Write a story in which someone time-travels 25 years or more into the past.

Posted in Short Story on Jan 10, 2025

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?

✍️ 75 stories

“How I found my Poise” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #285

I am about to run out of Poise, both the product and the attitude. So, I slip into my shoes, grab my keys, and make an emergency run to the store. To make the mad dash worth my while I reward myself with a bottle of wine.When I approach the diaper aisle from the dairy section, I see him sneak in from the opposite end. Being curious, I watch him approach, assuming he’ll stop at the small people diapers; he looks young enough. But he keeps walking and passes behind me. So, he is on his way to get milk, I conclude and forget about him till I re...

42 comments 42

Read story

“My messy place ” by Rebecca Detti

Submitted to Contest #285

I’d been in a relationship with Paul for two years and as it was going well, we really did like each other and we wanted to be in the same place most of the time. Living between two great cities has been exciting at first. It was that element of having the best bits of both worlds: enjoying our own space during the week but then the excitement of all the fun you would have together at the weekends in either city.But getting on a train from Oxford to London or vice versa late on a Sunday night only to have the train cancelled and a bus replac...

9 comments 9

Read story

“Killers” by Ryan Wolf

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #285

My brother died twenty-five years ago—twenty-five years to the day. I wish there was some kind of poetic poignancy I could attribute to this fact, that this seemingly random date holds some cosmic significance beyond my own personal tragedy. But the fact that I’ve arrived at this significant moment in my life precisely one quarter century after this fatal accident seems to be nothing more than coincidence. The memory remains visceral in my mind, not as though I have recently experienced it, but if I were constantly experiencing it, an u...

32 comments 32

Read story

“Ballrooms and Baby Clothes” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #285

Inez was hoping to avoid herself for the afternoon. She had only just decided on the baby’s name, and the inner deliberation was more tumultuous than she had anticipated. It was a Sunday, and there was still a soft sheet of snow over most of the town. Inez’s second big decision of the day was to treat herself to a tour of one of the mansions. Like most people who lived in a town that tourists love, she had always promised to do the things that sightseers do, and then never did. One of them was to see the cluster of mansions that were scatter...

13 comments 13

Read story

“Zelda's trip” by Randall Nelson

Submitted to Contest #285

Zelda’s tripBy Randy NelsonGuards surround Zelda as she boards the train. Not a trip she’d planned, her attorney struck a deal with the judge. She must complete this assignment, or be incarcerated.Strolling past onlookers she considers her decision. I wasn’t given much of a choice, twenty years, or help with this mission. Twenty years seems like forever for someone who’s thirty. Entering her private coach she notices food, and a note on the table, as well as her old friend propped in the corner.Overlooking the table she rushes toward the bla...

10 comments 10

Read story

“Encore ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #285

“Hey Dwight, Dawn here.” My sister’s voice sounded as soon as I pressed the incoming call on my cell phone. “Hey Dawn, what’s up?” I asked as I worked to complete my presentation for the meeting after lunch. “Dad passed away.” She answered bluntly, but then she was never one to mince words. “Who found him?” “His care worked came calling.” She sighed and I knew she was on the verge of tears. Bryce was his care worker who checked every other day. Since dad’s stroke, he needed someone to check on him. Working for a technical co...

5 comments 5

Read story

“Return of the Time Traveler” by Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #285

"One cannot choose but wonder. Will he ever return?"— H. G. Wells, The Time Machine, An Invention, 1895•───────•∞•Ж•∞•───────•Chief Minister Cloe Martin stood at a floor to ceiling window in a conference room six floors up from the streets of London. Her spine tingled with a newfound fear that had struck her days before. She was overwelmed with gnawing thoughts telling her she was over her head; she couldn't sleep. The twisting grip deep in her stomach hadn’t waned. From this same window, on what had started as a city workday as any other, s...

21 comments 21

Read story

“Back Then” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #285

I never believed my Dad until he died. Even then, I had to go back in time and verify his fairy tales. I loved him. Still do. But the stories he told me were irrelevant to the space I occupied. His outpourings were outlandish, and they just did not belong in my world. I could not comprehend the world of lack that he spoke so fondly of. My Dad was the best man I ever knew. But he had these oddball moments and in those moments he was a bizarre parody of himself. He’d have this wistful expression and I knew what was coming even before he looked...

17 comments 17

Read story

“Nobodies Daughter” by Christiana Lozano

Submitted to Contest #285

Nothing makes me feel greater than when I’m standing by the ocean. This is where I stand when I want to feel closer to God. I close my eyes and allow the thoughts of my past to begin running through my mind. The memories of the wounding words come flowing back into my mind, words that were so heavy they weighed my soul down to the point where I not only felt them, I believed them. How could I not? These Hurtful words were spoken ...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Time In A Bottle” by M.D. Smith

Submitted to Contest #285

Ellen Matthews reflected on her eighty-six years, the same as many senior citizens do when they reach that age, if they are lucky enough to live so long. Long ago, she’d learned to make the hard times over her lifetime, a nearly forgotten blur and concentrated on the happy and most memorable times over the years. Raising her family and time spent with them were the best times of all. Though only a memory, how wonderful it would be to actually re-live some of them, but of course, that wasn’t possible.But what was possible, was to again visit ...

19 comments 19

Read story

“Elliot” by Dean Nichols

Submitted to Contest #285

Elliot had always been fascinated by time. As a physicist, he had dedicated his life to studying the nature of the universe’s most elusive dimension, but nothing could have prepared him for the discovery he stumbled upon late one rainy evening in his dimly lit basement lab. Amidst a clutter of old textbooks, circuits, and coffee-stained notebooks, he had accidentally cracked the code for time travel.The mechanism was crude—a rickety chair bolted to a metal platform surrounded by a web of exposed wires and a humming control panel. Elliot hesi...

6 comments 6

Read story

“A Twist of Time” by Cindy Calder

Submitted to Contest #285

The day was formidable at best with the onslaught of rain, thunder, and lighting hailing from the skies. Looking out the windows stretching across the entire side of one wall of the den, Piper yawned and sank into the cushions of the sofa. The book she was reading lay on her chest. It was so dreary a day she could not help feeling sleepy again even though she’d slept in that morning. Her usual vacation almost always consisted of unwinding or downtime or doing whatever she felt like doing. Oftentimes, she would explore the city in which she h...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Slip in Time” by Christine Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #285

Time travel has been in the family tree for over a century. Each generation getting closer to the point of discovery. Alara Mallett stared back at the physicists working on her latest invention. Phases one and two work. Why the hell doesn’t Phase Three kick in? It gets to a point and then the whole field shuts down. She glanced at her smartwatch, “Hurry up and finish it. I want to go home tonight,” she grumped at one guy looking confused.“But I have tried everything you said to do.”“Well, change the polarit...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Cursed Tales of the Heart” by Amber McGinnis

Submitted to Contest #285

“Okay, everybody, get together now!" yelled out the assistant while bringing the birthday cake to the conference room."1, 2, 3, Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to Mr. Watkins! Happy Birthday to you!” (Colleges applauded and cheered)“Now make a wish!” Yelled Mrs. Brinkly.The CEO of Watkin Enterprise, Mr. Watkins, turns 35 today. Born of a wealthy family, he made his name stand out among many of the Watkins line. His ethics, skills, and determination created a lane that would put Wall Street to shame. With a net wo...

12 comments 12

Read story

“A glimpse into the past” by Priyanjali Bhattacharyya

Submitted to Contest #285

Jay's life till now had not passed simply as lightly as a breeze. Jay was in his 50 vampire years. Or more. He had lost count after the first 45 years, soon after he had met Myra. He knew about a lot of things, and he was more careful as compared to the rest of his kind. The streets he was walking through were dark, dingy and messy. Beggars sat begging there in the mornings but not at nights. An i.v. drug abuser sat there, getting high and having the time of his life. Jay wondered if he would make a good meal. He needed the blood, but the...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in the form of a landline phone conversation.

Dialogue – 80 stories

Write a story from the POV of a now-defunct piece of technology.

Short Story – 80 stories

Write a story about people preparing for Y2K.

Dramatic – 31 stories

Write a story with a character or the narrator saying “I remember…”

Dramatic – 164 stories

Contest #285

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Flash(back)

$250

Prize money

430

Contest entries

147

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 17, 2025 EST

Won by Calum Mathison 🏆

Title: Looks Like You Are Trying to Write a Eulogy?

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

Write a story in which someone time-travels 25 years or more into the past.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 75 stories

“How I found my Poise” by Trudy Jas

“My messy place ” by Rebecca Detti

“Killers” by Ryan Wolf

“Ballrooms and Baby Clothes” by Story Time

“Zelda's trip” by Randall Nelson

“Encore ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“Return of the Time Traveler” by Jack Kimball

“Back Then” by Jed Cope

“Nobodies Daughter” by Christiana Lozano

“Time In A Bottle” by M.D. Smith

“Elliot” by Dean Nichols

“A Twist of Time” by Cindy Calder

“Slip in Time” by Christine Hamilton

“Cursed Tales of the Heart” by Amber McGinnis

“A glimpse into the past” by Priyanjali Bhattacharyya

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in the form of a landline phone conversation.

Write a story from the POV of a now-defunct piece of technology.

Write a story about people preparing for Y2K.

Write a story with a character or the narrator saying “I remember…”

Contest #285

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

430

Contest entries

147

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: