Write about a few people spending a long-overdue weekend away at a cottage.

Posted in Summer on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 124 stories

“Once Home is Lost” by Ranya Navarez

Submitted to Contest #53

The soft wine-red satin folds of my gown’s skirt whispered past each other as I stepped from the Surrey taxi onto the pebble road, my silver and wine satin pumps sliding over the little stones smoothly as I approached the gate of Silver Wood Cottage. The cab driver shut the car door behind me, and with his polite British “good day, ma’am,” he took his seat, turned the cab around, and drove back to town. I watched him drive away through the arched tree branches of the Silver Wood, the cottage gate waiting behind ...

21 comments 21

Read story

“The Estate” by 🌮 Kao Crimsonstar 🌮

Submitted to Contest #53

“Bloody hell, Mum, are we actually about to live in this palace?!” “Dylan, how many times do I have to tell you it is a mansion, not a palace? And for God’s Sake, Dylan, will you stop cursing so much?! ” “Gosh, Mum, ‘bloody hell’ is not too harsh. I’m 14, Mum! This isn’t the 20th century! Oh, and sure, Mum, but when a matchbox works for a home for a bunch of teenage twins and a tween, and they’re exiled to a glorious 10-bedroom , yard, swimming pool, private forest, meadow AND creek-inclusive mansion, it sure seems like that Buckingham p...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Roses by Gaslight” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #53

Trigger warning: depictions of rape “Do you like it?” Tim asked as they pulled up outside the cottage. Rose stared at the surprise her husband had planned for her, noting the honeysuckle round the door and the way the late afternoon sunlight caught the windows, and smiled. “It’s beautiful,” she said. It really was a picture-perfect place to spend the weekend. “What time do the others arrive?” she wanted to know. Tim consulted his phone. “The last message I had from Mark said they’d be here by six. That gives us plenty of time to chris...

12 comments 12

Read story

“I am home” by TheFortuneteller !

Submitted to Contest #53

I stare at the surrounding through the window, the sunlight makes rainbow diamonds that dance upon the canvas while the wind pushes the car with no avail. In the silence I could hear the wind sweeping around and the breeze moving back and forth making my long, curly and brown hair fall into my face. The car moves over the highway, light on full beam since Abba couldn’t see well and was stubborn to put on his driving glasses. I watch over the yellow but bright light on the sky, the road is a black velvet ribbon draped over twilight hills, I b...

10 comments 10

Read story

“The Getaway” by 💛🧡Lizzie Parker🌻🍊

Submitted to Contest #53

The car bumped along the gravel road. I could hardly wait to get to the cabin. Me, my older sister Rose, and my cousin Trevor were all going to our grandmother's cabin for the weekend. Our grandmother had found it on her land and renovated it so they could come. It was a much needed break from all their online school. Rose pulled the car up next to the small home. I jumped out and ran inside, forgetting my bag, Trevor followed. The first room you walked into had a fireplace and couch. A kitchen was squash...

12 comments 12

Read story

“Sunshine and Happiness!” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #53

(Write about people spending a long-overdue weekend away at a cottage.) We bought this cottage as a retreat. My husband Mike and I had both been raised in quiet country settings but now earned our living in stressful jobs in the city. We had expected children but when we were not blessed with any, we filled our free time with other things but soon we agreed that we missed the quiet of an open space, room to grow things, take long walks and watch the seasons change. The cottage has a Vic...

3 comments 3

Read story

“The Forbidden Web” by Joshua Scott Hotchkin Wordpress.dungherder.com

Submitted to Contest #53

It had been a long and arduous journey to the cottage and all eight of Madlyn's legs were throbbing in pain. She could not tell which was worse, the steady, intense throbbing of her exoskeleton, or the hunger pangs wracking her stomach. Since there was no trace of Jelena's scent, she inferred that her lover had not yet arrived to their rendezvous point, and decided to spend what little strength she had left building a web to catch a desperately needed meal. As she was wont to do, Madlyn lost herself in the process of weaving her web. Back ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“A Testing Time.” by Len Mooring

Submitted to Contest #53

“Now, you guys, and of course you gals, you can relax. Treat this cottage - hah, cottage. Is 20,000 sq feet still a cottage? I don’t know. Anyway, treat it as you like. Not you, Richie, I’ve seen your place, but the rest of you. “There are about 10 fridges filled with booze, food and weed, dive in. If it’s coke you need, then you’ll have to take the heli. and find Archie in town. He has a big cross on the building which doesn’t mean a church; that’s next door. The cops know him and sometimes use him when they are on ‘stakeouts.’ He’s a goo...

3 comments 3

Read story

“What a Fun Day to Become Makeshift Parents for a Random Kid in the Woods” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #53

Bianca slowly pushed open the cottage door as I went over to check out the garden I’d promised my moms’ I’d tend to while staying in their cottage. “Ah, Pele?” She called out. “Are you sure we have the right cottage?”“Huh, let me check…” I eyed the colorful array of brown dead or dying flowers alongside the cottage. “A dying garden I have to perform necromancy on to save? Check. This is definitely my moms’ cottage. Mother once killed a two hundred year old maple tree just by touching it.”“Wasn’t it struck by lightning?”“Yeah, but we’re ...

7 comments 7

Read story

“A week in the woods” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Submitted to Contest #53

The cottage is a fairly secluded place tucked away between two hills, a stream winding through the garden and a sparse forest in its back yard.When we arrive, the sun is dipping below the horizon. The person we're renting it from - a middle aged woman living at her parents' house during the quarantine - is nowhere to be seen. I didn't really expect to see her in person, but the cottage still seems strangely empty and hollow.I step out of the car, shutting the door behind me. It slams shut too loudly and I look around. A few fireflies dance a...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Upta” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #53

Before you think the title is a typo, please allow me to clarify. ‘Upta’ is a Maine-ism. It is used by locals when they want to tell you they’re planning to go upta camp. Even people with very modest means might eventually acquire a camp. It depends on whether you want to be close to Portland on Casco Bay or up north, near Caribou and the Canadian border. It also depends on how handy you are at fixin’ things up, if you got a way with tools (and have tools), and if you’re willing to face the black flies. If they’re lucky, the owners of a ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Last Chance Cottage” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #53

We called it our “Last Holiday Together”, but could do so with both gravity and levity, as there was no reason to presume it would be. We were all young or relatively young, all, so far as we knew, in good health, and though we had our niggles and nuances, we got on well, and there was no hint of hostility simmering in our group. So we could call it our “Last Holiday Together” with the unspoken subtext except it probably isn’t, So, a long August Bank Holiday weekend, between exams, we booked...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Final Blessing” by Adah M.M

Submitted to Contest #53

Standing in front of the little cottage that she was to spend the weekend in filled her with dread. When she was younger,any excuse to drift off for an impromptu holiday always made her giddy with excitement. Now every form of holiday were just cringe worthy and soul grinding. Something evil always seemed to follow holidays. With a sigh,she drags her luggage to the front door,she was sure everyone was already inside.Everything was still in it's place like the last time she was here. Well, almost everything. The blood on the floor was gone. S...

5 comments 5

Read story

“NAN TO THE RESCUE” by Barbara Burgess

Submitted to Contest #53

Mum has a habit of booking holidays without anyone else knowing. She said it was a long time since we’d all spent a week together including Nan. A cottage on the Norfolk Broads was her choice this time. It has eight bedrooms, she said, so we could all be there and share.I hate sharing. I loathe crowds. When our whole family is together it becomes a mob. Auntie Jessica often refers to us as ‘the mob’ when she talks to Dad on the phone. I also resent Nan being invited along.Our family is huge. Dad has four kids from his first marriage-thr...

11 comments 11

Read story

“The House of Dreams” by Kristine Murdock

Submitted to Contest #53

“A house of dreams. That’s what it was called. Surrounded by smiling, dancing gardens, little laughing brooks, and the most grand weeping willows you’ve ever seen, it was a picture. Climbing wisteria twisted around the archway and along the old wooden fence. Delicate pink roses bloomed contentedly against the front wall, satisfied to offer that small world all the loveliness they could give. Nasturtiums, violets, and alyssum waved in the breeze, nodding their heads to the fragrant jasmine tree that crawled up the old stone woman. She had bee...

2 comments 2

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that begins with someone's popsicle melting.

Summer – 259 stories

Write a story about a teenager spending their final days at home before going away to college.

High School – 118 stories

Write a story about summer love — the quarantine edition.

Romance – 131 stories

Write a story about another day in a heatwave.

Summer – 178 stories

Contest #53

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Dog Days of Summer

$50

Prize money

810

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 07, 2020 EST

A winner will be announced soon.

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Write about a few people spending a long-overdue weekend away at a cottage.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 124 stories

“Once Home is Lost” by Ranya Navarez

“The Estate” by 🌮 Kao Crimsonstar 🌮

“Roses by Gaslight” by Jane Andrews

“I am home” by TheFortuneteller !

“The Getaway” by 💛🧡Lizzie Parker🌻🍊

“Sunshine and Happiness!” by P. Jean

“The Forbidden Web” by Joshua Scott Hotchkin Wordpress.dungherder.com

“A Testing Time.” by Len Mooring

“What a Fun Day to Become Makeshift Parents for a Random Kid in the Woods” by Lily Kingston

“A week in the woods” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

“Upta” by Kathleen March

“Last Chance Cottage” by Deborah Mercer

“The Final Blessing” by Adah M.M

“NAN TO THE RESCUE” by Barbara Burgess

“The House of Dreams” by Kristine Murdock

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that begins with someone's popsicle melting.

Write a story about a teenager spending their final days at home before going away to college.

Write a story about summer love — the quarantine edition.

Write a story about another day in a heatwave.

Contest #53

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

810

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: