Congratulations to Arjun T., grade 11, at Twin Hickory Area Library! Arjun’s short story was randomly selected as this week’s Summer Stories Teen Writing Contest winner. Arjun will receive a copy of Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith.
Week 3 Prompt: You find out that you had a great aunt you never knew about who has died and left you a home in a foreign country…
Arjun’s Winning Story:
As I read my great-aunt’s will, I kept pondering my inclusion in it. Raised by a solitary uncle after my parents’ death, I never knew the rest of my family – Uncle Charlie never cared much for his relatives, and I guess it rubbed off on me. For the life of me, I couldn’t fathom why my great-aunt even mentioned me in the will, let alone leave me her house in Europe.
I walked out the lawyer’s office, still curious, but a little worried. As I mindlessly fiddled with my phone, my mind stayed fixed on the house as I wrestled with what to do next. The answer came surprisingly quickly, and within the next week, I was headed to Switzerland.
The little cottage stood at the top of a grassy knoll, surrounded by bucolic scenery. Relaxed, I opened the door and walked in. Unlike the rest of the house, the bedroom was the only area where there was no space to place anything. It was a spacious room, full of photos and images – many faces in the pictures were of my parents, Uncle Charlie, and some of which I believed to be my great aunt. Through the pictures, I started to learn more about my parents and their life. The voids which were in my heart through my whole life began to be filled with memories of my past. This new house gave me a new past, a new present, and a beginning to a new future.
Don’t miss your chance to win! Submit your original story in response to this week’s prompt.
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