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Write about someone giving or receiving a gift.

Posted in Christmas on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 49 stories

Tiny Bubbles

Submitted to Contest #121

I was about eight years of age when my mom broke my heart… the first time. My older sister, Margaret, gave me a few dollars to buy Christmas presents for my family. This would be the first year that I would choose my own gifts and take part in the secret magic of Christmas that is the ‘giving’ part. A fortunate child, I never went without. I wasn’t spoiled, but I usually got whatever I wanted as far as toys, clothes, etc. I don’t know if my parents spent the time instilling a sense of gratitude in me, but I remember vividly having one. ...

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Vemork & Hitler's Atomic Bomb

Submitted to Contest #121

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends(John 15:13)The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori. - Wilfred OwenDedicated to the 42 men who gave their life on this mission.The BombThey had no idea why, but in early 1941 the Norwegian Resistance was asked to report on the production of heavy water, at the In Vemork Norsk Hydro near Rjukan. In early June 1942 reports showed a marked increase of heavy water being stockpiled at the plant. The Resistance was asked to immediately start planning fo...

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Part One.

S D

Submitted to Contest #121

Last Christmas, a miracle bloomed inside the empty house of an empty person. The arrival of Christmas brightened the darkened home and found light from the outside world for the first time in the year. The girl who looked withered before her time, opened the heavy curtains wide and made the home ready for the most wonderful time of the year.  And there it was, the world taking on a new face, full of lights, glimmers, love and hope. She did not care that it was all fake and temporary, that it existed before her eyes comforted her enough ...

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Nana's Gift

Submitted to Contest #121

Gertrude Swartz passed away peacefully in March, but in her final Christmas, Gertrude or Nana as I knew her gave me a gift that I will treasure for the rest of my life.  As we stood around our Christmas tree, she handed me a small package she had in her wrinkled hands.  I had no way of knowing it at the time, but this would be her last Christmas with us. “Talia, this is for you.” She smiled as only she could.   The scent of cinnamon clunk to the air as I peeled back the wrapping paper of what she hand handed me.  ...

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THE GIFT IS INSIDE THE PACKAGE

Submitted to Contest #121

THE GIFT IS INSIDE THE PACKAGE It was December 30th, a Friday. The next day would be the last day of the year. And it would also have been his birthday. Alex was born on December 31th , fifty years earlier. He would have celebrated his 50th birthday during the New year’s Eve dinner, in the company of his friends, his sons and his daughter, and his two ex wives too. He ( Alex) would never had expected that visit. Greta  had been one of the many women with whom he had had a brief affair , as a young man. &nb...

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Blink

Submitted to Contest #121

BlinkEven though I can’t see the sun shining; I feel the warmth acting as a cloak against the winds I can feel and hear blowing in the early days of Autumn. I walk without stutter, side-stepping when necessary, and knowing when to pause. Years of experience allow a confidence in my white cane that I imagine the sighted cannot understand; I would not survive a day without it. I call her Theia in honor of the Titan Goddess of Sight. Today I decided to leave Chloe, my service dog, at home, opting for Theia instead in hopes of reducing interacti...

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The Shield

Submitted to Contest #121

The bright auditorium lights reflected off the newly shined gold police shield carefully secured in the box where it had resided for the past four decades. Roland Kent Jr. glanced down at the gleaming parcel in his hand, remembering the last time it had been worn. Suddenly, the auditorium melted away, and instead of 2018, it was 1975. Roland was once more a young boy in his childhood home. The late afternoon autumn sunlight filled the comfortable kitchen with a warm glow as Roland observed his father, a New York City police officer, prepare ...

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Poppy's Locket

Submitted to Contest #121

The locket, a heart shape locket has been in the St. James family for a generation, pass down from mother to daughter on the day of their 18th birthday. Today is Hailey St. James 18th birthday, the day she will receive the most special gift that has been in her family for a generation. Hailey doesn't know the back story to the gift, she only knows the gift is pass down from mother to daughter on their 18th birthday. On this special day Hailey's mother Caroline will tell her all about the gift and what it means to receive the gift. Ha...

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The Pendant

Submitted to Contest #121

I was born at 12:03 on a peaceful night. Four minutes earlier and I would have been one day older than I already am. My grandmother came to the hospital before I could even open my eyes. I wanted to listen to the sounds around me, so I wasn’t crying. She looked at me, looked at my parents and smiled. Her eyes were crystal clear, and tears of joy slowly gathered on the bottom of her eyes, blurring her vision. She reached for her purse, searched around for a few seconds but she couldn't find it. She sat down, looked inside and carefully took o...

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A CURIOUS COMING OF AGE

Submitted to Contest #121

A CURIOUS COMING OF AGE          Edward worked at the auction house every other Saturday during the era of Prohibition.          His son, Bill, also worked at the auction house as a loading man. He wanted to help with the house expenses while he finished his schooling.          As a committed young man with developed muscles, he was easily the next new hire.      &...

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Christmas present

Submitted to Contest #121

“It was Christmas morning, I woke up and realized there was a Christmas tree right in the hallway. It was all just fresh pine scent blended up with orange fragrance, hot gingerbread on the table and cinnamon hot chocolate flavor. Under the decorated there were 3 boxes, 3 gifts for 3 people, and a sock, that was for the dog, I assume. But who cared about those boxes, who? There was a bigger present, a present just for me. SANTA didn't forget about my letter, about the family I wished for. It was so real, a home where normal people sp...

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The Big Event

Submitted to Contest #121

Brenda sat on her newly acquired, penthouse balcony along the Brazilian coast. The spacious overview added to her sense of calm with its chairs, tables, and couch. She looked at her phone's stopwatch. An hour, fifty-seven minutes. The pre-programmed functions were all that now worked without any cell connection. Its battery clung to twelve percent with a red battery bar. Brenda rode out the battery anxiety that used to matter. The phone won't be a phone soon enough. There probably won't be much of anything to distinguish anymore. Brenda wond...

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From a Gift Card's Point of View

Submitted to Contest #121

The owner, Mr. Kingitus, always carried some grandeur, towering above in his gray suit, hair dramatically disheveled, a modicum of madness in the eyes. But I guess everything looks grand from the bottom shelf of the gift card stand, the rack which I’ve occupied for six months, and frankly – I don’t think it will ever change, well, maybe only if Mr. Kingitus will have a mental breakdown and tear us all to tiny pieces and scatter those around the whole Mall. “All you need is right there,” he encouraged a newcomer, a dark-haired girl in ...

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What's Up Doc?

Submitted to Contest #121

When my boyfriend Jeff and I returned from our third winter holiday with Gertrude in Acapulco, I was sick. At first, I thought it was a bad case of touristas even though I never had THAT before. We were always careful about what we ate. Never anything from a street vendor or some seedy restaurant. I immediately saw my internist, Dr. Oyer. He, himself wheeled me from his office to the hospital. He said perhaps I just needed fluids though he didn’t sound convincing. Northwestern Memorial Hospital is a teaching institution which should e...

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Sleeping Girl With Peaches

Submitted to Contest #121

SLEEPING GIRL WITH PEACHES A Story in Voice by Ann Martin Johanna I could feel it that afternoon. Could you feel it, Gabrielle, the brewing storm? That’s what they do, is it not? They brew, they brood and they break. So, no forgetting that afternoon. July, eighteen ninety eight. No forgetting for me, nor, I think, for you. I could feel it in the heat. In the hush. In my baby’s bubbling snore. I was afraid for my baby. He’d been so ill. Afraid for him and for so much more. This storm that was coming, I wasn’t sure when, but soon. It had ...

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