Write about a character emerging from hibernation, whether literally or metaphorically.

Posted in Winter on Dec 1, 2023

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✍️ 61 stories

“Mending a Shattered Dream” by Larry M2

Submitted to Contest #227

Josh opened his eyes and was blinded by the glare of the sterile white room. He winced as the light seared his eyes, forcing him to shut them tightly. He tried to raise his arm to block the glare, but his muscles were too weak to cooperate. "Josh, can you hear me?" A soothing feminine voice cut through the haze that clouded his mind. As his mind cleared, panic began to rise within him. They weren't preparing him for the long sleep as he had first thought—he was emerging from his suspended state. His 50-year hibernation was complete. With tre...

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“Jane, Null and Void” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #227

(TW … mention of assassination, hanging)(Note, can be read on its own or as a continuation of previous story “Essy 37 Head of State” submitted in contest #224)The assassination went off without a hitch, shocking the world and those closest to him who did not see it coming. After years of oppression and cruelty, the freed citizens fled in droves, leaving Washington DC abandoned by all.All except Jane. Jane wandered the empty halls fighting the urge to continue her job which was null and void. The offices sat silently, the phone...

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“The Snow Walker Who Couldn't Win” by KC Fetch

Submitted to Contest #227

The crisp smell of ice was the first thing to fill my nose. Around my den, the world was quiet and still. All except for one prickly porcupine that happily munched on a bit of bark it had pulled from the pine tree just outside of my den. I would love to report that I lazily laid there and watched the ball of spikes as it ate, but my own hunger forced me to my feet. If I didn’t eat today, surely I would die. Emerging from my underground home amongst the roots, rocks, and rot, I stretched my old bones. Cracks and pops filled the woods and air...

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“Time To Rise” by Christina Fanelli

Submitted to Contest #227

Robert’s eyes open in slits. He looks both ways before he lifts his eyelids further. Feeling safe, he opens them all the way, sits up on the cot, and looks around the dark room. He sees a sliver of light across the room in a corner and debates if it’s warm enough to get up and look out. He pauses tunes in his ears to listen for any movement of anything around him. Silence. He sits up, turns, and puts his feet on the floor, rubbing them back and forth on the furry piece of carpet beneath the cot. He runs his hands up and down his arms ...

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“Jesus Yelled at Me” by Douglas W. Carr

Submitted to Contest #227

Earth orbits around the Sun at a speed of approximately 67,000 miles per hour (107,000 km/hr). At the same time, Earth spins on its axis at approximately 1,000 miles per hour (1,600 km/hr). All the while, Earth is bombarded by electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. Thankfully, the Earth produces a magnetic field – acting as a shield. Additionally, the galaxy is hurling through space and the universe at an estimated and mind-numbing speed of 1.3 million miles per hour, and seemingly randomly. I don’t know who’s driving this thing, but I...

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“Better Living Dead Through Chemistry” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #227

The curved mountain road disappeared under his tires.Grant Grahams yawned. Retirement couldn’t come soon enough. He should have already finished, but a medicine company had had a breakthrough. Nobody else had time to deliver their latest in anti-ageing skin cream technology. So, he tacked on an extra day to his work life. It wouldn’t kill him. He blinked and squinted through the windshield of his tanker truck into the night beyond. ‘Wakey wakey, Grant.’* * *The curved mountain road disappeared under his tires.Dane Huxleye shuddered. One more...

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“A Thread of Change” by Amanda Hutcherson

Submitted to Contest #227

A Thread of Change In the heart of the vibrant ever-growing city of Ashlington, stood the prestigious Oakridge Hall University, a place where, for more than two centuries, the ancient trees had borne witness to the relentless pursuit of knowledge and human endeavour. Dr. Eleanor Winters, a lecturer in the Sociology department, was known for her meticulous research and her unyielding standards. But beneath her academic rigour, Eleanor harboured a weariness, a growing disenchantment with the rigid structures and the incessant micromanagement...

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“Days of hope” by Sean McDonnell

Submitted to Contest #227

How to assuage the hatred within it, to quiet its snapping bones as it rises from below the ocean’s floor, there is no way. It’s too late: an ancient lid flutters open to reveal a yellow iris lit by anglerfish, the rest of it a shadow suffused in crimson.Listen: ———————————-brruuuttpppppeppp————brruuuuuuutttppppeeeppp——-Then the waves above the ocean floor—how many feet? Ten thousand? Twelve?—reach for the moon. Seagulls rush to where the bubbling ocean expands to reveal its head, like a baby through the birth canal, a swath of coarse, red-o...

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“Spring Will Be Here Soon” by Priscilla 🌹

Submitted to Contest #227

“I can understand why someone would want to be friends with me.” She looked at the stone in her hand, turned it over once, twice with her thumb and her fingers. “What I don’t understand is why someone would love me. Fall in love with me, I mean.”She threw the stone as hard as she could. It flew through the air and landed with a splash, sending ripples across the surface of the lake.The two sat on a bench. It was an old bench. The boards bent when the girl shifted in her seat, creaked against her weight. The plaque on the front said someone u...

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“It's MY life” by Mary Cruickshank-Peed

Submitted to Contest #227

THIS WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE MY LIFE! THIS WAS NOT THE PLAN! We separated 5 years ago. Sort of. We have the kids. And the grandchildren. And the house. And the farm. And the dogs. And the cats. And the bills. And all the bloody 30-years-of-accumulated STUFF. He left. He got a job 400 miles away and he left. He’s moved on. I’m still here. Hibernating. What the fuck am I supposed to do now? I was going along, maybe not happy but not not-happy. My little train was chugging along towards retirement, towards being free to travel and write an...

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“Black Widow ” by Trisha Surak

Submitted to Contest #227

She twisted the ring around her finger anxiously, absent mindedly wondering if she should just take it off. Who wears a wedding ring on a first date, anyhow? It had been so long since she had been on a first date, and she felt so on-edge and uneasy; the weight of the ring brought her some comfort. She was, after all, wearing the ring when she first met him at the grocery store. He had been so caught up in flirting with her, he didn’t even seem to notice until they made it to the checkout line. She had quickly assuaged his fears by explaining...

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“A Day of Passing ” by Zak Watt

Submitted to Contest #227

In the basement of a building, a man sat on the edge of a polished marble tub. His head was stirring, and his shoulders hung heavy as if the ceiling was sitting on him, and he had to clench what he had inside of him to hold himself up. The contents within the marble crashed against its walls and left its spill on the other side. His back met the airy draft, starkly contrasting with the liquid's constant, soothing temperature. This slightly sobered his mind, and his pale and unblemished skin bore the signs of immersion—brainy fingertips...

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“Winter Blues” by Chanya Jayamaha

Submitted to Contest #227

The cold is slightly alarming these days and it wraps around Kayla ominously. It feels faintly suffocating, almost like the air can’t quite make it into her lungs. But it’s always been like this. Ever since that one dreadful night in December a few years ago, winter has not been her favourite season. However, being thirty-two with a child limits her options of scurrying into a vegetative state—she can’t just let her brain shut down. Not when there’s a mini-human living in the same premise as her. As if summoned by a mere thought, her ki...

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“Awakening a Star” by Marguerite Diggens

Submitted to Contest #227

I awake with a fright as I hit the side of my box. “Careful y...

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“Hibernation Befalls The Whitlocks” by Andrea Corwin

Submitted to Contest #227

She died. Eleven months ago, their identical sister Lynn died. Our fraternal brother, Louis, fell into a deep depression and only came out of it after doing a psilocybin retreat in the Netherlands, followed by intense psychotherapy in Munich, Germany. Lydia hadn't heard from Lou, but to be fair, no one had heard from Lydia. The torn-asunder Whitlock triplets had gone awry. Jimmy, Lydia's spouse of four years, didn't hear from her either. Through the closed door, he shouts, "Lydia, can I come in?" Sometimes, it's, "Lydia, are you sl...

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Write about a character emerging from hibernation, whether literally or metaphorically.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 61 stories

“Mending a Shattered Dream” by Larry M2

“Jane, Null and Void” by Hannah Lynn

“The Snow Walker Who Couldn't Win” by KC Fetch

“Time To Rise” by Christina Fanelli

“Jesus Yelled at Me” by Douglas W. Carr

“Better Living Dead Through Chemistry” by Joshua G. J. Insole

“A Thread of Change” by Amanda Hutcherson

“Days of hope” by Sean McDonnell

“Spring Will Be Here Soon” by Priscilla 🌹

“It's MY life” by Mary Cruickshank-Peed

“Black Widow ” by Trisha Surak

“A Day of Passing ” by Zak Watt

“Winter Blues” by Chanya Jayamaha

“Awakening a Star” by Marguerite Diggens

“Hibernation Befalls The Whitlocks” by Andrea Corwin

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone looking out the window and seeing the first snowfall of the season.

Start your story with a description of the cold, using lots of sensory detail.

Write a story where someone shares a cup of hot chocolate with a friend.

Your character hates the holidays, and jets out of town every year — but a historic snow storm means that this time, they can’t make their escape.

Contest #227

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

299

Contest entries

130

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: