Start your story with someone discovering a photograph that has something written on the back.

Posted in Valentine's Day on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 197 stories

“Please Don’t Judge Me ” by Stevie B

Submitted to Contest #103

Unlike most children, it took me quite a while to weed through the corrugated cardboard boxes that had been shipped to me after my mother’s death. They contained items that I imagine my other siblings had either not taken or simply not wanted. At its bottom, a pair of eyes were staring up at me. They belonged to Jesus. It did not look like the picture of Jesus had been drawn or painted; it possessed a photographic quality. But how in this world, if I may ask, could this ever be a photograph? On the back and in my mother’s distinctive and flo...

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“Lawn Darts” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Submitted to Contest #103

Billy Putnam shot my dad in the butt with a BB gun. It was quite a feat, as nailing a middle aged man on a ladder cleaning out his rain gutters couldn’t have been easy all the way from the house next door—a house whose gutters were always full of old leaves and debris. My father’s screams of outrage brought my brother Sam and me tumbling right out of our backyard tent. The tent itself was a heavy canvas monstrosity, one held up with bent aluminum poles, yet perfect for us to play in. We’d been taking Polaroids, scrawling down dates and ...

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“Feedback Loop” by Alex Sultan

Submitted to Contest #103

If you had the chance to total your ex’s car with no repercussions whatsoever, would you take it?Ever since Vince found that damned photo—and he thought he got rid of everything, the question had never left his thoughts. Sure, next week he would be rich off horse races and lottery winnings. He’d have more in cash than his ex could ever comprehend, but the satisfaction of seeing her panic over her car, headlights shattered and hood dented? That’d be priceless.And there would be no repercussions. No drawback, no jail time, none of that. He’d g...

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“Angel, Ava and My soon-to-be husband” by Johana Htwe

Submitted to Contest #103

TW//drugs, murder and forced scene (Only mild)“Hello?” Max said.He didn’t know it was me. I smiled, picturing him frowning his beautifully gifted eyebrow.“Hey, Max,” I said.“Megan?”“Yes, it is me. What are you doing right now?” I said with a little girly voice. Lily who was checking her luggage tilt her head and raised her eyebrows, to which I responded with a wink.“I am at my apartment with my friends. We’re discussing our soon-to-be house,” he said excitedly which made me smile again. “Whose phone is this, by the way?”“It is Lily’s. We’re ...

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“Old Houses” by Riley B.

Submitted to Contest #103

Old Houses “Guys, check out this weird picture.” “Is it a picture of your mom?” JD snarked, making his way over to his hunched-over friend. “Shut up, man. It’s probably a picture of your mom with how ugly this thing is.” Benson wiped off what dust he could on the old Polaroid picture before handing it over to his friend. “Hey guys, it’s getting late. We should probably head out here soon. I think we’ve been here long enough.” Max’s voice came out higher and even more nasally than it normally was. Benson and JD rolled their...

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“Tonight” by Shannon Haffely

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #103

It wasn’t English. Not Spanish either. сегодня ночью. Mira traced the faded characters with her little finger, a delicate touch she feared might make the photograph crumble. Yellow stained the edges. Between her fingers it felt like parchment, a scratchy sort of repulsion; she had to fight to keep from tossing the photo. The front was no better. She could barely make out the face in the old black-and-white, which by now was mostly white with age. Towers stood tall behind the woman in the center of the photo. Even by a...

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“Old friends” by Sasini Athapaththu

Submitted to Contest #103

I picked up the photo. It had something written on the back of it which read, "whenever you need me, you know where to find me." I turned the photo; it was a photo of me and my best friend, Dandre, playing in a park when we were small. I could feel a broad smile draw across my face. I grew up in London with my father and mother as the only child. Dandre was all I had for a brother and a friend. He always found everything I say funny, even the lamest of jokes. But when I was twelve, we moved to Manchester, and Dandre and I grew apart. It ...

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“Explosive Scrunchie ” by ☠️฿ⱤɆ₵₭ł₦ ₦ØⱤ₮ⱧⱤɄ₱😎

Submitted to Contest #103

“Charlotte, Will, dinners ready!” my mom yelled to us upstairs.I closed my computer with a long sigh because I was almost done with my story.“One more minute!” Will yelled back downstairs. My brother was a huge fan of video games and just couldn’t stop playing them.“NO!” mom said.“Ughhhhh!Fine!”He said. I could hear his loud footsteps from all the way downstairs because he literally sounded like a herd of elephants.When he got downstairs he sat down but realized his food wasn’t there for him on the table.“Moooom,give me my food.” he yel...

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“Affaires de Coeur” by Christina Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #103

When Mom died ten years ago, dad practically did too, even though the death certificate would list his official passing with today’s date. There are couples and then there are soulmates; mom and dad were the latter. They didn’t need to finish each other's sentences because they could converse without speaking. Theirs was a love story for the ages, which is why I am completely baffled at the picture I hold in my hands. I found it while cleaning out my dad’s dresser, in the bottom drawer hidden in a cigar box. It has to be at least 6...

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“Sins and Sinners” by A J

Submitted to Contest #103

“Secrets carry weight, like lead.” Iris inhaled the pleasant air which was ripe with the dewy petrichor of the post-rain evening. A cool breeze ruffled the leaves of nearby lofty mango trees, all of which were well endowed with succulent yellow mangoes. The sky was shades of pretty pink and purple pastels. Making her way down the narrow path between the tall trees, she recollected her memories with Dante, Isabelle, Rhett, and Jax; running along the shore, pushing each other in the sea, and dreaming about sailing the world one day. They w...

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“Memories” by Navitha Paranavithana

Submitted to Contest #103

I gently tug the teak drawer and turn the pages of a hardcover album. Then, my hands slip onto a smooth and glossy photograph of my playful childhood. It took me back eleven years ago. The photograph fell with a sudden knock and as it hit onto the ground, the room completely transformed into the suspenseful environment in the picture with a sudden violent tremor. I felt that I was pulled into the image. I looked around and searched for my photograph. But, it was out of sight. I started to panic with fear. My heart pounded, my face turned pal...

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“A Flower From the Dust” by Luka Škrlec

Submitted to Contest #103

TW: suicidal ideation, terminal illness The lace on my shoe was untied. I bent down, tied it. I got up, looked around. I was not home. I was in a foreign town, in a foreign state. The air was different, I was different. I stuck my hand into my right back pocket. There I carried a photograph. For good luck, I guess. On the front side was my hometown sunken in glorious colors of sunset. It was a nice photo, but it didn't mean as much to me as the back side of it did. There, in my handwriting, stood: “You will see great sorrow, and in th...

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“Rays of Hope” by Hanshika Goyal

Submitted to Contest #103

The sun fought to enter the room. The windows were shut but the curtains were drawn aside. Sunlight flooded the room, and I stared out of the window, still wrapped in bed. It was early morning after a sleepless night. It had been impossible for me to stop myself from recalling the night exactly ten years ago:I ran and ran, as fast as my little legs could take me. My bag swayed on my back, my ponytail dangled on my head and my eyes were fixed on the road that lay ahead. My heart was thumping in my chest, clearly audible in the silence o...

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“The Cat Got It Easy” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #103

The box landed with a solid thud. “Careful!” “Bloody hell, April!” Ian kicked the box, and then started hopping when he stubbed his toe. “What have you got in here, gold bars? Please tell me it’s gold bars. Anything to get back some of that stupid Stamp Duty.” April yelled back from the other room. “Uh, will you cool it about the Stamp Duty? Seriously, how have you never heard of it before?” “Maybe because no one in my family ever owned their own house,” Ian muttered under his breath. He knew that tone of voice from April; it was the...

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“Traces” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #103

Faded photographs, covered now with lines and creases… ~ Classics IV, “Traces” (1969) Mara was surprised when the words from that old song popped into her head. She was surprised in part because she was looking, not at a set of photographs, but at just one photograph. She thought momentarily about the difference, and concluded there was one and that it might be a crucial one. The framed image before her didn’t seem to be faded, either. Nevertheless, the photograph looked a bit like it was faded simply because it was old. "Doe...

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Start your story with someone discovering a photograph that has something written on the back.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 197 stories

“Please Don’t Judge Me ” by Stevie B

“Lawn Darts” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

“Feedback Loop” by Alex Sultan

“Angel, Ava and My soon-to-be husband” by Johana Htwe

“Old Houses” by Riley B.

“Tonight” by Shannon Haffely

“Old friends” by Sasini Athapaththu

“Explosive Scrunchie ” by ☠️฿ⱤɆ₵₭ł₦ ₦ØⱤ₮ⱧⱤɄ₱😎

“Affaires de Coeur” by Christina Reynolds

“Sins and Sinners” by A J

“Memories” by Navitha Paranavithana

“A Flower From the Dust” by Luka Škrlec

“Rays of Hope” by Hanshika Goyal

“The Cat Got It Easy” by Iona Cottle

“Traces” by Kathleen March

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character looking for a sign.

An apparent coincidence occurs. Write a story about a character who suspects paranormal, spiritual, or criminal causes.

Write a story where a character runs into someone they’ve seen in their dreams, or enters a building they’ve dreamt about before.

Write a story about someone who starts noticing the same object or phrase wherever they go.

Contest #103

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

816

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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