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

“Ghost Passenger” by Casandra Kay Johnson

Submitted to Contest #90

“Ticket please.” Said the man at the gate hand held out waiting for the ticket, he looked at the ticket then at it’s owner making sure they belonged together, they appeared to “ Says here that your seated in Car 3 so your in the right place do you have any bags you would like to check in ma’am?” The young lady shook her head. She had brought nothing with her, she wanted nothing from this place she was leaving for the first time in the 23 years she had been alive, a place she intended never to lay eyes again. “Very well then you...

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“If Only” by Suyash Goylit

Submitted to Contest #90

If OnlyJamesMy bag falls on my lap as the train stops with a violent jerk. It seems crowded than usual, understandably so, this close to the holidays. I stand up to put the luggage in its place, making sure that it doesn’t give me a concussion at the next stop. Just as I’m about to take the seat I see a glimpse of her face as she takes a seat, a couple of rows ahead of me. The hair color is different but that’s definitely Rachel, the one that got away. She was my girlfriend in college. We then lived together for a couple of months after grad...

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“The First Road” by Aimee R.

Submitted to Contest #90

Rowan scratched on the paper with her pencil, sketching an outline of a monkey on a tricycle, her face deeply in thought. Wrong stroke! She thought. The eraser ripped through the paper as she stroked in through, removing meaningless lines. Frustrated, Rowan huffs and glances out the train window, stained with rain spots, bird droppings, and the wearing down of wind. Leah looked to the other side of the train, to just be disappointed by the packed amount of people on the other side of the train, blocking an otherwise decent view. Squeezed up ...

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“Riding all alone” by Willow Kendr

Submitted to Contest #90

“We’ve arrived at the station—” Karina pressed her hands on her ears to cut off the rest of the sentence. She knew how it would end. It was her god-knows-which time going this way on this train to an unknown destination. Although there wasn’t much hope left at this point, deep in her heart she wished for the journey to end, but the possibilities that came with the ending were endless and she had a feeling not all were supposed to end well. It also seemed like there were ‘ground rules’ the train had which Karina had no power against. Every ...

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“The Escape” by Anne McSommers

Submitted to Contest #90

He sat pressing his right cheek up against the cool window. He had his arms wrapped around his messenger bag, trying to make himself as small as possible. He tried to focus on the rhythmic clanging of the train running along the rails, the rain on the window, anything to take his attention away from the claustrophobic number of people on the train. Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum He felt a foot tap against his and shifted to press his feet under his seat. It wouldn't be sustainable for long, but the constant touch of bodies again...

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“Waving at Trains” by Mike Burgess

Submitted to Contest #90

Every Sunday morning, Dad drove twenty-six miles to join his fellow steam enthusiasts at the Cansley Light Railway. They worked all day, taking engines apart and putting them together again while the rest of the world cut their grass, watched the telly or went to church. Some brave souls attempted all three, though rarely simultaneously. Then he drove twenty-six miles home again. Grandma said he must have been born with engine oil running through his veins, although he didn’t get it from her. He cut and bruised himself regularly ...

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“The Bridge” by Sam Hayes

Submitted to Contest #90

Teddy noticed everything. A young boy across the aisle from him had a Harry Potter novel open on his lap. He was on page two hundred and sixty-six. Four mosquito bites peppered his left forearm, and he had recently gotten braces. Teddy could tell because the kid kept fiddling with them with the tip of his tongue, and they were shiny and brand-new. The boy licked his thumb and turned a page. The tall, middle-aged woman to the boy’s left was listening to music on her iPod. She wore pink earphones, and her shoe was untied. There was a paint s...

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“Writing to Myself but Also to My Children” by Christine Hungerford

Submitted to Contest #90

Dear Diary, Today is another day in which I sit on this busy, talkative train on the morning route to work. I’m not just sequestered to a lonely area where I’m divulging all my pertinent thoughts. In fact, I can’t—I’m sitting...

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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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“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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“Full of Peace” by Elizabeth Etzwiler

Submitted to Contest #90

I feel like life as I know it is over!! I am stuck on this overly crowded train trying to get to no where it seems like, but I truly want to get to visit my family. I really, really do! I have Mr. Snore head to the left and Mrs. MotorMouth to the right. I just want to sit here and relax, but how are you supposed to do that with these obnoxious loud snores entering your left ear and mile a minute voices in your right? Ahh... like I said life as I know it is over!! OK, maybe if I sit here and watch nature through my window I can slightly relax...

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“The Train That Lead To Friendship” by Lily Martin

Submitted to Contest #90

As soon as I sat down on the train it started to move forward. Everyone beside me started to bounce as if they were on a trampoline. But, they acted like this was their everyday normal life, while this was my first time on a train.I was on a train going to Chicago, Illinois. Leaving my parents was a difficult process, but it was so I could have a successful life. You see, if I kept on living in my small hometown, I would never be able to have a nice job as an author.I didn’t have much hope to be an author. After all, I’m only 18 and I don’t ...

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“No Surprises” by Sean Smith

Submitted to Contest #90

She would always start out small. Missed phone calls. Anxious antics and unabashed excuses. She knew what she was up to every step of the way, so it wasn't hard. Not for her. Everyone else had to just take it. Deal with it. She wasn't about to let anyone tell her what to do. She had her reasons. She had her ways. The trip had been planned for months, and she was not the type to let go of this kind of thing. Without him, or anyone else for that matter, it was a lot cheaper. She chose luxury over financial security. "Treat yourself," they wo...

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“Terra Linda” by Jen Ponig

Submitted to Contest #90

An army of urbanites march up the platform, and an intrusion of cosmopolites scuttle along side them; all passengers pour onto the train. The doors are about to close and a straggler comes running up the platform. No one seems to see or hear her. People are consumed by their devices and thoughts, and preoccupied with protecting their personal space. The red light flashes above the doors. She might not make it. The last train of the day. A flash of royal blue and a streak of red hair sprint through the closing doors. Being left behind would’v...

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“Love With a Twist” by Jaice Beals

Submitted to Contest #90

This is a story about a blonde, petite, gray eyed, and light freckled girl who played basketball named Adelyn and a wealthy boy with brown hair, eyes as blue as the ocean, and a football player named James. This is the story of how it all started and ended. The story started a day earlier on a crowded train in the beautiful mountains of Sierra, Nevada, On vacation alone. Adelyn was walking down the school halls when she bumped into James, trying to not be late to their practices, as if they where late the couches would yell at them...

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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

“Ghost Passenger” by Casandra Kay Johnson

“If Only” by Suyash Goylit

“The First Road” by Aimee R.

“Riding all alone” by Willow Kendr

“The Escape” by Anne McSommers

“Waving at Trains” by Mike Burgess

“The Bridge” by Sam Hayes

“Writing to Myself but Also to My Children” by Christine Hungerford

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

“Chinatown” by Robert Vucsko

“Full of Peace” by Elizabeth Etzwiler

“The Train That Lead To Friendship” by Lily Martin

“No Surprises” by Sean Smith

“Terra Linda” by Jen Ponig

“Love With a Twist” by Jaice Beals

🌟 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 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: