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January Challenge - "She vanished just as the year ended"

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Through time by Lkenny
884/5 (1)000

She vanished just as the year ended, only wanting to change her life for the better. Her name is Jenny Holloway a 34 year old woman a lonely librarian in a small town. She has no friends ,only the community elderly that frequently visit the library to chat about bygone days. Jennys life has become a humdrum ,boring life she needs at make a decision to move on . After her day at work she decided to make a change, she looked for a home to rent with option to buy in the rural part of Pennsylvania. She spoke to a real-estate agent by the name of Richard Wolf who lived near the Pennsylvania property. Jenny had an appointment to meet up with Richard the following day. She drove to the property and met Richard who was already there. Richard was a stately sort of gentleman. Well dressed to impress. That he did . Jenny was very impressed she noticed he did not have a wedding band. Thoughts of friendship crossed Jennys mind as well as other thoughts. The home was built in the 1800s. Jenny loved the wrap around porch. As they entered the front door and walked down the hall way . It was time to explore this beautiful home. Jenny loved every inch of the home.They began to go downstairs to the large basement. Jenny tripped on a wooden door on the floor. Richard helped her to her feet. What could this be Jenny stated? Richard replied it looks as if it could be an under ground railroad, an escape tunnel for slaves. Jenny was very curious she looked around for something to pry the hatch open. She came across a crow bar lying in the corner of the basement .Richard took the bar and put it under the latch to lift the slab of wood and to dislodge the door.Grunting with all his might he was able to pry the door open. A very musty smell came from the dusty, cobweb filled hole. There were very steep stairs leading downwards. Luckily Jenny had a small flashlight in her purse. She aimed the light down the hole wondering what she will find.They both entered the unknown being cautious not to fall down the steep stairs. Richard brushed away the cobwebs. Jenny followed holding Richards hand to keep steady. Suddenly a huge bang came from above .The door had slammed shut and Jenny lost her flashlight. She cautiously started upward to try to open the door Richard followed .The door was too heavy the only way was down. Darkness prevailed . Jenny slipped and both tumbled down The stairs into the abiss. Bruised and luckily not hurt badly they slowly walked on.They came to another door Richard pushed it open a gush of wind pulled them down farther and farther. Spiraling deeper and deeper into the unknown. Not knowing, not hearing, not seeing the nothing had succumbed them .Feeling as if they had fainted. Waking up not knowing where they were only to look around noticing a huge field of grass and corn. Jenny and Richard had woken up in the back yard of the home Jenny was going to purchase. Everything was different as if they had woken up in the 1800s.Not being able to return to the life they both once knew. They tried to adapt in their new world It was a different place from the year 2011. Jennys life was about to change for the better. The house became a home for her and Richard her newfound husband. They lived happily and started a family .She will embellish ever bit of her new found existence. Life changes in mysterious ways, you need to embellish every bit of it. Sometimes for the better and sometimes not knowing where life will take you and with whom you will enter the unknown with. Living to the fullest of your expectations is what life is about and all that matters .Vanishing in her previous life to make it better. Jenny had found pure happiness in a new world through time.

Damned Curse by JThurn
76-000

She vanished just as the year ended because of a curse. She is not mundane, she is from a parrallel mystic world. She is in love with a handsome human guy who she meets on every new year's day. One time he finally tries to break the damned curse. 

Seek And You Will Find by davidkotok
82-000

She has disappeared, just as the New Year celebrations are to reach their climax. She often disappears. Rather she hides, and it's his role to find her. But the timing his wrong. He follows the clues to look for her, hoping to do so quickly to re-join the celebrations. He finds her, but not where either of them expected or wanted to be.

Withdrawn by tezz597
70-000

The story starts with a girl disappearing, but was she ever really gone? A bit sadder than your average challenge entry, but I hope you enjoy. This story is written in first and third person, in an unusual format that seems more poem than narrative.

A dark Past by GruberA
93-000

Leaving in the Republic of Ireland, I created a story which involves the Magdalene Laundries, which existed in Northern and in the Republic of Ireland. I set the story in the year 1996, so no cell phone etc. existed, as we know it today. It is hardly mentioned what happened at the crime scene, ore what stood in the diary. All persons are fictional, so made up by myself. I do not know, if a similar case once happened, but I think it did not, so also that crime is made up.

What is not fictunal is, that the last Laundry did close in 1996 in Dublin. Also some other things which are mentioned, like, when another Laundry was closed, or how they could find some mass graves can be read at the internet, although I did not go too much into details, so it does not get too terrible for reading it. Yes it is a sad ending, but I also tried there to be as positive as possible. I have no clue, what I am allowed to write in todays world, but I tried to write so nice as I could. To be honest, every real news, for all when war is involved are more cruel, than what I wrote, still you will realise it is a crime story. I know, that normally you write a summery of the story, but I wanted to make clear, that this is not a true story, that only some places existed in reality, but none of the persons mentioned or the story itself happened in that way. The one or other thing I have from news-article of BBC and Co.

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The Crimson Echo by SZ007
182-000

The Crimson Echo


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The final chime by rhalemus
78-000

Them. New Year’s Eve- New Year

"She vanished just as the year ended. I don’t know how else to put it." Annie’s husband was trying to explain what had happened to the police officer taking his statement, though he didn’t understand it himself.

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Such a Shame by Dee_Binkies
75-000

A woman has vanished, but no matter how hard she tries, no one will tell Patience who the woman is, or what happened. Why is everyone keeping the truth from her?

When the Year Stopped Cold by Giftindex
435-010

On a frigid New Year’s Eve, Donna disappears, leaving behind only a faint trail of footprints in the snow that mysteriously ends beneath the old sycamore tree. The heart of her neighborhood and the glue of her family, her absence sends shockwaves through her husband, David, and neighbor, James. As fear and unanswered questions mount, the search for Donna grows desperate. With every passing day, the silence grows louder, and the freezing winter air becomes heavy with longing, guilt, and unspoken truths. As the snow blankets the town in stillness, those left behind are forced to confront not only the mystery of her disappearance but their own fears of what might never be found.


The Inheritance of Shadows by rsmak
CompleteMatureContemporary
1924.80/5 (10)070

When my mother took her life the day before the winter solstice, five days before Christmas, she didn’t just leave me behind—she left me with an inheritance I couldn’t refuse. Darkness became my shadow, grief my companion, and every step forward felt like slipping further into her absence. But the body has a way of keeping score, and now mine has secrets it refuses to let me ignore. This is the story of reckoning with what we inherit, what we bury, and what refuses to stay buried.

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