Write a story about a character who returns home changed by someone they met on a trip.

Posted in Summer on May 19, 2023

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✍️ 41 stories

“Empathy's Dance” by Topher Winters

Submitted to Contest #199

All days begin the same, but none of them end in the same fashion. The incessant rhythm of routine gives way to the unpredictable dance of existence, and this was a dance I would never forget. I am a businessman in London, living the life of a perpetual blur. My life is usually as crisp as my suits, and as monochrome as my business proposals. But that day was different. As I boarded the packed 7:35 to Victoria, a swirl of colour caught my eye. An ethereal girl with dark eyes and vibrant hair was seated by the window, her head lowered. I ...

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“Maev and the Life of Dragons ” by Daniel Rosas

Submitted to Contest #199

Maev blinked and opened her eyes. Her throat was dry, and she rubbed her eyes from sleep. It had all been a dream! A curious and wonderful adventure but just a dream! She leapt up from her chair, sending it crashing against the far wall of her room. She had just fallen asleep pouring over the equations for spell-making. She shut the book and tossed it onto her bed. She was done with magic and wizardry. The life of an accountant seemed very appealing. No excitement and no crazy adventures with a stupid cat or elf or whatever he was! She ...

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“In the Embrace of Compassion: The Power of Change” by P.J. Lowry

Submitted to Contest #199

As the big jet touched down at the bustling airport, Amanda's heart raced with anticipation. It had been several months since the young lady left home to embark on a journey, and she was now returning a changed person. The voyage had opened her eyes to new perspectives, shaped her character, and ignited a flame of self-discovery within her heart. Walking through the airport terminal, she scanned the crowd for a familiar face and there they were, as her parents were eagerly waiting by the gate. Their eyes also lit up w...

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“Deacon's Recruitment” by Paul Besancon

Submitted to Contest #199

Many years before the lavish feast at Lord Raymond’s court… Deacon stumbled through his home’s threshold—a thick wooden frame of ancient oak treated with scented lacquer and tree oils. Despite his decent wealth, he never kept an extravagant house. Why would one who spent most of his time overseas or in far off lands need a mansion to rot in the hot sun of Kumoziko’s capital? No, this small, quaint house was more than enough for the busy assassin. He kicked off his fitted leather boots, splashing coarse sand around the main entrance. Damn. ...

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““Everything but the Bagel” ” by Cynthia Porter

Submitted to Contest #199

“I like your backpack” I thought as I followed the stranger onto the airport shuttle. I had a plan when I got here, but that plan was disintegrating with each step. Follow your heart I had thought, or maybe I thought I heard……from that internal voice that whispers and tugs at your heart, but logic requires otherwise. I had arrived in one piece after frantically deciding to follow this whisper of a dream, one Saturday afternoon, when I should have been tackling the cough syrupy monotony of everyday life. Middlebelt-Metropolitan’s concrete jun...

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“A Trip To Remember” by T. Roberson

Submitted to Contest #199

When Emma stepped off the train and onto the bustling platform of a city she had never been to before, her heart raced in her chest. It was a decision she made on the spot, a leap into the unknown, motivated by a longing for adventure and a need to get away from the routine of her daily life. Much to her dismay that this hasty outing would lead her to a groundbreaking experience. Emma couldn't help but feel both excitement and nostalgia as she got off the plane. She was greeted by the familiar scent of the countryside, which brought back f...

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“Am I Here?” by H.e. Ross

Submitted to Contest #199

Am I Here? H.E. Ross My city is seven miles by seven miles, maybe a little more or less on either side but essentially is a round-edged square. San Francisco is the kind of place you come to or leave. All of my life’s memories of that beautiful place are captured in rum and ice movements with only one big and important memory-box showing me sitting still and that was the day I started sailing. I sat on a rock beneath a small port entry light at the Marina Green and saw for the first time slanted sails driving spear blade hulls through foa...

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“Neutral trip” by Sol Eriksen

Submitted to Contest #199

I met Sam when I was 16. She joined our class a month after the rest of us. She had originally decided school was not for her, but her mom eventually convinced her otherwise - which I would turn out to be very grateful for.I had a tendency to think people were idiots, which of course included my new classmates. And, as they thought I was an idiot for thinking they were idiots, I failed to connect with anyone.A lonely month went by, and I had already retreated into my familiar state of being chronically annoyed. I was annoyed at the stupid ...

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“Blaze of Bloodshed” by Jeff Duke

Submitted to Contest #199

Chapter one “I’ve got to write in a new genre,” Markus said. “I think I will go for a walk,” he called to his wife. It was early evening as he left through the front door. The night felt crisp. It seemed the temperature was just right. The windows reflected a beautiful sky at sunset. The trees silhouetted against the late evening sky speared upward as ghosts gently swaying in the breeze. Mother nature had done it again. What was on his mind the most of late was changing the genre he wrote. He had long been writing fantasy and action thrill...

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“A Farewell (The Little Dog) ” by Avi Allalouf

Submitted to Contest #199

It was midwinter in Jerusalem and I was a fresh student new to the capital, to the crowded dormitories of the Hebrew University. I was allocated a small room in a long, gray, railroad concrete building, one of many identical grey siblings. I unpacked the little luggage I had brought with me in the characterless room, and tacked a poster to the wall to help me feel I belonged somehow. Small as it was, I still had to share the room with a chemistry student, a new immigrant from Germany. I hardly saw him at all on my first week there – he cam...

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“Away” by Corrie McCue

Submitted to Contest #199

Like a crimson leaf descending to the ground in the autumn, I lazily drift above my body, which lies motionless in the bed below, until its gravity draws me back inside. Back inside, where I feel like a violin inside its case. Silent and still. Trapped. Hidden. Not at all the me I become when I float away and am free. I open my eyes. Even as I hear footsteps in the hall, somehow, I feel it is different now…. I had an intention. I had a yearning. How did it go awry and yet, so perfectly? Was I meant to meet you instead? Who are you? As s...

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“Arumi” by Emma Suh

Submitted to Contest #199

Hana could feel the sweat dripping down her back. She was suffocating in her small car, the humid night clinging to her skin like a damp blanket. She had always hated the summertime. For most, it meant going to the beach and seeing friends. For Hana, it meant torturous heat on top of 12-hour work days. A blaring ring suddenly shook Hana from her stupor. Begrudgingly, she glanced down at her phone. “Siri,” she commanded, “accept the call.” Her father’s raspy voice rang throughout the car. “Arumi! Where have you been?” He half-shouted,...

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“Finding You” by Sophia Kunkle

Submitted to Contest #199

I had recently been on a vacation to Jamaica. It was the summer, and I decided to make the most of it before I went back to college. Jamaica’s beaches were beautiful. They had the feeling that you get when you can't possibly believe that it’s real. It’s sensational. But there was something else. There was a guy. Not just any guy. I feel like he was the one. I felt the happiest I had ever been when I met him. Why don’t I just go up to him? I asked myself. I remember what he looked like, though. He was tall, but slim with golden hair. I...

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“Set your story on a warm summer evening with a full moon when everything feels magnetic and your character is about to meet someone important. ” by Rose Brawley

Submitted to Contest #199

Along the coast of the Sali Islands a woman walked barefoot through the rippling waves rolling up on beach line. The water smacked against her ankles every few steps she took. She chose to take her walk during the night knowing it would be more peaceful, easier to cleanse her mind away from the bustling noise of people splashing and squealing. Unaware to her a young man also decided to take advantage of the starry scenery. The fellow took notice of the woman early on in her walk watching her carefully from beneath a palm tree far upsid...

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“Hello, Goodbye” by Eli Côté-Ryshpan

Submitted to Contest #199

The fuzzy texture of the car ceiling always seemed odd to me. It’s a weird design choice, no? Is it an attempt to make this huge metal thing, this tube hurtling at 90km/h down a highway, (and has the potential to kill you if anyone in their own metal tubes, including yourself, makes a little mistake) seem less scary? As a kid I would spend road trips occupying myself, rubbing my fingers across the ceiling making invisible drawings in the different directions of the little hairs with my nails. But now I just wonder who decided to line the ins...

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Write a story about a character who returns home changed by someone they met on a trip.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 41 stories

“Empathy's Dance” by Topher Winters

“Maev and the Life of Dragons ” by Daniel Rosas

“In the Embrace of Compassion: The Power of Change” by P.J. Lowry

“Deacon's Recruitment” by Paul Besancon

““Everything but the Bagel” ” by Cynthia Porter

“A Trip To Remember” by T. Roberson

“Am I Here?” by H.e. Ross

“Neutral trip” by Sol Eriksen

“Blaze of Bloodshed” by Jeff Duke

“A Farewell (The Little Dog) ” by Avi Allalouf

“Away” by Corrie McCue

“Arumi” by Emma Suh

“Finding You” by Sophia Kunkle

“Set your story on a warm summer evening with a full moon when everything feels magnetic and your character is about to meet someone important. ” by Rose Brawley

“Hello, Goodbye” by Eli Côté-Ryshpan

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story on a warm summer evening with a full moon, when everything feels magnetic and your character’s about to meet someone important.

Write about a character having a spiritual experience at a concert or a nightclub.

Your protagonist walks past an intriguing stranger, then turns around to take another look at them. The stranger turns around, too. Write about what happens next.

Write a story about someone who finds someone’s diary, and tries to reunite it with its owner. It’s up to you whether they read it or not!

Contest #199

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

256

Contest entries

143

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: