A package arrives at your character’s house, but they didn’t order anything. Write about what happens next.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 59 stories

“The Christmas Hat” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #122

Miss Smithereen, as excited as her class, stood in front of the chalkboard. The short, spiney quills down her back poked through the soft red wool of her most Christmassy dress. She stamped her tiny hedgehog feet, shod in sensible black penny loafers, and clapped her tiny hedgehog paws together for attention.She pushed her eyeglasses up her pointy black nose and said, “Now class, we still have an hour before the bell…”The class of woodland animals groaned in unison. Eddie, an outspoken raccoon child, looked around at his classmates...

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“The Hourglass” by Michael Mackenzie

Submitted to Contest #122

Adam sipped a glass of red wine watching the camera feed that displayed the entrance of his house. You could the see freshly painted red door, the porch, and the garden with calendula and winter jasmine. And Oscar, roaming around the freshly cut lawn, who stood at attention as though something moved in the distance. The attic was a makeshift command center with dual displays, featuring a small fridge that used to be stocked full of energy drinks, and a stack of books on home security systems which sat on the wooden desk. While taking br...

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“The Package With The Amulet” by Catherine Douglas

Submitted to Contest #122

It looked like a perfectly ordinary cardboard box. Just sitting there on the floor in the barracks. There was nothing strange or suspicious about it. What was suspicious was the fact that it was there. Its mere existence was strange, and Sergeant Plundell was only just starting to get used to the fact that this place was indeed very strange.What made things stranger was that the box had his name on it. There couldn’t be any other Sergeant Plundells, could there? And there weren’t any other prisoner-of-war camps with the same number.Every sol...

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“A Surprise Package” by Lisa Neuvelt

Submitted to Contest #122

A Surprise PackageThe Continuing Story of Maddie-Rose(Read more about Maddie-Rose in my stories: “Singing in the Rain” and “The Surprise of The Fallen Leaves)Maddie-Rose was a typical seven-year-old little girl. She loved playing in the rain and jumping in piles of leaves. Her mother, Kelly would sometimes join her. She had two best friends, Lynn and Lauren. They were twin sisters that lived across the street with their father, Jim.Maddie-Rose had only been home after being abducted by her father for about six months.&nbs...

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“Shyama's Choice” by Nandini Kumar

Submitted to Contest #122

The temperature on the phone registered 24 degrees Fahrenheit. Shyama looked at it without recognition and then typed, "What is 24 degrees Fahrenheit in Degree Celsius". As the number flashed on the screen, she put her hand on her mouth and let out an "aah". Then, slowly, she tiptoed towards the pearly white front door. She put her hand on the golden knob and turned it. Her bangles clinked as the door revealed a flurry of white powder. It was snowing. And Shyama was seeing it for the first time in her life. Shyama didn't belong here. She u...

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“'Tis The Season For Believin’” by Brett B

Submitted to Contest #122

"Uncle Mike?" Jake said while looking up from his soggy Cheerios. Michael Remer peaked over the morning paper at his nephew. "Yeah kid?" "What does jackass mean?" he asked, balancing a spoonful of milk in mid-air. "Where did you hear that word?" the tone of his question didn't match the chuckle he covered with his knuckles. "I heard mommy say that to daddy," he said, retreating back to his cereal. "It's a bad word. Isn't it?" Mike's smirk turned to a frown as he closed the paper and laid it on the table. Re...

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“The Package” by Michele Duess

Submitted to Contest #122

Looking back, I should’ve known.I shouldn't have gotten involved. But my back was to the wall. It was either do something or be beaten, if not killed. And I warned him about the gift.Let me back up and start at the beginning. I had finished working the carousel at a Christmas lights festival in Stuart, Florida. I’d seen better but it was some money to get me through winter until the start of fair season. I was in my camper hunting for the instant coffee when Tom Blanco banged on the door.“Go away!” I called.“Package for you,” he hollered bac...

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“The Gift That Keeps On Giving” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #122

I cracked my eyes open to the rising sun. Turning towards the other side of the bed, I remembered what day it was. December third, the first anniversary of my dear Martha’s passing. The memory pressed against my heart, near to the point of breaking it. No, I said to myself. Life goes on. Forcing my sorrows to the back of my mind, I began my daily ritual. After getting dressed and brushing my teeth, I ventured downstairs, to be greeted by my cat. “Hello, Fido. You hungry?” Fido rubbed against my leg and began to purr. Then, ever so gently...

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“A Strange Package at the Door” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #122

A Strange Package at the Door George has a Strange Experience ‘There was a knock on the door. The dogs heard it too, as they first barked like mad, and then rushed to the front window to try to find the one who had violated their territory. I was the third and last to get to arrive there By the time I opened the door, there was no sign of the person who had knocked. But there was a fairly large cube-shaped package carefully placed on the doormat. &nbsp...

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“The Unexpected Package” by Words By Mary Isaboke

Submitted to Contest #122

Mariah Wynn opened her front patio door and there was a medium sized package wrapped in Christmas wrapping on the first step. She thought, "Who sent this? I have not ordered anything." Let me give you a little background on Mariah. She lives in a large city. Mariah is an introvert. She is not a sociable 66 year old. Twenty years ago, she was married but her husband sadly passed away due to cancer absorbing his body. Since the passing of her beloved James, she has not welcomed the company of another man. He was the one and only love of her li...

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“The Boy's Gift” by Karla Moore

Submitted to Contest #122

Thomas Weatherly stared at the box on his porch with a scowl. The elderly gent held the wooden rail for support and bent down to get a closer look. The address was correct, but the name on the package was blank. He wasn’t expecting anything. Must be a mistake. He looked up to hail the delivery driver, but she was out of sight. She was racing to get all her deliveries made on this Christmas Eve. He shivered in the crisp evening wind and reluctantly reached for the box. It was light, much to his relief, and not too cumbersome for the frail m...

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“Christmas Cookies” by Noelle C. Lee

Submitted to Contest #122

Christmas Cookies Elizabeth imagines snowflakes and cold as she daydreams through her bedroom window, wondering what birds and squirrels might feel if not for their feathers and fur. Warm, safe, riddled with guilt, she is the lucky one. The one that now has a family of her own. The one that is insulated from the cold of the world.Christmas Mornings PastThe smell of their favorite cookies baking on Christmas morning always followed a sleepless night. After midnight mass, Baby Jesus would bring gifts for the children. They listened carefu...

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“Stars on the Ground” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #122

The fires stretched way out. Dots of ‘em, then blending out into a horizon that was starting to shake with the screams while ghostly snakes of smoke found their way up to the sky. Or maybe it was just my eyes seeing a shimmer, scratched from my own cookout themselves. Who knew. Who even could say when the world was last stable. We’re just ants on a big rock tumbling through space after all. When I learned that the world was like a spinning top I asked my mother why we didn’t fall off. She covered up the gap in her knowledge by asking me to r...

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“Before George” by James Crilley

Submitted to Contest #122

“What can I do?” said Maggie, “Maybe I should start trying the exact opposite of what I think I want or just stop trying altogether. “Do you ever begin to think that everything you’ve wanted all along in your life—especially early on, well, none of that mattered and most of it was wrong.”Maggie paused, squinting her eyes. A small frown formed as she compressed her lips, as though she were concentrating.“There was a time when I wanted nothing more than to dance. And there was Claire living out that dream. She seemed like a better version...

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“From Somewhere With Love” by Zach Martz

Submitted to Contest #122

The package was sitting on Harwell’s front porch, undisturbed since the postman dropped it off an hour earlier. Harwell was home and knew it had arrived but was in no hurry to retrieve it. With not a soul living within a hundred feet of his house in the woods, there was no chance of a neighbor making off with it. He also had not placed an order for a delivery of any kind. He stood by his front window, sipping a cup of tea and staring at it. It was as plain as any parcel he had ...

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A package arrives at your character’s house, but they didn’t order anything. Write about what happens next.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 59 stories

“The Christmas Hat” by Tanya Humphreys

“The Hourglass” by Michael Mackenzie

“The Package With The Amulet” by Catherine Douglas

“A Surprise Package” by Lisa Neuvelt

“Shyama's Choice” by Nandini Kumar

“'Tis The Season For Believin’” by Brett B

“The Package” by Michele Duess

“The Gift That Keeps On Giving” by Howard Seeley

“A Strange Package at the Door” by John Steckley

“The Unexpected Package” by Words By Mary Isaboke

“The Boy's Gift” by Karla Moore

“Christmas Cookies” by Noelle C. Lee

“Stars on the Ground” by Karen McDermott

“Before George” by James Crilley

“From Somewhere With Love” by Zach Martz

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who’s stuck in a shopping mall.

Start your story in the middle of a traffic jam.

Write a story about a limited edition item going on sale.

Write about a character who won’t (or can’t) shop for the holidays.

Contest #122

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

149

Contest entries

104

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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