Festival” by Lunny Muffin

“The 8:15 Train to Vanessa” by Daniel Brown

“Dinosaur Train” by Tolson Cordell

“The difference between city living and country living” by Ryden Lee

“Living life: A Regrowth” by Grace Olukoya

“La Vita e Bella” by Amanda Adoyi

“A Little Advice” by Dzyun .

“Chinatown” by Robert Vucsko

“Trains, Trees and an Old Man” by Jacob Reed

“Trainfishing” by Nikita Linivenko

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that weaves together multiple lives through their connection to a particular tree.

Write a story in which an endangered species (of plant or animal) plays a central role.

Set your story in a world living with the consequences of a climate apocalypse.

Write about a community that worships Mother Nature.

Contest #90

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

814

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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