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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#106: Periergia

Ever found yourself experiencing a newfound appreciation for something you see or do every day? Maybe you think fondly of how many people have stood on the same street corner as you, or appreciate the centuries of craftsmanship that it took to develop the humble coffee mug you hold in your hand. 


When you feel like waxing lyrical about the everyday, you might call it periergia — using flowery language to describe something trivial. While this is usually a writing no-no (purple prose, anyone?), there's something irresistible about romanticizing the mundane once in a while. So this week, we’re looking for beauty in unexpected places, whether that’s a character, something they see, or anything in-between.

🥇 Winner

“I Was Always Good at Taboo” by A.Dot Ram

CW: Strong languageI forgot the word lightbulb today. I was trying to tell Michael how the laundry room went dark. I think we need a new… do we have any of those...those things that make…It was like a dark spot in my brain. The word had been redacted from my vocabulary. I tried to listen for it, to hear the word in my voice. All I got was static, like the old televisions used to have. Would you change that thing in the ceiling?We used t...

109 comments 109 WINNER 🏆
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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Letters to Grange” by Robin Owens

I let myself in after ringing the doorbell one time. At most homes I wouldn’t do this; I’d just leave the groceries on the front stoop. But I decide to waltz right into Mr. Granger’s house for a few reasons. One: he always leaves the front door unlocked, which he argues is intentional, and I retort that he is becoming forgetful in his old age. Two: I like to linger here in this quaint home, however...

31 comments 31 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Behind the Pane” by Imogen Bird

It would be so lovely to go to an art gallery again. To look into the oil and canvas windows framed in gold. My window is framed in plastic, off-white and not quite as clean as it should be for a hospital. At first glance you would think it was fine, but as you keep looking you see that thin trim of dust, slightly too far into the crevice for the hurried cleaners to properly wipe away. The sticky remnants of something that was peeled off years ago in the bottom right corner, attracting fibers, making me itch to rub it clean. That would be...

9 comments 9 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Night Recollections” by Erica Hampton

Even at 3 am, the sky outside was more gray than truly black. No stars were visible, beyond the yellow orbs of streetlamps high overhead and the hanging red, green, or amber traffic lights. Downtown was deserted, and I was alone save for the one being beside me: a young, slender tomcat whose nametag read ‘Daniel.’            “You know, this would all be a lot easier if you would let me pick you up.” I stopped, but...

3 comments 3 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Paying the Check” by Ray Weeks

"Reality's a helluva a drug," he says, and I hate to admit it, but he's right. I don't think he means it in the same way I do, but to be honest, I don't know how he means it, and it doesn't matter. The world looks better than it ever has, despite the awkward view. The click of the pistol's hammer latching into place is more akin to the hands of intricate clock tower innards than of a pawn shop piece that'...

3 comments 3 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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This week's prompts

Start or end your story with a character noticing the beauty in something they've seen hundreds of times.

Fluff – 76 stories

Write about a character who’s known to be a cynic, but secretly romanticizes everything.

Valentine's Day – 16 stories

A mundane ability suddenly becomes a superpower. Write about someone or something affected by this.

Middle School – 26 stories

Write a story about a character who takes nothing for granted.

Teens – 21 stories

Write a story about a character who’s secretly nobility.

Thriller and Suspense – 16 stories

Stories

“I Was Always Good at Taboo” by A.Dot Ram

CW: Strong languageI forgot the word lightbulb today. I was trying to tell Michael how the laundry room went dark. I think we need a new… do we have any of those...those things that make…It was like a dark spot in my brain. The word had been redacted from my vocabulary. I tried to listen for it, to hear the word in my voice. All I got was static, like the old televisions used to have. Would you change that thing in the ceiling?We used t...

109 comments 109 WINNER 🏆
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“downpour” by 𝔹𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕒 𝕁𝕒𝕕𝕖

I would’ve given anything and everything to be out in the tropical storm when I was little. It wasn’t frightening. In fact, it was cool.I would’ve wanted to go jump in the huge puddles the rain was making. When our drain got clogged because of all the dirt and leaves the rain carried in, it created a huge puddle. It was like a pond in our backyard.I would’ve asked Mom to go out and play in the puddles or even swim in that pond the rain created.And she’d say no, to all my questions.She’d tell me I’d get sick.

125 comments 125
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“snowfall” by Alex Sultan

Snow can fall at a speed of up to two meters per second. In the right moment, however, it could feel like an eternity. Zhu leaned back in her chair, listening to it creak. She listened to the monotonous clicking of a dozen office keyboards. The two-note tone of phones rang further off, followed by muffled conversations. She listened while wishing she could step outside and be a part of winter. Be a part of it like she had as a kid. Even after twelve years, that same train of thought came with every snowfall. She breathe...

41 comments 41
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“emotion sickness” by Rayhan Hidayat

It’s not easy, asking you out. You’re fleeting, like a firefly flitting through a sticky evening, refusing to be caught. I give chase anyway because I want to open the palms of my hands one day to find you glowing there, bright and ethereal, a flame on wings.At first, I don’t know what to make of you. Your eyes are downcast when you shuffle to the front of the class, as if the floor is more interesting than the eager faces waiting to learn more about you. The teacher tells you to speak louder, to enunciate those two syll...

58 comments 58
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“A Man in Love” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

The peroxide blonde gave one last heave then awkwardly dismounted. Wordlessly, she gathered up her clothing and strode into the bathroom.Tom Mosley lay very still. There were sounds of a toilet flushing, a faucet running, and oddly, tooth brushing. He made a mental note to throw out his toothbrush after she left. When she finally emerged from the bathroom, her minidress only emphasized her narrow shoulders and wide, disproportionate thighs. Tom wasn’t sure of her age. He wasn’t sure of her name. ...

31 comments 31
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“Gone : End Of Imaginations ” by Dream Girl

“He pushed me on the bed while unbuttoning his shirt and stepped on the bed leaning his body on mine.”  A random guy suddenly appeared in my dirty mind. “Oh, what is wrong with me snap out of it,” but I couldn’t stop myself from developing the scene into something more.  The warmth of his body invaded my body running through my skin. I felt his breath all over my neck. He brought his lips closer to mine. I ...

37 comments 37
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“Crimson Butterfly ” by Daniel R. Hayes

(Content Warning: Blood, Gore, Murder, some crude language.)The monstrous heat is unrelenting, a good sign for things to come. I desperately stare out from the apartment window and notice my reflection smiling back. I never realized that I had such a wonderful smile. It suits me. I’m not used to smiling, but I think I can get used to it after what I just did. I glance up at the sparkling moon and bask in its afterglow - a radiant light that fills me with emotion.

26 comments 26
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“The Power of Ordinary” by Thom Brodkin

Shane wasn’t like most super heroes. He didn’t come from a far away planet or get bitten by a radioactive spider. In truth, he was the last person you would expect to save the world, but in his own little way he did just that.   The Parker’s, Mary Louise and Peter, had long since given up hope of having a child when Mary found out she was pregnant. The news, however, was as welcome as it was shocking. It was probably for this reason that they seemed to be the only two people not disappointed when Shane was...

10 comments 10
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“The Neighbor” by Joan Brancaccio

She pushed the buzzer next to his apartment door and waited, somewhat hoping he wouldn't answer. It's not like there was an emergency, but it was the right thing to do. As far as she could tell, he was all alone. She wanted to be a helpful neighbor.The buzz sounded far off. She waited, about to turn around and leave when the sound of steps could be heard and the peep-hole opened. She smiled at the blue eye peering out at her."Yes, is someone there?" she heard him ask in his clipped B...

15 comments 15
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“Aliveness up in a Pyre” by C G

I don’t feel real. Lurid, neon greens and reds light up the city, ugly and discordant, flickering across my face as I walk listlessly along the sidewalk, click, click, click. Despite the lights, the sight is bland, cold. Like a tv set: fake and claustrophobic. Someone screams in the distance, a police siren wails, cars make a soft shhkt sound on the wet tar, and it all feels like it’s happening to some...

8 comments 8
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“Soot and Cinders” by Mary Sheehan

Day 1In the summer, the fires come. You feel them before you see them; they form an invisible wall of pure heat. Usually, they devour the wild brush and grass that fringes my city, but this year, they poured onto us like lava, swallowing up homes, schools and hospitals, sightless, ravenous, merciless.My apartment is on the fourteenth floor, so I saw the blaze rolling over the city lines like a flaming tsunami. I saw people, as tiny as ants, running for their lives....

12 comments 12
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“Letters to Grange” by Robin Owens

I let myself in after ringing the doorbell one time. At most homes I wouldn’t do this; I’d just leave the groceries on the front stoop. But I decide to waltz right into Mr. Granger’s house for a few reasons. One: he always leaves the front door unlocked, which he argues is intentional, and I retort that he is becoming forgetful in his old age. Two: I like to linger here in this quaint home, however...

31 comments 31 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“6:30” by Elli Lewis

My clock says 6. There are thirty minutes to go. Thirty minutes is half an hour because it is half of sixty. There are sixty minutes in an hour. So there is half an hour before I can go to mummy and daddy’s room. I want to go now. I don't like being alone. But it is a rule. They made that rule when I was little because they don’t like waking up early. Before 7 is early. I wanted 6 and they wanted 7, but I couldn't wait until 7. So, we made a deal. 6:30.Oh. Now my clock says 6:01. 29 minutes to go.I hate...

9 comments 9
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“Aeroplanes, Chocolate Bars, and Fridges” by C.B. Tannon

Thick blue smoke plumed and pooled around the old man's head. His grandson sat crosslegged before him on the harsh concrete floor of their subterranean shelter, watching the coils of smoke slowly unfurling upwards and collecting beneath the low, stained ceiling. There was one window in the room; a small rectangular pane of filthy glass close to the top of the wall. A pallid stream of light penetrated the layer of grime w...

7 comments 7
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“Behind the Pane” by Imogen Bird

It would be so lovely to go to an art gallery again. To look into the oil and canvas windows framed in gold. My window is framed in plastic, off-white and not quite as clean as it should be for a hospital. At first glance you would think it was fine, but as you keep looking you see that thin trim of dust, slightly too far into the crevice for the hurried cleaners to properly wipe away. The sticky remnants of something that was peeled off years ago in the bottom right corner, attracting fibers, making me itch to rub it clean. That would be...

9 comments 9 SHORTLIST ⭐️
Read story

$250

Prize money

155

Contest entries

211

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 13, 2021 EST

Won by A.Dot Ram 🏆

Title: I Was Always Good at Taboo

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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