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Write a story about a child overhearing something they don’t understand.

Posted in Kids on May 10, 2024

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✍️ 59 stories

Rhymes with Pepsi

Winner of Contest #250 🏆

Dad did not like summer. “A little respiratory problem,” I overheard him tell the neighbour on one side of our house, but that was not why; I could hear the regular sigh of his breath when we watched TV together. “A minor circulatory thing,” I overheard him tell the other neighbour, but that was also not why because I could hear the steady ba-dump of his heart when I put my ear on his swollen belly. He just did not like the heat, I decided, like he did not like Coke but I did. The afternoon heat would drive us to the depths of the old stone ...

125 likes 91 comments 91
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Secrets of the Great Gold Rush of the Mystical Coast

Submitted to Contest #250

“Gold! …Pure gold!...river...”Twelve-year-old Elsie’s eyes widened when she heard the words and she strained to hear around the corner. Gold! At the river! Was it at their river?It was 1898 at the lighthouse on the Mystical Coast remote wilderness. A group of visitors came to shore in the surfboat from the ship acting as supplies tender.“set up a cook fire…baking…sourdough.”“selling sourdough pancakes to the gold miners…”“cold water in the river…waded…gold nuggets…”Elsie could only hear a few words here and there.“bears…salmon…fishing…p...

29 likes 23 comments 23
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When Two and Two Make Five

Submitted to Contest #250

“Crazy people can do the damnedest things.”That’s what I remember overhearing Max say to mother in a voice just above a whisper before the cops arrived. He had had one too many glasses of Conundrum wine, and I had ripped up all the carpeting in his house.Mother, born Maria Elena Grimaldi, had been seeing Max for fourteen months and twelve days, little under thirty-seven million seconds. I know because I remember her telling me she met Max when he started working with her at Caesars Palace and I have some obsession with figuring out...

27 likes 14 comments 14
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Roadkill

Submitted to Contest #250

“Is she dead?”  “She sure is, poor thing. I hate to see that. She shoulda listened to her momma.”  The older girl standing with the bus driver was waiting to get off. The girl's purple backpack had bright chains of beads hanging from it. They made a swishing noise as the bus passed over the bumps along Cherry Street.  It was the first day, so everyone’s clothes, their shoes, their bags, all looked new and uncrumpled. And there was a certain smell in the air inside the classrooms and even now in the old bus. Like a fresh coat ...

26 likes 11 comments 11
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Tennis At Mar-a-Lago

Submitted to Contest #250

Ayesha was ambitious, good at school, and now had a real job. When her mom asked her to keep an eye on Dad, the pint-sized first-grader took the assignment to heart. Later that afternoon, on hearing noises in her dad’s study, she tiptoed to the door. The wood felt rough as she pressed her ear against it. Her heart raced in anticipation. From TV, she knew parents usually take drugs or kiss other people behind closed doors.Dad was talking, but the words he used were confusing. “The testicular biopsy results show a stage 3 carcinoma…” He w...

18 likes 10 comments 10
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Booming Dunes

Submitted to Contest #250

 I knew the sound vibrating from your throat would pour like sand down mine. I knew my stomach would squeeze hunger when you closed the curtains on the day. I knew the walls would shriek when I saw you staring into your palm. I knew Henry would never fix it. The TV was on, and Barney was singing. The moan was back, and you stared deep into it. It was pressed in the middle of your palm, a red dot punched into skin by the tip of the knife you use to carve turkey on Christmas day. You were master of the blade and you stopped before the we...

13 likes 12 comments 12
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Chrissy Lynn and the Chicken Pops

Submitted to Contest #250

 When Ron and Rhoda Hatfield moved into Commonwealth Subdivision with their little daughter, Chrissy Lynn, they were by far the youngest people there. Most of their neighbors were elderly. Krissy Lynn was the only child in the neighborhood. They were glad when the Riggins family moved next door. There were Luke and Hannah Riggins and their three sons: Matthew, Mark, and John. Ron and Rhoda agreed that it was good for Chrissy Lynn to have other kids around.The three Riggins boys were all older than little Chrissy Lynn, but Chrissy loved ...

11 likes 6 comments 6
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Can You See Something Right Now?

Submitted to Contest #250

Hannah took off her headphones and looked straight at me. “This is going to be the greatest holiday ever!” she squealed. I had to agree. Jasper was the most epic place I could imagine and I was going there with my family, but, more importantly, my best friend in the world, Hannah. She was usually busy with her equestrian training but this summer her training schedule changed and she was able to join us. I couldn’t believe our luck. Hannah pointed into the distance ahead of us. “The mountains!” “Yes,” my dad warned, “But it will still be at l...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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Payback

Submitted to Contest #250

I stole up to the back door like a drug dealer, searching for his stash. The porch was rotten, its railing swaying in the breeze. I steady it, thinking there is so much worth saving here. The wooden support beams are shot, I reckon. Nothing I built so long ago was ever done right.On this mousy night, the backlight plays to vehicular wreckage—dim nineties carcasses of everyone's pride and joy heaped together.“I’ll fix that one soon!” Johnny said six years ago. I'm still waiting on that! Could he rustle up more stolen garage queens to pay for ...

10 likes 8 comments 8
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Upstairs

Submitted to Contest #250

In the shadows, that’s where they hide. At least in the daytime, that is. When the sun’s out, they cower under the shade of elm trees, under beds, and in closets—and they stay there. When the sun goes down, however, they come out of the shadows.No, that isn’t right. They come out at night, that is true, but they don’t come out of the shadows. Rather, the shadows spread. At night, everything is immersed in shadow. At night the world belongs to them. A shark won't attack if you’re on land, but one foot in the ocean and you’re fair game. B...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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The Rainbow Bridge

Submitted to Contest #250

“My dad said that Blue is going to cross the rainbow bridge tomorrow. They’re taking him to the vet for the procedure. ” Jack heard his dad say.Jack knew that when his Dad talked about his dad, he meant Grandpa. Grandpa was his dad’s dad. Blue was Grandpa’s dog. He wondered why his Dad was talking to his mom about Blue. And what was the Rainbow Bridge? Was the bridge at the vet’s office?“Oh no,” his mom sighed. “That’s so hard. So very sad. How are we going to tell Jack?”Jack's face grew warm as he heard his name. He didn’t want his parents ...

10 likes 4 comments 4
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What is a Monster?

Submitted to Contest #250

Daddy’s face whitens, like someone is sucking all the color out of him. “Daddy?”               He stabs his phone with his finger, and jams it to his ear. “Janie, I need you to meet me at St. John’s Memorial. Something happened to Amanda.” He looks right through me. “Yeah, she’s with me.” His voice shakes. “I can’t do this.”               He scoops me up without any warning. I yelp. He carries ...

8 likes 3 comments 3
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Lessons Learned

Submitted to Contest #250

The shield in my left hand reverberated with a loud “Tang” as the sword crashed down upon it, sending a jolt of vibration through my arm.  My sword came down upon my opponents shield, metal clashed against metal, creating a cacophony of “Tang!” “Tang!” that reverberated through the crisp air.  As I pushed forward with determination, I could feel the weight of my opponent’s shield pressing against mine, the metallic grinding filling my ears. Suddenly, a distant voice to my right broke through the intensity of our battle, calling ...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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What is Cancer?

Submitted to Contest #250

"Five red shells," counts Julie as she carefully places five tiny sea shells in front of her. "Twelve round rocks," she continues, revealing a dozen perfectly round rocks. "Six pebbles!" she finishes with a big grin.The six-year-old counts her collection of nice objects, making sure that nothing has been lost in the move. Her treasure chest is full of the prettiest items Julie has discovered. Each one is separated into columns to keep them in piles.Julie has been told that she is special compared to other kids. Something ...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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Would you share it?

Submitted to Contest #250

He should be sleeping like a baby but Leo woke up in the middle of the night: someone was screaming. It was not a dream, nor one of those nightmares he had had in the past days- since his mother had left the house without any explanation. Mum was back, and everything was as normal as ever. There was no reason to be sad or afraid; still, he was. The boy tried to get the light switch, but the little white box slipped out of his reach, so he walked in the dark towards the corridor. Silence. There were no noises downstairs, and the dog...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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