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Set your story in a silent house by the sea.

Posted in Dystopian on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 61 stories

A Fork in the Sand

Submitted to Contest #119

Max pushed aside one bush with his left hand, and then another with his right as he sprinted for his life through the deep forest undergrowth. Rays of light from the evening sun shone between the trees, outlining a small ridge in the landscape not far ahead. Surely he could lose them there, if he could just hold out a bit longer. “Stop! Turn yourself in now!” The ever distant cries of his flagging pursuers were still motivation enough to keep running as fast as his legs could carry him. He could feel every pounding beat of his heart, each ...

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Home

Submitted to Contest #119

The roar of silence can be painfully deafening at times, and in Mabel Wetherby's home, the silence was as loud as ever. She stood by the windows and took a deep breath of salty air. She turned to look at her bedroom, taking it all in one last time. The closet was bare, her wardrobe packed neatly into suitcases and waiting for her by the front door. In fact, the room was mostly empty now, except for the bed. Mabel had made it this morning, making sure the duvet was smooth and perfect. It took some time, in her old age, but making the bed was ...

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The Old Man

Submitted to Contest #119

On a cold November morning a beaten down Fiat snaked its way down a dirt road on the coast of the Black Sea. Every so often the car front dipped into a puddle and then bounced back up sprayed with mud. It had rained the night before and the water had hollowed out the ruts and grooves into large craters filled with brownish brew. After much jolting and shaking the little Fiat turned the corner onto a section of smooth asphalt and stopped. A wide metal gate blocked its way. The car stood in front of it with the motor running and when nothing h...

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Solitude

Submitted to Contest #119

The house clung on the edge of the cliff, steadfast against the howling frigid winds and creeping icy fingers of fog that constantly rolled in from distant oceans. Sometimes the mist skulked amongst the gnarled cypress trees and slinked between the feather reeds that bordered the house, sometimes it was a screaming gale ripping at the shingles on the roof, pelting the walls with rain and begging to be let in. Inside the house was completely quiet and still.She lived in solitude, not out of a love for the crashing waves that thundered the bas...

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Time To Break The Silence

Submitted to Contest #119

What is silence? Is it a soft monotonous drone, a subtle buzzing - a swarm of bees discussing things in whispers? ‘This seems like silence – but not complete - I can hear something. Is this what ‘nothing’ sounds like?’ and she closed her eyes. ‘Closing my eyes seems to make the emptiness, nothingness louder’ she mused. ‘I wonder if this is the sound you hear if you are deaf, like Grandma was? She liked the quiet at the moment – needed it. She didn’t miss all the voices that were once in her head, - loud, insistent cruel voices. ‘I...

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Once in a Blue Moon

Submitted to Contest #119

Once in a Blue MoonA short story by Daniel HarderJournal Entry, November 18, from James Thompson: This has been going on too long now. Maybe my friends are right, and I should just move on; try to forget this ever happened. Get back out there and make an attempt at a ‘normal life.’But just how does one “move on” back to regular dates or meeting up with other desperate strangers at bars, after seven magical nights with an incredible woman who seemed to strike the perfect and delicate balance between fun, spontaneity, and being serious about t...

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Ghost on the Sand

Submitted to Contest #119

The waves crashed along the beach with a soothing rush, and her eyes began to water from the strong salt in the air as she stepped onto the porch of her vacation home. The humid air felt heavy, but the sun shining overhead erased any chance for gloom. She allowed herself a few, short steps until her bare feet touched the edge of the stairs to the glamourous house on the beach. Her wavy, red locks blew through the breeze that sang by gently with a peaceful suddenness. How could she have gotten so lucky? The air was rich with the minera...

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Alone

Submitted to Contest #119

WARNING: This story contains alcohol, suicidal thoughts, and mild swearing. If you are sensitive to these topics, you might not want to read this story. It was supposed to be the best vacation that we planned. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. Alone. Alone without my friends or family. They’re gone. I sat outside on one of the metal chairs and watched the sunset fall. The sea was out and dreary silent. I could hear my friends’ voices, whispering in my head. But they faded out. I wish they were still here with me. I wish we never found ...

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The Cliff Edge

Submitted to Contest #119

    The condemned house crouches on the clifftop, hunkered low against the wind. It is a race between the local authority and the sea to see which will carry out the sentence. The water seethes below like a restless beast, swirling and eddying, worrying at the cliff walls. Chunks have already collapsed, leaving the top jutting out in places like a shelf. Inexorably the edge is inching closer and closer to the house.     The local teenagers and tourists ignore the signs warning of danger on the cli...

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My Perfect Home By The Sea, Chosen by Destiny

Submitted to Contest #119

CW: violence, sexual abuseMy Perfect Home by the Sea, Chosen by Destiny I always thought I would love living by the sea. I love the houses with all of the glass, the porches, the boats, the waves, and the animals. It seemed like the perfect place for me to relocate when my husband and daughter died. After two years of mourning with the comfort and support of my friends and parents, I had to do something. Thanks to the love, support, and anti-depressants, I was feeling some better. I needed to get on with my life, or so they all said. Al...

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The voices without, the voices within

Submitted to Contest #119

“It’s so quiet in here,” Tom always said when he came through the door. “You’d swear the world was ending out there, with the waves crashin’ and the wind blowin’, but in here not a peep.” I never answered, I only glanced at him and smiled. There was a lot to smile about back then. His head of thick blond hair, the smell of sweet lemon mint coming off him, those strong, reliable arms that used to carry me through each room of the house. I spent evenings just enjoying his presence, wondering how I got so lucky. I certainly didn’t deserve it. W...

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Books for Swapping

Submitted to Contest #119

He used to listen to Breakfast with Clive for an hour in the morning before flicking through the local paper, its corners speckled with sea spray and beginning to curl. Now he sits by the front door, waiting for the white and black to shoot through the letterbox and onto his stained cinnamon carpet. Sometimes thirty minutes, other times five. On days when the waves are tall and the windows leak, it may never arrive. A phantom rag. The analogue radio hasn’t moved. On the kitchen counter it chokes on dust, snug between the bread bin and t...

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The melody of the sea

Submitted to Contest #119

The sea. The waves. The sand. The wind. I desperately wanted to see them, to feel them, to hear them. I tried to call upon my memories, but they were blurred. A hand came onto my shoulder, startling me and taking me away from my thoughts. My eyes diverted from the beach painting facing me to the person who invaded my personal space. It was Violet, the medical electrocardiography manipulator. For a brief moment, I forgot I was in a waiting room, waiting for my weekly appointment. She beamed at me as she asked me to follow her.As usual, I sat ...

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Salt on the Air

Submitted to Contest #119

CW: referenced child death Originally, Cheyenne came for the view. She came to stand at the edge of the cliff and watch the waves crash against the rocks below while smelling the salt on the air and listening to the rush of the water. Instead, she mostly wound up staring at the little cottage farther along the cliff. Her cousin hadn’t mentioned it. But she supposed it wasn’t that noteworthy to the locals. Cheyenne wasn’t sure when her feet started moving, but soon enough, she was standing on the faded path that led to the cottage’s front...

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Sea For Yourself

Submitted to Contest #119

Sea for Yourself An old house sat on a beach, smoke slowly rose from its chimney. The Autumn wind carried the smoke high into the air, and through the hemlocks. The sky reflected off its many windows as it stood there, silently smoking. Dorian Marr sat in his red armchair, looking through the floor-to-ceiling window at the waves. He looked at his watch, and snapped his book shut. He then grabbed a bottle of pills from the little table. He took two with a glass of water.  At a very young age Dorian’s parents had taken him to the doctor...

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