Fifties by the Fire — a fifty-word, prompt-based writing challenge. Feel free to share your response below, or read and comment to join in on the fun.
Prompt: Write a fifty-word story (fiction, CNF, or poetry) about arrivals and departures. Write your piece about an arrival, a departure, or both.
Here are the other guidelines:
Make sure your piece is exactly fifty words. Feel free to use Word Counter or the word processor you use.
Write a title with the genre in the first line. (Example: Nights in Uganda, Fiction)
The title does not factor into the word count.
Good luck and have fun. Happy writing!
Special thanks to John Lightle for providing “Zurich Gate C7” for our writing prompt.
John Lightle is a Texas writer, poet, and photographer who spends many hours sitting on his woodpile contemplating. When away from his frame shop, he schleps his artwork among area art shows. The job takes him across the countryside, occasionally overseas, photographing the quiet resolve found within the golden hours.
It was so quiet. All you could hear were the military personnel moving in precision. Greg would have enjoyed seeing all the people who came out. It’s not every day that you see something so special as this. The dignified transfer was complete. A hero to us and finally home.
Goodbye for Now, Fiction [Departures]
Summer was over. A sadness drew over the whole family. Emily was going off to college to experience adulthood. How could we let her go? The release we felt was overwhelming. We were proud parents. Would she remember us? Of course, she’d be home for Christmas. See you soon honey!
3:45 arrival time, gate A13. I'm excited! Gate Kiosk: Delayed. Delayed. Delayed. Canceled. She sends a text - No more flights. I'll try tomorrow. Will keep you posted. I miss you. I depart from the airport and head home. I really miss her. Just more air travel bullshit. Tomorrow's another day.
The train was late, which meant I still had time to change my mind. But I knew in the marrow of my bones that I had opened a gate which could not be closed. I thought of the shop, and of her hair. I calmed. I waited.
She boarded the train that had just arrived and skillfully pickpocketed the wallet. It was time to depart at the next station when she faced the imposing train conductor. He too was impersonating under disguise hoping to find a suitable victim. Destiny provided him with a suitable life partner instead.
**I invite everyone to complete this story for me by adding one last word. What's your take?**
SHADOW-MAN, fiction
For years there was nobody. Then one morning a shadow~man began following me everywhere, teasing me, stepping on my heels. It was annoying. Slowly, he weaseled his way into my life. And my bed. He made himself right at home.
He’s gone now, and frankly, I feel a little ____________.
He stood at the end of the runway, watching the planes come and go, his fingers hooked through the chain link fence under the "No Trespassing - Airport Property" sign.
Trainspotting offers very little reward. Each day I scribble numbers into a dog-eared purple notebook with my stubby, chewed pencil. Today, an old man steps down, wreathed in steam. He places the tan leather valise onto the platform. He nods once, climbing stiffly into his carriage. I hesitate. Should I?
Imagine a world where new arrivals are 1,000% wiser than departed ones. Imagine how quickly society would change. What if baby prodigies arrived only to make the world a better place?
A place for learning, loving & sharing.
A place where there'd be no more violence. And no more wars.
Everyday, Mike conducted his train through the same stations, saying hello to everyone. Today was special. A little girl accompanied by her mother, came to him with a bundle of flowers and simply said: “Thank you for bringing my daddy home safe every day.”
After de sex night, the man leaves. Ana realizes that she didn't even know his name. When she arrives home, she thinks “an absent is someone who is no longer here, who no longer exists, someone who is not present, in the present. We all miss someone who is absent”.
The day we left, workers started cutting down old trees across the street. My mother wept for the trees and for us, going back north after four months under the same roof. The pandemic froze us in time-- the workers, the family. A gift we accepted with gratitude and guilt.
At 10:03, the train steamed into the station. At 10:07, the train steamed away. No passengers embarked or debarked. No footsteps raced to catch the train. No families stood to welcome a long lost child. No conductor cried, "All Aboard!"
The bomb destroyed life, but the machines remained.
“Passenger alert for today’s three o’clock Romanshorn / Zurich Express. After passing Winterhur, the train‘s traditional speed escalated from 55 km/hr to over a billion km/hr due to its molecular structure accidentally converting into pure massless photons, thus achieving faster than light speed. Swiss Rail apologises for its early arrival.”
An Early Arrival, fiction
“Next. When did you arrive?” asked the man at the gate. He clutched a book.
“Just now,” the man in line replied.
“Name?”
“Gregory Donahue.”
“How’d you die?”
“Plane, small engine.”
“Hmm…you’re early.” The man’s death date read: January 26, 2064.
“Forty years. Purgatory.” The skies opened. Gregory fell.
“Next.”
Unplanned Absence, fiction
“Mommy, when will Daddy be back?”
Bret held his father’s baseball cap in one hand and a baseball in the other.
“He won’t, sweetheart,” his mother replied, her voice heavy as she hugged him.
Bret’s face fell.
“Why?”
“He’s on a new journey, a new adventure,” she whispered, tears streaming.
Home, Fiction [Arrivals]
It was so quiet. All you could hear were the military personnel moving in precision. Greg would have enjoyed seeing all the people who came out. It’s not every day that you see something so special as this. The dignified transfer was complete. A hero to us and finally home.
Goodbye for Now, Fiction [Departures]
Summer was over. A sadness drew over the whole family. Emily was going off to college to experience adulthood. How could we let her go? The release we felt was overwhelming. We were proud parents. Would she remember us? Of course, she’d be home for Christmas. See you soon honey!
Canceled Flight. What’s New?
3:45 arrival time, gate A13. I'm excited! Gate Kiosk: Delayed. Delayed. Delayed. Canceled. She sends a text - No more flights. I'll try tomorrow. Will keep you posted. I miss you. I depart from the airport and head home. I really miss her. Just more air travel bullshit. Tomorrow's another day.
Late Train, fiction
The train was late, which meant I still had time to change my mind. But I knew in the marrow of my bones that I had opened a gate which could not be closed. I thought of the shop, and of her hair. I calmed. I waited.
Partners in crime, fiction
She boarded the train that had just arrived and skillfully pickpocketed the wallet. It was time to depart at the next station when she faced the imposing train conductor. He too was impersonating under disguise hoping to find a suitable victim. Destiny provided him with a suitable life partner instead.
**I invite everyone to complete this story for me by adding one last word. What's your take?**
SHADOW-MAN, fiction
For years there was nobody. Then one morning a shadow~man began following me everywhere, teasing me, stepping on my heels. It was annoying. Slowly, he weaseled his way into my life. And my bed. He made himself right at home.
He’s gone now, and frankly, I feel a little ____________.
Arriving Home-poetry
How do I know when I’m home?
Arriving home is more than crossing a threshold.
Home is not walls.
*
Is home confining or liberating?
Both?
*
I don’t know why, but
one must leave home to arrive home.
*
I don’t know what it is,
but when I arrive,
I will know.
The Planes Come and Go, CNF
He stood at the end of the runway, watching the planes come and go, his fingers hooked through the chain link fence under the "No Trespassing - Airport Property" sign.
She said she'd call, she said she'd write.
A year's gone by, and he's heard not a word.
She's a memory.
Waiting (flash fiction)
Trainspotting offers very little reward. Each day I scribble numbers into a dog-eared purple notebook with my stubby, chewed pencil. Today, an old man steps down, wreathed in steam. He places the tan leather valise onto the platform. He nods once, climbing stiffly into his carriage. I hesitate. Should I?
"Imagine Utopia" --Fiction
Imagine a world where new arrivals are 1,000% wiser than departed ones. Imagine how quickly society would change. What if baby prodigies arrived only to make the world a better place?
A place for learning, loving & sharing.
A place where there'd be no more violence. And no more wars.
The Train Anecdotes--Fiction
Everyday, Mike conducted his train through the same stations, saying hello to everyone. Today was special. A little girl accompanied by her mother, came to him with a bundle of flowers and simply said: “Thank you for bringing my daddy home safe every day.”
Tears rolled down his rugged face…
Gen-Z Arrival, Fiction
~~~
Macy glances up—Seatac baggage is just empty: forsaken, like Grandma's "guest room". Or home.
S'okay. They/Their world is online. Validation.
The red light spins. Thud! Even with earbuds, she hears the luggage arriving. Across the room she sees her parents approaching. Not smiling.
Back to her phone, they departs.
The absent man, Fiction:
After de sex night, the man leaves. Ana realizes that she didn't even know his name. When she arrives home, she thinks “an absent is someone who is no longer here, who no longer exists, someone who is not present, in the present. We all miss someone who is absent”.
Reset, Fiction
The day we left, workers started cutting down old trees across the street. My mother wept for the trees and for us, going back north after four months under the same roof. The pandemic froze us in time-- the workers, the family. A gift we accepted with gratitude and guilt.
Arrivals and Departure's, fiction
At 10:03, the train steamed into the station. At 10:07, the train steamed away. No passengers embarked or debarked. No footsteps raced to catch the train. No families stood to welcome a long lost child. No conductor cried, "All Aboard!"
The bomb destroyed life, but the machines remained.
Zurich Station Announcement, Fiction
“Passenger alert for today’s three o’clock Romanshorn / Zurich Express. After passing Winterhur, the train‘s traditional speed escalated from 55 km/hr to over a billion km/hr due to its molecular structure accidentally converting into pure massless photons, thus achieving faster than light speed. Swiss Rail apologises for its early arrival.”
These are all great!!