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Write a story in which someone returns to their hometown.

Posted in Adults on Oct 28, 2022

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✍️ 80 stories

"William Raymond Lawson, Is That You?"

Shortlisted for Contest #164 ⭐️

Old Mr. Bill was long gone from this world when a neighbor finally found him, slumped in his chair with a cat curled at his feet. The poor woman didn’t expect to find him dead, though at his age, no one should've assumed he'd live much longer, but the shock of his death was nearly overshadowed by what she found in his home: an overwhelming and astonishing volume of artwork. Paintings hung on almost every square inch of the walls, some on simple canvases, others in gilded frames. They lined both sides of the hallway and the stairwell leading ...

63 likes 60 comments 60
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Another Woman's Son

Shortlisted for Contest #164 ⭐️

CW: Child lossMy husband had warned me Josh Carter was back. Still when I came out of the supermarket and saw him, the shock of it stopped me.I stood frozen with a bag hanging from each hand, people parting around me. He was almost exactly as I remembered him. The same dark hair, the same swinging stride.I knew without having to think how old he was. Twenty-two next month. Just like Ryan would have been. Their birthdays were three weeks apart and I always used to make a cake for Josh too, because I knew his own mother wouldn’t.He didn’t see ...

46 likes 46 comments 46
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Bury Me Home

Submitted to Contest #164

The rolling hills of the Midwest undulate like the humps of the Midgard Serpent, locking the hard-pan clay together. Its scales are clusters of juniper and elm, erupting from sandstone bluffs. The forked tongue is a confluence of two mighty rivers, the legs, scars of railroad beds riveted to the land with iron, torn from its own belly. Johnathon remembers seeing the beast in the ancient lake that had been plowed by glaciers from the last Ice Age, or is it a recurring dream, he never quite figures that part out.“Penny for your thoughts.” Gwyn...

26 likes 15 comments 15
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To Be Heard

Submitted to Contest #164

Going back home was the worst mistake of my life.Well, that's not exactly true.The worst mistake of my life was going back home with a divorce.Small towns are like a big family. Which means the people look out for each other. They care about each other.And they talk about each other.It took maybe three days for the word to spread.When my cousin Deb found out about my divorce, she almost seemed excited. Like she'd been waiting her whole life for this moment. Her text came through at midnight. It was full of assurances. Like, she was the only ...

24 likes 17 comments 17
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Alien Jam

Submitted to Contest #164

“You remind me of someone,” you say to me squinting your steely blue eyes. It’s unsettling how everything else about you has changed and withered over the past six years except for those damned eyes. I say hi and you look sweetly at me, offering your hand to shake mine. I like this. No more displays of forced, fake fondness. Now we can just be ourselves.Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a handshake kind of woman, but I like my words and gestures to be a true reflection of how I really feel about someone. It’s getting chilly out here. Sep...

22 likes 16 comments 16
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Sex, Drugs, and Bunny Rabbits

Submitted to Contest #164

TW: Exactly what it says on the bottle. Alice popped a pill bottle and dropped a lump of white something into my hand.             “Go on. They’re awesome.” She smiled but all I saw was her nose ring. She wore a rainbow lined with faux fur. Her fingerless gloves had inspired the Lonely Island anthem. The lady of chaos threw the pill into her mouth and gulped it down.             “Are they yours?” I asked. Reading the labe...

19 likes 12 comments 12
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Sunlight Therapy

Shortlisted for Contest #164 ⭐️

On the porch we gather – old friends and new, sages and comedians – no more than one degree of separation woven into the fabric of our town.  “The Retired Teachers Brigade” meets each Thursday after four o’clock, in the sunlight, on the porch.  Real life with patina. We pour words of truth  –  revealing the interior spaces of our lives –  then  drink another glass of wine.  Oh, there is little that gives comfort, like a session of porch therapy. I first moved here as a student –  in recovery from a...

19 likes 12 comments 12
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Farewell to Knuckle Falls

Submitted to Contest #164

The rock and roll star, Croesus Skye (birth name Albert), earned his nickname for his string of gold records. His music speaks to almost everyone. Critics take the perspective that if his music is popular, how good can it be? What could millions of fans know that the critics don’t? What are his bonafides? Even Mozart had formal training. Where is this guy from? Are idiot savants a real thing? Fans are not mystified by his world-wide popularity. Throngs meet him at airports and concerts. But Croesus employs no security guards to run interfer...

18 likes 2 comments 2
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You're Never as Far as You Think

Submitted to Contest #164

The cabin looks smaller than she remembered. Buried away in the sand dune, off the gravel road sits a small rustic brown cabin with a surprisingly ample porch. Charlie drives up the remainder of the gravel road, her Subaru slanting upward facing an enormous oak tree. She puts her car in park and for safety, engages the emergency brake as her parents taught her to do when parking off the cabin’s hilly road. It’s been over ten years since she has been back here, and she can feel her breath caught inside her as she cuts the engine. This is home...

15 likes 6 comments 6
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Home

Submitted to Contest #164

TW: CONTAINS MENTIONS OF SEXUAL AND PHYSICAL ABUSE, AS WELL AS GORE. BE ADVISED. "It's been a long time since I've been here. In this little, dreary town of Oak Valley, where the sun never shone and the birds never sang. In this house, where the mice didn't dare steal even a nibble of a crumb, for they would be punished just as harshly as the child who begged for dinner. I was seven when my father died. Maxwell Barnes; Max to my mother, Maximilian to his friends, and Daddy to me. He was my best friend, as you know, of course. A wond...

15 likes 4 comments 4
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my corner of the world

Submitted to Contest #164

I didn’t realize just how much I could re-discover about myself just by returning to the place I’d spent the majority of my childhood. The place I felt was truly home. Those days now seem so much easier, long before being influenced by others, their expectations, by my own insecurities. Back then, in my hometown, those things were all irrelevant, yet to come. I don’t remember ever worrying about what I’d be doing five years from now. I was never worried about having perfected college applications or how popular I was or wasn’t or whether I s...

14 likes 1 comment 1
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My Dream Hometown

Submitted to Contest #164

My Dream Hometown Faruk Ahmed Date: 23-09-2022 Today, I'm grateful that I have been able to do something for the village I was born and raised in. This is my home where I was brought up with immense love and affection.  I always had a lifelong dream for it, one that I have fulfilled today. Since the morning my friends and local prominent people have come to visit and congratulate me in my village home, including the local Commissioner, City Mayor and  local Journalists! The living space was filled with echoes of laughter a...

13 likes 1 comment 1
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Home Town

Submitted to Contest #164

A prison takes many forms.Some have bars made of steel so thick you can wrap your hand around it. Others have bars made of pointed wood, painted and stuck all in a row to make a white picket fence.As Dad’s prized ‘59 Cadillac Coupe de Ville glided into the driveway, I felt I had just gone from one to the other. We paused before getting out.’Your Ma.’ he started, searching for words. ‘She’s just…it’s been very hard on her.’I couldn’t stifle a laugh. Hard for her. Dad held up his hands.’I know, I know. No one’s had it worse than you.’‘Damn rig...

13 likes 2 comments 2
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Home Again

Submitted to Contest #164

What happened to this place…? The grey clouds blanketed the sun, stopping its warm rays from pouring from the sky; instead casting an eerie gloom over the town. It was easy to recognize the chilled October breeze as it blew shriveled up leaves along the pavement and wrestled with Robyn’s golden locks of hair, sending a violent chill up her spine. She tugged the hood of her sweatshirt over her head, hoping to conserve a bit of heat, and listened to the unsettling silence.  Not a soul was in sight. Silver tinsel still hung on displa...

12 likes 1 comment 1
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Unlocked

Submitted to Contest #164

Leaning on the car bonnet I stared out across the fields sliced into sage squares and grouped together buildings lit up under the fading sun. The time of pre evening where bubblegum pinks and honey oranges bleed across the sky and the moon looks like a pale wisp the clouds forgot to take with them. ”Home.” I whispered over the cliff edge, watching it all below. All the lives that never stopped when I left. I pulled a hastily rolled up cigarette out my pocket and amused myself in silence for a few minutes whilst the tip burned and ash fell in...

12 likes 9 comments 9
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