You may remember that a few weeks ago on TWOsday, February 22, 2022, I had a writing challenge. The challenge was to write a story (or more than one if you wanted) that was either 22 words, 222 words, or 2,222 words long about one of the pictures I shared. I wasn’t sure if I’d actually get anyone to write a story, but to my delighted surprise I ended up with eight different writers. Some send in multiple stories, others just did one.

Today I have some story winners! It was hard to pick winners.

Our first category is the 22 word stories.

There were 4 entries for this one and since they are so short, I’m going to share my top 2 favorites.

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Our second category is the 222 word stories:

I will say this was hard. I liked all six stories submitted, but was able to narrow it down to three, and finally decided on the winner.

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Third category is the long 2,222 word stories:

I had two entries for this one and they were both good. I had to think about it before I could decide.

Not finishing her sentence for a moment more, she pulled out of the gas station and headed down the highway that would soon lead to her parents’ house.

“Just what?” Aubrey pressed, leaning forward and catching her best friend’s eye.

Kaitlyn cast her eyes back on the road. “You know that street a couple roads past the church? The one that runs parallel to my street?”

Aubrey ran the end of her red braid across her chin, looking out the window. “You mean the one with the horses and old houses and stuff?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, what about it?” Aubrey shifted in her seat. It was a trait Kaitlyn had known about her since they were girls, but that she had become well acquainted with in the last year and a half or so that they had been roommates in college: Aubrey didn’t like to wait, especially not when she was interested in what you were saying and deemed you were taking too long to say it. 

“Well, when we used to drive home from school, I used to watch for this big barn through the trees. It was on that road, but way farther down than the house with the horses.” She paused, studying the road as it passed under the car. 

“And?”

“I used to think that it was really pretty, kinda quaint. It seemed old-looking, and I used to dream about if I owned it. But I never actually went down the road that far and saw it, except through the trees.”

“Huh.” Aubrey continued rubbing the end of her braid back and forth across her chin, looking out the window at the spring scenery flying by. “I think I might know which one you’re talking about,” her voice trailed off. “It was old and standing off by itself.”

Kaitlyn cast her a hopeful glance. “You’ve been there?”

“Oh, no,” Aubrey shook her head, “Just saw it through the trees, like you.” 

A few seconds of silence, except for the humming of the engine in the car, filled the air. “Think we could find it?” Kaitlyn spoke up, not taking her eyes off the road.

“Maybe if we drove down there far enough. But why would we do that?”

“Oh,” Kaitlyn gave a little shrug, “I don’t know. I just got to thinking about it. I admired it all that time without ever even driving past it. But now that I’ve been away so long,” she shrugged again and glanced down at the clock on the dash. “We only have like twenty more minutes of driving. I told Mom between 4:30 and 6:00, and it’s only 3:45 right now.” Kaitlyn glanced at her friend for confirmation, then brought her eyes back to her driving. 

“Well, maybe we should,” Aubrey’s voice had grown a bit higher pitched as it did when she had taken to an idea. “It could be an adventure. I mean, two girls, who all they ever do is sit in classrooms and do homework late at night together—”

“And eat chips sitting in bed at 1:00 in the morning,” Kaitlyn interrupted, grinning slyly.

“Oh, whatever, that too,” Aubrey admitted. “But it takes away from the feelings of pity for us one might get if we just left it at the classroom part. So,” she clapped her hands together, “Two girls, who just do schoolwork together all the time for weeks on end, go check out an old barn together on a trip to escape the grinding life they’re used to. Little did they know,” here she paused for dramatic effect, “That they would discover secrets hid from the world for centuries, for reasons that nobody knows.”

Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow. “You sure you haven’t been spending too much time in that literature class of yours? You’re sounding a little dreamy.”

Aubrey nudged her with her elbow. “Probably. But, hey, you’re the one who wants to go check out some old barn on a whim.”

****

The car was silent as Kaitlyn maneuvered it down the gravel road, both girls too busy watching out the windshield to say anything. The pavement had ended a few yards back, dropping off at the rough road, wider in some places than others because of the grass that had taken root on the sides and was gradually moving inward, they were now making their way down. 

Nothing but rolling, grassy, almost-entirely open fields with trees in the back of them and little pink and white flowers swaying in the breeze met their eyes as far down as they could see. Despite the long grass and untended look of the road, it was a picturesque scene, undisturbed by the sounds of busy lives just a couple roads behind the trees, and possessing a peaceful, yet also slightly mysterious, feel in the air. 

“I wonder how far down the barn is.” Kaitlyn’s voice was low.

“I know.” Both continued watching out the windows, peering into the distance, though a few trees and a turn in the road blocked the view.

“Oh,” Aubrey spoke up, pointing out the glass, “Is that it?”

Kaitlyn followed her gaze to the peak of a wooden building on the other side of a cluster of trees. “Maybe,” she murmured. She turned the steering wheel to go around the curve in the road. Subconsciously holding her breath, she watched as they rounded the dark trees. 

“There it is!” Aubrey sat up straighter in her seat.

“Yeah,” Kailtyn’s voice trailed, her eyes for several seconds never leaving the wooden barn set back on a grassy hill. Turning the car to the side of the road, she slowed it to a stop. They sat parked by a low, wooden fence several yards away from the hill.

“Should we get out?” Kaitlyn finally asked, reaching down to the buckle of her seat belt.

Aubrey nodded, unstrapping her own seat belt. “It’s almost eerie feeling,” she whispered.

“I know.” Kaitlyn paused, then caught her friend’s eye. “Should we be doing this?”

Hesitating for just a moment, Aubrey nodded. “Totally.” After taking a deep breath, she pushed open the car door and stepped out. “Come on, Kaits,” she motioned, using Kaitlyn’s nickname she had given her years ago.

“Okay.” Taking just one last glance at the field and trees surrounding them, Kaitlyn slipped out and joined Aubrey on the other side of the car. 

“Ready?” Aubrey asked.

Kaitlyn let out a slight nervous, yet excited, giggle. “As ready as I’m gonna get.” She slipped her hand inside of her friend’s. “I am excited to finally get a good look at it.”

“Then let’s go,” Aubrey swung Kaitlyn’s arm and pulled her along through the long,wet grass up to the wooden fence. Kaitlyn followed her lead, stepping over the low fence, and then put one foot in front of another, ignoring the itching sensation the grass brought as it whisked against her legs. She focused instead on the beautiful flowers surrounding her, the mysterious barn looming on the hill above, the shaded atmosphere the clouds cast over the field, and the adventure of it all. 

After a few moments of tramping, they stood at the bottom of the hill, facing the back of the old structure. Dirt was ingrained into the rough wood, some pieces of which were splitting with age and wear. Overgrown shrubbery lined the bottom of the wall. Kaitlyn just stood there, staring above them. A tingle went down her spine.

“Wow,” Aubrey spoke up. “Why does an old barn feel so—” she fumbled for the right words, “so delightfully scary?” 

Kaitlyn let out a giggle. “Should we—go in it?” 

Aubrey’s eyes jerked onto her. “Go in it?”

Kaitlyn gave a hesitant nod. “I mean, it doesn’t look like anyone is here who owns it.”

“Yeah, but would somebody mind?” Aubrey’s eyes held concern, but yet a touch of hope and excitement as well. 

Kaitlyn shrugged the tiniest bit. “I guess there are those stories about old men sitting with shot guns across their chests to protect their property. But that’s just in stories, right?”

Aubrey didn’t say anything for a moment, just stared around the barn in the direction of the main entrance to it, but then squeezed Kaitlyn’s hand. “Hopefully. Come on.” She pulled her friend’s arm after her as she stepped forward. 

Tramping through the grass, Kaitlyn subconsciously stepping lightly, they made their way around the barn to stand at the front entrance. It was barred with two rotting wooden planks. 

“Think we can move them?” Aubrey stepped up to the tall doors. 

“Uh,” a smile tugged at Kaitlyn’s lips, “We can sure try.” She joined her friend and grabbed the end of the plank closest to her as Aubrey grabbed it farther down. 

“1, 2, 3,” Aubrey counted. Struggling a bit against the rust on the metal the boards sat inside combined with the weight of the boards, they pushed it up and over the lock. After repeating the same process with the second board, Aubrey slipped her hand inside the barn door. “Ready?” An almost- mischievious smile played at her lips.

Kaitlyn just nodded, slipping her hand into the other door and pulling it open. Sunlight illuminated the form of the sprawling room before them, but not enough to feel comfortable venturing inside. 

“Got a flashlight?” Kaitlyn asked.

Aubrey reached inside the pocket of her denim jacket and pulled out her bright pink one. “Never go far without it.” She pushed it on and shone it into the barn, venturing one step into the musty interior.

Kaitlyn followed her lead. To the corner of the door, Aubrey’s flashlight fell on a small rectangular table with four chairs surrounding it. A stained and slightly ripped table liner ran down the middle, ending in a pile in the floor because of the inadequate size of the table.“Not what I was expecting to see,” Aubrey remarked, turning her flashlight off of it and taking a step farther into the barn. 

The beam fell on a few feet of emptiness, except for one lone piece of paper folded up in the floor. Kaitlyn reached down and picked it up, unfolding it. A child’s scrawl filled it. “Sittin room. No fernatur becuz its xpensiv and we hav no monie,” she read out loud. 

Aubrey let out a half-intrigued yet half-amused laugh. “I wonder what that’s about.” She walked out to the middle of the barn and turned the flashlight to illuminate the rest of the room. Next to the “sitting room” were four ratted blankets spread out on the floor. The rest of that side held nothing.

“It almost looks like a playhouse or something.” Kaitlyn’s voice was barely over a whisper. She turned to the other side of the barn, where two more old blankets were spread out on the floor. Other than that, only wrinkled papers lined the wall, along with two lone books propped up against the wall in the midst of them.

“What is all that about?” Aubrey asked, training her flashlight on the wrinkled papers.

Kaitlyn crouched down and straightened one of the papers, Aubrey’s flashlight illuminating it. “It’s blank.” She scanned the rest of the line of papers. An envelope laid on top of one. Scooting over on the floor, she picked it up and turned it over in her hands. “Huh.” She ripped it open, taking as much care as possible not to tear it, and took out the single, faded paper inside. Aubrey stood behind her, holding the flashlight over Kaitlyn’s shoulder. 

After unfolding it, Kaitlyn tilted the paper, once again filled with a childish scrawl, though it was a little more legible than the “sitting room” sign, and murmured the words out loud. “I’m not quite sure how to start this, but I’ll start with my name. I’m Mary, and I’m eleven. Elizabeth said that we ought to write a letter in case someone finds our house later, and Sarah thought it was a good idea as well. I don’t know why anyone would be interested in our playhouse or even find this letter in the first place, but since I am the best writer of we three, it was decided that I should write the note. So, I suppose this is to say hello. Elizabeth says I should tell you that the year is 1964 in case someone in the future finds it (she has some funny ideas some times). Anyway, this barn is our playhouse. We’ve had it for two years now and are still working on adding things. It’s our place to come when we want to have fun, but want to play just us three in the quiet and where the boys don’t think to look for us. Today Sarah’s mother had another old blanket that we got to add to make another bed. I don’t know what else to say, so I’ll stop writing now. Sincerely, Mary Simons.”
~Sophia Davis

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And there we have it. Which story was your favorite? Have you ever read anything by these writers before? Would you like to read more by them? Would you enjoy it if I had another writing challenge sometime?