My First Short Story Contest Entry

Well, this isn’t a typical blog post entry – it’s not related to marketing or running a business or anything else I usually share here. It’s actually a short fiction romance story!

A few months ago, Facebook decided that I, a content writer and marketing coach, would be interested to see an ad about the 2023 Short Story Challenge hosted by NYCMidnight. I clicked the link, paid the entry fee, and proceeded to write and submit my entry per the contest rules.

The Contest Rules

The story had to be:

• No more than 2,500 words
• Within assigned parameters for genre, subject, and character
• Written within 8 days of assignment receipt

Everyone who entered was assigned to different groups, and my assignments were as follows:

• Genre = Romance
• Subject = Meteoric
• Character = A Dog Walker

Now, I can write blog posts and social media captions all day long, but this was my first attempt at fiction writing since I was in gradeschool. As a reader, romance isn’t normally my genre of choice, and by default my story ended up a bit Nicholas Sparks-ish.

My story wasn’t chosen to advance to round 2, but the overall feedback from the judges was good. Nonetheless, I thought it would be fun to share it here. Without further introduction, here it is!

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When the Past Becomes the Future

Like shooting stars, sometimes love vanishes into the night. But, sometimes it comes back.

“That’s a good boy, Charlie,” she said to him as they walk up the path toward Maude’s oceanfront beach cottage. Charlie is a gentle and loving golden retriever who is the perfect companion for Maude. The widowed, free-spirited woman has become one of Olivia’s dearest friends over the past few years.

Olivia comes by every morning to take Charlie for a walk on the beach, and Maude often invites her to stay afterward for a cup of coffee. She can’t always stay but cherishes the mornings when she joins Maude in the rocking chairs on the deck. They’ve had countless beautiful conversations with each other in these chairs while enjoying the ocean breeze and salt air of Sunset Beach, North Carolina.

This morning, though, she can’t stay. She regretfully asks Maude for a raincheck and hugs her goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says before she lets herself out the front door.

Several hours later, Olivia receives a phone call from an unrecognized number that makes her gasp.

It was the emergency room at the hospital. Maude had fallen and broken her arm. She was currently in surgery and was going to be fine, but she was very concerned about Charlie. “Of course,” Olivia said. “I’ll go over and hang out with Charlie right away. Please tell Maude not to worry. When can I come to visit her?”

After a nice long walk with Charlie the next morning, Olivia gave him a few extra treats and told him she’d see him later. He was smart and knew something wasn’t quite right. “I’m going to go see your momma,” she said. He wagged his tail at her as if to let her know he understood.

A short time later, Olivia walked into Maude’s hospital room, where she was resting in bed while reading her morning newspaper. She gave her a gentle hug and exclaimed, “What happened? I was so worried about you!” Maude explained that she was preparing lunch when her cane got caught on the corner of the dining room table. She didn’t realize it in time and lost her balance. “It happened so fast,” Maude said. “Then I just pressed the button on my necklace, and here we are.”

They visited for a bit longer, and then Maude got very quiet. “There’s something I need to tell you, dear,” she said.

Olivia was immediately concerned, as it wasn’t like Maude to be so serious.

“I talked to Nathan last night. Olivia, he’s going to come home and help me for a few weeks after I get out of here.”

Olivia’s heart caught in her throat. She hadn’t seen Maude’s nephew in nearly six years, and the last time they spoke was an emotional farewell.

While walking on the beach on what began as a beautiful evening together, they were watching shooting stars cross the black sky over the Atlantic Ocean. Their lighthearted discussion started with the observation that you rarely only see one shooting star – if you spot one, you can almost always spot a second. Then, they talked about how shooting stars are actually meteors and speculated about the origin of the most recent one.

After insisting that the latest flash of meteoric light had to have been a space rock that flew off the moon, Nathan grabbed Olivia’s hands and said, “Sweetheart, I have a big idea, and I am excited to share it with you.”

He took a deep breath and told her that he wanted to move to California and put his newly obtained computer engineering degree to use in Silicon Valley. “I want you to come with me,” he said.

Olivia had always imagined living a carefree life together on this island they both called home. She never imagined living anywhere else.

“I’m sorry I haven’t said anything sooner. I always thought I wanted the same things as you. I love it here too, and I love you. But, I also want to see what else is out there. Will you come with me?”

While trying to catch her breath, Olivia quietly replied, “I love it here.”

The conversation continued, and ultimately, though she loved Nathan and couldn’t imagine her life without him, she wasn’t willing to go – and he wasn’t willing to stay.

Just like the shooting stars they were admiring earlier that night, Nathan was gone – and due to a busy work schedule and the fact that time seems to fly by, he hadn’t been back since.

That was the last time they spoke.

 Olivia’s mind wandered back to the present, where Maude was looking at her with concerned eyes.

Maude said, “They are letting me out of the hospital on Friday, so he’ll be arriving Thursday night.”

While recovering from the news, Olivia told Maude that Charlie had been staying at her house since yesterday. “Okay. I’m glad to hear that he will be here to help you. I’ll keep Charlie at my house until Friday for you,” she said.

“Thank you, dear, that’s very kind of you,” Maude said. “Charlie loves you so much.”

“Olivia, are you okay?”

Olivia, trying to keep it together, said, “Of course. What happened between us was a long time ago. Thank you for letting me know.”

“I’m going to let you get some rest. I will come back and visit tomorrow, and bring Charlie home on Friday,” she said.

 When she got home from the hospital, Olivia gave Charlie extra snuggles and treats and told him about Maude and how she was doing. She also talked to him about Nathan’s impending return and how it would be to see him again. She wasn’t sure how she felt about this news.

Several years have passed, and she has moved on. Sure, she was single now, but she had been in other relationships since Nathan left. She had moved on. Hadn’t she? Charlie looked at her with his big brown eyes, which didn’t help her answer the question, but did offer some extra comfort anyway. “It will be fine, Charlie. We’ve both moved on.”

Before they knew it, it was Friday, and it was time to take Charlie home. “Let’s go for a ride, buddy,” she said to him. Charlie, as if he knew where they were going, excitedly jumped in the car.

As they pulled into Maude’s driveway, she noticed a rental car, letting her know Nathan and Maude were already home from the hospital.

Charlie bounded up the steps to the back door and was met by Nathan, who was smiling directly at Olivia while she walked up the steps.

“Liv, it’s so good to see you. You look beautiful,” Nathan said.

Olivia had mentally prepared for this moment but still struggled to say, “Hey, Nate. It’s so great to see you too. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances. How’s Maude?”

Nathan led her in, where Charlie was (gently) giving Maude all the kisses he had missed over the past few days. Maude was giggling while saying hello to Olivia. “Thanks again dear, it was so nice to know Charlie was in good hands while I was in the hospital.”

Olivia stays for a short time, chatting with Maude and making small talk with Nathan. He will stay with Maude for two weeks, and then she will hire an assistant as needed until her cast comes off. They decide that Olivia will continue her daily walks with Charlie, and she tells them she will see them tomorrow as she heads out the door.

As she was heading down the steps, Nathan calls out after her. “Liv, do you want to go out and grab a pizza with me tonight? I’ll get Maude situated in her chair after dinner and meet you at Leo’s?”

Her mind, scrambling to think of a reason – any reason – why she couldn’t do that with him, couldn’t think of a viable excuse. “Sure. I’ll see you there at 8:00 pm,” she said.

That night, they shared a pizza while catching up on each other’s lives. Nathan talked about his career and what he loves about living in California. Olivia shared about her love for walking dogs for her clients in the mornings before she spends her afternoons writing her next novel.

They both talked about being currently single but carefully avoided any relationship specifics. They didn’t talk about the last time they had seen each other, either.

After an hour that seemed like five minutes, they decided they should head back and check on Maude. They wrapped up the last few pieces of pizza so she could enjoy them for lunch tomorrow.

When they arrived, she was in the middle of watching a movie. She requested some popcorn and water and then insisted they go for a walk on the beach.

Olivia grabbed Charlie, and they headed down the beach path toward the water. With the moonlight sparkling against the ocean, Olivia couldn’t help but think back to the last night she and Nathan walked on the beach together, when her vision for her life crashed down before her eyes, just like one of the shooting stars they had admired earlier.

She saw a shooting star.

Nathan saw it too.

He said, “Liv, I’m sorry that we haven’t spoken in so long. I’m sorry things were left the way they were. I’m sorry you didn’t come with me. I’m not sorry that I went, but I sure have missed you.”

“Thank you,” Olivia said. “I wish things had been different too, but I don’t regret staying.”

They continued to walk along the beach, with Charlie wandering in and out of the water like he always did.

Over the two weeks, Olivia continued her morning walks with Charlie. Some mornings, Nathan went with them, and they talked and laughed as they walked along the beach. When they were together, it felt just the same as it always had.

One morning as they were walking, Nathan let Olivia know he was leaving for California the next day. Maude was getting along nicely, and it was time for him to return to work.

He was leaving.

Again.

“Liv,” he said gently. “Will you come with me?”

Olivia wasn’t surprised. They had gotten along so well over the past several days, and she could easily see their relationship resuming, almost as if they were never apart. She had let herself dream of this moment, though she instead had envisioned him saying, “I’m going to stay here with you.”

She looked at him and through tears, said, “Nate, I’m so sorry. Nothing has changed for me. I still love you, and I still want to be with you. But, I still don’t want to leave. I can’t go with you.”

That evening, she took a solo walk on the beach. While she walked, she looked at the sky. She realized yet again, those shooting stars were just like Nathan. They are here for us to enjoy for a glorious snippet of time, and before we are ready, they are gone.

The next morning when she went to pick up Charlie, the rental car was no longer in the driveway. Nathan was gone. Maude quietly said good morning, obvious concern in her eyes.

“I’m okay, Maude. We obviously just aren’t meant to be together,” Olivia said as she walked Charlie out the door as quickly as possible so Maude couldn’t see the tears running down her face.

Maude watched out the window as Olivia and Charlie walked towards the beach. She could see Olivia wiping her face a few times and knew her sweet young friend was heartbroken, again.

She shook her head, wondering how two people who were so in love with each other could both be so stubborn. Location, after all, is just location. Why can’t they see the mistake it is to waste this gift of love?

Olivia stayed for coffee after her walk with Charlie. Maude was doing well, but Olivia had cleared her morning schedule a bit over the next few weeks so she could spend some extra time with her. They sat on the deck and rocked, where she admitted to Maude that she did still love Nathan.

Over the next few weeks, Maude enjoyed her increased coffee chats with Olivia. Maude talked to Olivia about her late husband and how much fun they used to have traveling around the world together. She talked about their decision to not have children and admitted that she also wished her only nephew would live closer to home.

Surprisingly, one morning while Olivia was washing their coffee cups before saying goodbye to Maude, there was a knock on the back door. Before she had time to look up, she was shocked to hear, “Hey, Liv.”

“Nathan! What are you doing here? Uhh … I mean … it’s nice to see you. Maude’s out on the deck,” she said.

He said, “I came to talk to you.”

Olivia looked at him, wondering what he had to say that would have required him to take another flight across the country.

“I told you I didn’t regret leaving the first time, but I do. I regret it every day. I also regret leaving again a few weeks ago. Only this time, I was smart enough to realize it. I don’t want to live in California without you. I don’t want to live anywhere without you,” he said.

She didn’t have any words, but she smiled and nodded in agreement. He came over to where she was standing and embraced her with a kiss. She kissed him back, but then stopped.

“But, how is this going to work? Where are we going to live,” she asked.

Nathan replied, “We’ll figure it out together.”

“We both know that the only thing better than one shooting star … is two.”