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

“Balinese Beauty” by Chuck Thompson

Submitted to Contest #199

Lita was a gorgeous woman. Scapula-length straight glowing ebony hair, tanned smooth skin, perfect pearly teeth, with the nose of a Javanese goddess, straight, petite, thin. About five feet tall, she wore heels that made her at least 5’2”. Dressed in the merchant’s uniform of gray slacks, yellow long-sleeved blouse and gray vest, she worked in the Denpasar International Airport’s duty-free shopping area. She dealt with thousands of tourists and at least hundreds of men like Steve. She talked him into buying severa...

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“The Vacationers” by TJ Samek

Submitted to Contest #199

Remote. That’s the best way Gina can describe the land below her as she sits perched on the edge of the hill. It’s the tallest hill around and it’s taken her an hour to reach the summit—although it was a very leisurely hour. Now she looks down to where the rolling plain, with its windswept golden grass, meets the blue horizon. The sky is stamped with fluffy white clouds, and their shadows flow across the land below her, making a patchwork of the prairie. The closest neighbors’ farm is over three miles away. On the other side of the hil...

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“Lynne” by Eilon Solan

Submitted to Contest #199

She looked like an elven queen: a long green skirt; a yellow shirt, adorned with lace and fluttering in the wind; a flower crown; no shoes. For five minutes she stood on the pedestal at the square of St. Bartholomew, where the statue of the saint used to stand before the French revolution. She observed a white cloud that leisurely passed above us. It looked like a dragon, ready to eat the smaller clouds in front, then changed into an elephant, and then into a heart. She didn’t notice the kids that were chasing the pigeons next to her, the tw...

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“Embracing the difference” by Michael Heavener

Submitted to Contest #199

Embracing the difference After I completed a training workshop in New York, I decided to take Amtrak back to Seattle. I booked a trip on the Lakeshore Limited to Chicago with a transfer to the Empire Builder to Seattle. Along the way, I was deeply affected by people that I met with their own stories to tell. In Rensselaer, NY, where the Boston section of the Lakeshore Limited is combined with the New York section, a student from France wandered away to smoke a cigarette. Not knowing he'd gotten off, the conductor gave the "All Aboard." ...

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“Never Again ” by Megan Turner

Submitted to Contest #199

For the sixth time that day, he was sitting there again. Staring out the window at the chickens within the wired fence. I could not imagine what it was he was finding so fascinating about the chickens he had spent his whole life taking care of. This was only his second week back and I had been hoping he would be overjoyed to see the family he had not gotten to see in four months. Hawaii was a dreamy place and I knew that. But you have to come back to reality at some point. I asked him earlier, “Are you happy to see me and Ma again Fr...

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“Lost and Found” by Hannah Leigh

Submitted to Contest #199

*Trigger Warning: substance abuse, overdose. Allison didn’t know that she could feel so happy and so sad at the same time. The fasten seatbelt sign flickered off and other passengers on the plane began to get up and start the arduous process of collecting baggage and standing in the aisle, waiting for the passengers in front to disembark. Allison remained in her seat for a moment (there was no sense in getting up anyways) and reflected on the last four days. When Allison went to San Francisco, she felt like she knew who she was, ...

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“The Wayward Drifter” by Christopher Neal

Submitted to Contest #199

Having hit a rough patch, Thomas faces a tough ultimatum from his guild employer, Mistress Victoria- turn things around or be let go. Thomas took a long draw from his cigar. The cherry burned red against the draw of his breath as the dim light of smoldering tobacco flushed his bearded, middle-aged features in a fleeting flare of crimson and shade. Most of his face was obscured within the shadow of his western-style leather hat and its large brim. It was his signature look, the western hat and long trenchcoat helped ...

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“THE EYES HAVE IT” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #199

The conference event, due to a slight operational fiasco in the manufacturing department, needed to change the date. Now it was to happen on the last day of this month. The plans that I made with my better half were now on the back burner. Not where we chose to be and that was to wait even longer for change in our lives together and forever to happen. The relationship we had built to finally reach a solid foundation was a destination near to achievement. My life, before that, made me not an enjoyable person to be with or to be around in anyo...

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“Bongani” by Lauren Wolman

Submitted to Contest #199

The baggage claim belt whirled around on another rotation with a solitary yellow hard-shell suitcase taunting the two girls who stood by and watched it pass them for the third time. "This isn't happening, right? This can't be happening. This has to be a joke," said Lauren, finally breaking the hypnotic spell of the empty conveyor belt. "Fuck," was all her friend Allison could manage to respond. Lauren dug the heels of her hands deep into her eye sockets, blinking down hard to hold back tears. Her mind raced in an oxymoronic attempt to ...

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“The Choice ” by Justina Marie

Submitted to Contest #199

There is a certain kind of ‘pale face’ that draws you in. Not the sickly, greenish sort, but the icy and almost distant, with a dash of bright red shot through the cheekbones. There is also a pull in the dark, tawny, and strong; if you think of dark, dark eyes looking at you you’ll know what I mean. It is a struggle between the two greats. Think of the sun and the moon, the rain and the snow, the eagle and the owl. Everyone chooses between those two beauties. Most of those decisions are worth talking about, rarely are they worth...

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“Giving Him a Piece of His Heart Back” by Kaitlyn Meindl

Submitted to Contest #199

With a sense of direction I feel I’d been missing for some time, I cruise down the highway in Illinois in my rental, black SUV. Yesterday I was wallowing in my fatigue on the couch after a 10 hour day at the office. Now the picture looks different: sunglasses, one suited arm hanging casually out the window, belongings packed neatly into suitcases next to me. I’m used to salads to-go on my lunch breaks, meetings in the conference room, and data entry. When my boss, Mr. Valentine called me late last night, ...

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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

“Balinese Beauty” by Chuck Thompson

“The Vacationers” by TJ Samek

“Lynne” by Eilon Solan

“Embracing the difference” by Michael Heavener

“Never Again ” by Megan Turner

“Lost and Found” by Hannah Leigh

“The Wayward Drifter” by Christopher Neal

“THE EYES HAVE IT” by Debbie Curtin

“Bongani” by Lauren Wolman

“The Choice ” by Justina Marie

“Giving Him a Piece of His Heart Back” by Kaitlyn Meindl

🌟 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: