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

Posted in Valentine's Day on Oct 25, 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?

✍️ 78 stories

“And They Were Roommates” by W.D. Pierce

Submitted to Contest #133

TW: Strong language, violence, mature themes. Reader discretion advised.My lungs are screaming for air, my legs are seizing and my heart aches with every breath. But I don't care, because I'm scared shitless.And that overwhelming fear is what carries me the last leg of the trip to the bus stop. I hop though the door, scan my bus pass and take a seat, attracting stares as I collapse on the bench. Finally, after my breathing returns to a normal pace, I begin to feel the weight of how insane this night has been.I'm gonna need fucking thera...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Some Things Never Change” by Quinn Cavanagh

Submitted to Contest #133

It was secured with a thin line of baby pink ribbon. The bunny ears of the bow were fastened haphazardly, a result of the box being opened and enjoyed. I turned the dust-laden box over in my hands. The bottom of the innocent heart shape had sharpened over time, proving itself to be quite a threat. It’s interesting, I thought to myself, the corruption of something once so well-intentioned. I stood in the shallow closet, bowing my head under the clothing rack. Everything else had already been taken care of; I could hear the rumbling of...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Dinner for Two” by Mrs. Janessa Shelton

Submitted to Contest #133

Yet another mushy time of year had gone by, when, as usual, lovers made haste to present everything pink, red, fluffy and sweet for their significant other. But for lonely Jerry Craig, his quiet home was dark, with the exception of the soft dancing light of two hopeful candles on the dining table that his love would accept his dinner invitation.Much to his disappointment, his long-awaited Sweetheart -once again- failed to arrive.Distracted and highly confused with memories of 50 years, they all lumped together to a present state which led hi...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Mystery Heart” by Carol Ernst

Submitted to Contest #133

The ‘For Sale” sign was posted on the front lawn. Fifteen year old Vincent sat on the curb, fighting back the feelings he had been experiencing since his parents first told him they were going to move. Life was giving him more challenges than he cared to experience. The past year brought a lot of changes to his world. The Covid virus had closed his school to on-site learning. Virtual learning was hard for him. The sports he enjoyed were not available. Vincent’s mom had been working from home, multi...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Waves” by Sophie Appel

Submitted to Contest #133

The clunk of old feet up an attic staircase is heard throughout the house. Like all things that age, the delicate feet of a once graceful lady are reduced to heavy footsteps. As she ventures up the steps of the attic, and into the cold, drafty room, she surveys her surroundings. Boxes full of memories of Christmas ornaments, and photo albums, and clothes, and books, each home to thousands of moments. The sense of an ocean wave drowning her overtakes her mind. No more was she in the house she had lived in for 50 years. She was walking into he...

5 comments 5

Read story

“The Winner” by Valerie Vince

Submitted to Contest #133

This little story belongs in the heart-shaped box sitting in the second drawer of my desk, along with a gold watch, an antique fishing lure, a flask of Glenmorangie, and my future book. But the box didn’t start in the drawer. After I finished the chocolates, I stuck it on the shelf in my shop along with tins and canisters for stray nails and screws, below a battered trusty toolbox and above my drills. Good with my hands, I may not be a wordsmith, but I can chin wag about anything you want – where the eagles nest, and how to run a railyard, t...

7 comments 7

Read story

“The Heart-shaped Box” by Val Hickey

Submitted to Contest #133

The box is kept in the second drawer of my bureau, along with a cerulean blue silk tie rolled into a neat round, a gold Cartier watch, a Waterman fountain pen, and some coins from my travels. I’m rather proud to say that the box’s heart-shaped form is still intact since it has been carefully transferred time and again into at least five bureaus over the thirty years since Maya gave it to me on Valentine’s Day in our tenth grade English class. I was a newcomer to school and Whitebridge that year. Maya was open-hearted, slightly pla...

4 comments 4

Read story

“CHOCOLATE HEART” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #133

CHOCOLATE HEART She had found it rummaging in an old warm-eaten chest relegated to the attic. As soon as Marianna had the red box in her hands, after pulling it out of the pile of junk where ( into which) it was ______pieces of fabric, balls of wool, crochet hooks, scissors, hairpins, zippers, ribbons, spools of thread….._____she felt her heartbeat speeding up with emotion. That heart shaped box, of modest size, was made of cardboard, a white cardboard yellowed over time. The top ( the upper half) of the box wa...

6 comments 6

Read story

“ENDURING LOVE” by Julia Corliss

Submitted to Contest #133

Rosa hadn’t expected to inherit the rambling old Victorian house and its contents after her great grandmother Rosina’s passing, since Gran, as she called her, had never spoken of her plans for the house once she was dead. Nevertheless, Rosa did inherit and here she was exploring in the attic. With trembling hands, she lifted the heart-shaped, rosewood box from the drawer where she found it in Gran’s chest which had been moved at some point into the attic. She held the box in her hands and remembered the story she had been told so many years ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Ring” by TMK M

Submitted to Contest #133

Tori watched as they ran inside excited to be home. She was looking for forward to some time alone. Afterall, they had been with her for 1 week uninterrupted. She turned to head home when Steve said, “hey do you have a min? I need to talk to you.” Tori hesitated for a moment. “Sure,” she said following Steve inside. She sat down on her grandmothers old recliner, eager to know what he wanted to say. They had been divorced for more time than they had been together. They communicated but not like this. Steve sat down next ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“A Heart Full Of Love” by Rebecca Himmel Glassman

Submitted to Contest #133

My family and I live in the house that once belonged to my elderly Uncle Arthur. Somehow, it was left to me. I'm not quite sure why. Maybe, my uncle knew that no one else would want this old relic of days gone by. Or maybe he understood that my generation preferred the fast paced excitement of the big city, to the peace and quiet of the country. Maybe he knew that no one would appreciate the sentimental value of the house, and would just sell it for the fortune that it was worth in today’s market. Or maybe my uncle knew me better than I...

6 comments 6

Read story

“The One I didn't know.” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #133

Darlene’s First Thoughts After She Discovered It This boggles my mind. I cannot believe what I just found, a box with something very special in it, something very, very special. It is fitting that the box is shaped like a heart. On a Flight Too Late She was one of my grandmothers – the one I didn’t know. Betty lived on the other side of the country, the west coast, and rarely left work and home to visit family living on the east coast. She was a chemistry researcher attached to a university despite her being long p...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Memories In A Box” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #133

Wendy is in her home cleaning the attic when she comes upon an old treasure box. She opens the treasure box and finds an old heart shape box. Wendy takes out the heart shape box, looks at it, takes it down stairs and shows it to her mother. Julie, Wendy's mother looks at the heart shape box and realizes the box belongs to her mother. Julie tells Wendy "The box belongs to Grandma Rose." "How do you know it belongs to Grandma?" "I found the box. I opened it and saw the pictures." Wendy puts the box on the table and asks her mother ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Chocolate Heart” by Mark Nero

Submitted to Contest #133

It’s funny what can be found in old attics when you are a new homeowner and especially in the attics of really old homes. There could be rags or riches… Gold or garbage but what there would always be an abundance of memories. I was recently divorced and had decided to move to the country, in the attempt to leave a horrid part of my past behind. My ex-wife and I didn’t have any children, unless you counted the evil chihuahua that never liked me. They say that dogs are good judges of people, but I think that worked the other way around as w...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Make Sure They Know” by Callie Wright

Submitted to Contest #133

The cafeteria was a roaring sea of pinks and reds. Heart-shaped boxes exchanged hands all over the bustling room. Candy and chocolates, tiny cards, squeals, and laughter; it was expected, but very nearly unbearable for the many students left empty-handed. Aubrey was one of these students. She and her best friend sat at their usual table, ignoring the pastel gaggle of giggles at the same long table, just feet away, ooh-ing and aw-ing over a tiny convenience store teddy bear someone’s boyfriend had bought them. Aubrey rolled her eyes...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

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

Middle School – 24 stories

Set your story in a confectionery shop.

Middle School – 40 stories

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

Valentine's Day – 36 stories

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

Valentine's Day – 26 stories

Contest #133

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Chocolate Box

$250

Prize money

204

Contest entries

121

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 18, 2022 EST

Won by Stephanie Kaye 🏆

Title: Mythes

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

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 78 stories

“And They Were Roommates” by W.D. Pierce

“Some Things Never Change” by Quinn Cavanagh

“Dinner for Two” by Mrs. Janessa Shelton

“The Mystery Heart” by Carol Ernst

“Waves” by Sophie Appel

“The Winner” by Valerie Vince

“The Heart-shaped Box” by Val Hickey

“CHOCOLATE HEART” by Mara Masolini

“ENDURING LOVE” by Julia Corliss

“The Ring” by TMK M

“A Heart Full Of Love” by Rebecca Himmel Glassman

“The One I didn't know.” by John Steckley

“Memories In A Box” by Melinda Madrigal

“Chocolate Heart” by Mark Nero

“Make Sure They Know” by Callie Wright

🌟 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: