Start your story with a character finding an old heart-shaped box in their house.

Posted in Valentine's Day on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 78 stories

“Welcome Home” by Melody Hayes

Submitted to Contest #133

Surrounded by piles of old newspapers and trash, I ran the back of my arm across my sweaty forehead to keep flyaways from getting in my eyes. There hadn’t been much here worth saving, so I was mostly just stuffing everything my gloved hand touched into trash bags. I was attempting to push my foot forward through some empty cans when I lost my balance and ended up on my butt with an avalanche of useless objects falling on top of me. Disgusted, I started to dig my way out when something out of place caught my eye. Pausing in my effort, I reach...

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“Eleanor's Heart” by Amir Sher

Submitted to Contest #133

It was a cold and quiet autumn night in southern Ireland. The sky was surprisingly clear, but Colleen’s mind was racing, even faster than the rental Renault Clio she was driving. Just seventy-two hours ago, she was sitting in her dorms in Princeton, New Jersey, not imagining she had a great-uncle or any family for that matter. And now, three days after that weird phone call, she is the sole inheritor of Edward Crofton’s castle and properties in Irland. She had had a chance to see him for barely an hour before he passed away, as if he had bee...

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“Elementary Love” by Christina Dailey

Submitted to Contest #133

There it was. A dusty, old, heart shaped cardboard box waiting under her old bed, in her old bedroom. The woman stared at it confused but still reached out for the box. She picked it up and dusted it off before sitting on her knees. She examined the medium sized box to see if it gave away any hints of who it was from or why it was there. But there was nothing but dust and more dust. She scrunched up her face, starting to become beyond curious at what was inside this mystery box. Without a second thought she lifted the lid off and placed it t...

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“Secrets of the Heart” by E.M. Ansley

Submitted to Contest #133

Stupid Gabe, stupid dirty house, stupid unfair punishments. Kade kicks a loose nail in the worn floorboards. He should be out with Lana at the Valentine’s Day dance, but his dumb brother just had to start another argument. It’s not like Gabe ever gets in trouble for his part in them, either. Why does mom only ever believe him? Is it because he’s younger? Because his face has that round cherubic quality? Whatever the reason, the rest of his family is out to dinner and Kade is stuck at home cleaning out the disgusting attic like a loser. “U...

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“The Old Heart-Shaped Box” by Kathryn Gabrielle

Submitted to Contest #133

Patience is an obsessive neat nut.Today, her plan is to clean her ancient, dusty old closet in the attic of her Victorian house. She has neglected that closet for years and its against her better nature to leave even a dust bunny to survive her keen eye. The closet door creaks as she opens it. Being a neat nut, Patience is determined to take on this challenge and rid herself of needless junk. She arms herself with rubber gloves and a spray bottle and goes to battle with the attic closet.In an obscure corner of the closet, she notices a fade...

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“Sylvia's Number” by Dave Bede

Submitted to Contest #133

Jerry heard his mother in the hallway a second too late to avoid getting caught red-handed, perched on his desk chair with one hand deep in the reaches of the top shelf of his closet. “What are you doing in there, sweetheart?” she asked from the doorway. “Oh, nothing!” Jerry said much too emphatically, even he could hear that as he let go of the contraband magazine and pulled his hand out. Along the way he knocked something out of place that he couldn’t make out in the darkness, and it came tumbling out – an old heart-shaped box. “I hope...

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“Attic Letters” by Jalissa Mooney

Submitted to Contest #133

Attic Letters By Jalissa Mooney Half a century of dust had been collecting up in this attic and now it was taking its revenge out on me, as I stuffed an old, broken doll into a black garbage bag. My grandmother was moving into a nursing home in a month and the house she had lived in for over fifty years would be going to her eldest son and daughter-in-law. Everyone was given a task to complete within the month to help get the house ready and I had the pleasure of being assigned the attic. Looking around I could spot old boxes, vintage cloth...

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“Cutting an Artery” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #133

Cutting an Artery “Curb appeal” really didn’t exist on the outside of the rundown cabin, so it had one strike against it even before Tom Cupiskin opened the creaky front door. Then, after gingerly ascending the crooked front steps, he peeled back several layers of cobwebs and turned the ancient doo...

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“The Farm” by Kimberly McCune

Submitted to Contest #133

The Farm By Kimberly McCune I probably shouldn’t be up here. I am going to get in so much trouble if I get caught. Looking out the small window, I see my grandparents still out by the barn watching the horses. Scooting back on the attic floor, I look around at all the boxes. It’s surprisingly neat for being an attic. Clean with a little dust but no cobwebs or dust bunnies. Wonder why that is. I can’t ask or they’ll know I was up here when I’m not supposed to be. &n...

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“Hearts of Mine” by Kev Neylon

Submitted to Contest #133

I don’t know why it always fell to me to clear the loft out. I’m the wrong size and shape for it to start with. Well over six feet tall and quite a way north of twenty stone. Clambering up the ladder and squeezing through the loft hatch is always awkward. And once up there I need a crash helmet to protect my thick head from the low eaves. Apart from a three feet wide strip down the middle, there is nowhere I can stand up straight up there. And of course, everything is stored off of that strip, in the low, dark, angled corners. Additional...

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“The Mystery Heart” by Camille Alfred

Submitted to Contest #133

The Mystery Heart Camille Alfred I made the first payment on the house. I moved in on Sunday afternoon. All of my belongings were being delivered on Monday, but I was anxious to get settled before my new job started. I was alone for the first time in my life, no family, no boyfriend and no husband. A widow, with no children. I checked out the kitchen, the counters needed to be cleaned and one of the drawers was ajar. It wasn’t that way when I looked at the house a month ago. I opened the drawer and realized it was stuck fast. I o...

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“Thank You, Frank” by David Phillips

Submitted to Contest #133

It had taken Caroline almost forty-five minutes to get to the attic. Her arthritis had been acting up and pulling the stairs down from the ceiling had been chore enough, let alone making the climb. The pain forced her to pause after each step to let her knees rest, but her determination had paid off. She was now standing in a dusty, cobwebbed attic eyeing the many containers that caged the memories of her past. She found an old chair once used in the kitchen, removed some frayed, dusty stuffed animals, and took a seat. She took a few minut...

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“Of Abby, Love and Butt-Shaped Pillows” by Ell Peck

Submitted to Contest #133

Jeremy was sitting in his kitchen as suddenly, the room went dark. Great. Two months living here, and the house is already falling apart. That was just Jeremy’s luck, wasn’t it? He got up from one of his brand-new kitchen chairs and started making his way up the stairs to the attic, which is where he’d probably stored the light bulbs he brought from his old apartment. He didn’t actually remember, mind you, because Jeremy hardly ever remembered anything. Jeremy was a man of few words, and a man of few thoughts. Now standing on the wobbly ladd...

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“A Faded Memory” by Sheree Chalfant Troy

Submitted to Contest #133

Bessie sat staring toward the dense woods at the edge of the property. She focused on nothing, her macular eyes long useless. Sometimes rocking, sometimes not, her frail fingers tightly grasped the wooden armrests. It was chilly this time of year in Georgia, but Bessie loved fresh air, so one of the aides had wheeled her outside, helping her into the rocker and tucking a ratty, multi-tone pink afghan across her lap. Bessie once said she’d crocheted it when her daughters were small. In the parking lot of the nursing home, her great-granddaug...

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“The Hidden Heart” by Frank Chirico

Submitted to Contest #133

Moving is never fun, especially when it comes to the home you grew up in. So many memories made through the years; I can almost hear them as the house regurgitates them into my mind. With every creek as the wind hit the house to every step I made brought a recollection to my mind and the great things that I lived through in a place filled with love. So many many memories. “Will this headache ever go away?” This is overwhelming. So much to do and so little time. I really wish mom and dad were here to help me with this, but then again ...

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Start your story with a character finding an old heart-shaped box in their house.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 78 stories

“Welcome Home” by Melody Hayes

“Eleanor's Heart” by Amir Sher

“Elementary Love” by Christina Dailey

“Secrets of the Heart” by E.M. Ansley

“The Old Heart-Shaped Box” by Kathryn Gabrielle

“Sylvia's Number” by Dave Bede

“Attic Letters” by Jalissa Mooney

“Cutting an Artery” by Bob Faszczewski

“The Farm” by Kimberly McCune

“Hearts of Mine” by Kev Neylon

“The Mystery Heart” by Camille Alfred

“Thank You, Frank” by David Phillips

“Of Abby, Love and Butt-Shaped Pillows” by Ell Peck

“A Faded Memory” by Sheree Chalfant Troy

“The Hidden Heart” by Frank Chirico

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone going on a search for a specific type (or brand) of chocolate.

Set your story in a confectionery shop.

Write a story about someone making a gift (chocolate or otherwise) for a loved one.

Write about a character who finds Valentine’s Day sickly sweet.

Contest #133

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

204

Contest entries

121

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: