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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.

This week's prompts

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

Fluff – 74 stories

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

Valentine's Day – 15 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

“Close Proximity” by Sue Rau

Submitted to Contest #106

Nancy gazed through the porthole at the receding network of runways. That was close. If the MI6 director had failed to win over his French counterpart… Shuddering, she sank back against the headrest. “First visit to Paris, Mademoiselle?” Her seatmate’s gaze scarcely intersected with hers as he continued to polish his glasses. Not again. All week, the French contingent had patronized her with equally dismissive g...

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“First Sight” by Amelia Ward

Submitted to Contest #106

I walked down the street as I dreaded having to go to school. My phone rang, telling me about the steps that lay ahead. I knew this route by heart but it was always nice to have my phone tell me how far steps, crosswalks, etc. were and if there were any hazards that weren’t normally there. “There is a set of five stairs approximately five feet in front of you,” my phone chimed in its robotic voice. I walked around five feet and felt for the edge of the stairs with my foot. As soon as I found it and located the handrail wi...

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“The Light Within” by Dr. Verse

Submitted to Contest #106

Raina tucked the spines of her lovers in the spines of her journals because they were too spineless to love her. She releases her vitality upon the lines of paper that only have the strength to withhold the affray within her core. The agony is unabated. It reminds her of the earthquakes, one calls legs, she tries to stand on. It reminds her that once again someone could not stay. She is reminded that is just a home for lost souls who need light. On her hips she balanced the weight of immature men, who were too lazy to love her correctly or t...

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“Paradise on Earth” by Elisa Wells

Submitted to Contest #106

It was a long day at work which Susie loved doing just to get away from home. Susie's had so much responsibility on her that she didn't even feel married. Life started slowly consuming Susie and she had no outlet so she became bitter. Susie would sometimes cry in her room because she wasn't happy. Susie kept feeling like something was missing. Susie loved her family and was very loyal to them and her life was good. Susie was raised in the church all of her life and couldn't wait to stop going! Susie was made to go to church all the time as a...

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“Wobbly Wheels” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #106

“If you were constantly tuned in to everything that was going on around you or, say, what a wonder it is to have kidneys, you wouldn’t get anything done.” At the time I barely registered it. I was waiting for the father to finish giving his daughter a lesson and for her to put down the can of energy drink she was trying to persuade him to buy her, so I could get to my protein shakes. I filed it away, like so many snippets of overheard conversations I hear when trying to remember why I’ve come to the supermarket. I’d left the trolley par...

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“The Lilac Bush” by Mark Baxter

Submitted to Contest #106

Being an only child is hard. Your parents are learning on the job. There are no siblings to blame for things. Being born blind adds another dimension to the experience. Still, it’s not as hard as you might think. When you’re a child, miracles are still possible. Imagination is still the key component in determining what you believe you can accomplish. Your world is not yet bounded by what others think you can, or cannot do. My parents were firm believers in the power of education. As a result, I was sent to public school a year ahead of ...

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“Kirschen” by Kevin Schenk

Submitted to Contest #106

The groceries were once again not fastened. I should not have put them up. I should have put them behind the seat. Now they are only waiting for one small braking maneuver to throw everything overboard, possible even some milk up my neck. It isn't like I already get enough regurgitated milk on my chest, or anywhere else for that matter. I look over to the little time-demon that gives me so much joy. A second too long I stare at him and notice that the car in front of me stopped. I jerk the car to a stop and the bag in the back falls over. A ...

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“Phases” by Benny Regalbuto

Submitted to Contest #106

As always, Kellem didn’t once break eye contact with Hoskins as he received his daily lashes. To my master’s credit, Kellem thought, gritting his teeth as the whip dug into his skin, he never breaks eye contact with me, either. Locked in this agonizing stare down more times than he could count—and he couldn’t count—Kellem had come to know every facet of Hoskins’s eyes as intimately as he’d come to know the fields he planted. They were gray—not the gray nebula of storm clouds, nor the gray sheen of new steel. More like… the gray of a wolf’s ...

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“The Transporter” by Michelle Gregory

Submitted to Contest #106

I get up bright and early on a Saturday morning, like I’ve done a thousand times before, and before I do anything else, I check the messenger chat on my I-phone to see if we are on schedule, or if anything has changed. It appears we are right on schedule. I pad across the floor to the kitchen, seeking out that life-giving machine, universally known as the coffee pot, and flip the switch. I let my dogs out of the back door, and while I am outside with them, I also fill the birdfeeder. I enjoy watching the little finches who come to ...

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“The Storm Watcher” by Sarah L

Submitted to Contest #106

Maeve kicked off hard from the observatory rooftop, her braid whipping as she rose higher. Her hands and knees, stiff with an enchanted lining, gripped the handle of her broom as the ground disappeared beneath her. It wasn’t until the earth became divided into green and brown tiles and the air took on a deeper chill that she slowed, allowing a small smile as she surveyed the skies. Blue, blue, blue as far as she could see. Her sister, who had joined a sea coven, often remarked how big and empty the sky seemed. Like the ocean in its end...

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“The Memorial” by A. Smoak

Submitted to Contest #106

TW: mild horror, gore I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the cold. Five years working here and I still can’t stop the shivering that dances up my arms. I suppose it’s just my size or maybe I need more iron... more layers, more something. The preparation room is small and as cold as a tundra. My station is exactly as I left it, and standing by my next project is my supervisor John. He was reading a file and snapped his head up when I entered the room. He places the file on the counter and ducks out with a tight smil...

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“Truly Alive” by Abigail Campbell

Submitted to Contest #106

Panic surrounded Brielle as she flew down her apartment stairs and burst from the door at the bottom. She was so late for work. If only she hadn’t stayed up most of the night binge-watching her favorite detective show, she might have woken up earlier. She had promised herself she would never do that again, but it was always ‘one more episode.’ She would be lucky to keep her intern job at this rate. The parking lot was crowded with old-beat-up cars of every size. Brielle was loo...

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“Perceived Potentiality” by Elizabeth Maxson

Submitted to Contest #106

“You do realize that is a superpower?” Milo said casually. I shook my head no and continued sipping my coffee. “It is. Everyone has one and that is most certainly yours.” I rolled my eyes and relaxed back into the café chair. There were talented people all around me. The guitar guy, playing his instrument in the corner with no regard for anyone else, was strumming intently and seemed to be transported beyond his corner table to wherever his music was taking him. There was also the girl sitting two tables over who had been ...

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“My Stellar Smeller” by Ramona Scarborough

Submitted to Contest #106

Stellar Smeller I’ve been a model citizen … until now. There is a chance I may end up in jail and my marriage teeters on shaky ground. This fiasco started over almost a year ago. One morning, I stumbled into the kitchen and couldn’t smell the coffee or anything else. I sniffed cut-up onions. My eyes watered, but no strong pungent aroma. As months passed, I couldn’t tell if my deodorant was working, or if my tennis shoes smelled like funky mushrooms. “Pamela,” my husband,...

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“Lights Out” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #106

Detective Dana Ciccone and her partner, Tony Davis, didn’t find the silences that accompanied their morning drives to be uncomfortable. Dana drove. Tony looked out the window. They both enjoyed the temporary quiet. Twenty years of daily traffic jams from an obstreperous police precinct to an even more insistent crime scene had frazzled them both. But when they did speak, Dana was usually the one to start the conversation. In addition to being a damn good detective, Dana also seemed to be obsessed with random shit.“Do you believe in...

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$250

Prize money

152

Contest entries

205

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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