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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#176: Magic in the Air

Do you feel that? That almost imperceptible shift you can’t quite place?

Maybe it’s magic. Forces at work right under our noses. Powers we just don’t have the senses to detect — outside what scientists call our “umwelt,” or the slice of the world we’re able to see, hear, and feel.

This week, let your stories be guided by this question: what if, alongside things like electrical fields and infrared waves, there are magical forces in the world that we just can’t perceive?

This week's prompts

Write a story involving a magical potion — which may or may not work.

Fantasy – 58 stories

Start your story with someone witnessing magic from a hiding place.

Fantasy – 52 stories

Cast a magician (a real one, or a party entertainer) as your story’s protagonist.

Adventure – 26 stories

Write a story told from the point of view of an animal.

Kids – 49 stories

Set your story in a magical bookshop.

Fluff – 46 stories

Stories

“MAGIC SECRETS” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #176

"Powers of the light, Guardians of the Earth, I call to thee to give me, Your strength, open all doors, Watch over me, I trust in your hand, to help me through this, Difficult time, so let it be," Bang the attic begins to rumble, then it's over. What did I just witness? My mother and grandmother doing magic. How? "What is mother?" I listen intently at my mother and grandmother, clearly something is bothering my grandmother. "Iris, we need to tell Star the truth, She deserves to know about our family, the family she was born into." ...

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“The Watcher” by Megan Michelle

Submitted to Contest #176

It had been seven long hours since he alighted in the rafters of the cabin bedroom. He waited until the couple was asleep, not wanting to frighten them considering what was to be discovered upon waking. To witness the beginning of the end was sacred and he delighted in being in his natural form. The silky black feathers, the light bones, and the heightened sense of sight, smell, and prophesy. His presence in these woods in his fowl form yesterday had allowed him to observe the fatal cut, tipping him off to his duties tonight, even before the...

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“Glide” by Benjamin Okojie

Submitted to Contest #176

The air stings the back of my nose, barely squeezing through to my lungs as my chest tightens and burns. My heart racing, beating trying to set itself free from my rib cages. I can feel my pulse in my fingertips and head, almost like a pacer reminding me to keep pushing. I don’t know how long I can keep this pace up. I check my watch, 4:51 it reads, my minute per mile, I can break my personal best run here. I push just a little harder with each stride now, slowly picking up pace faster I tell myself, more I think. Landing...

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“In the Pawnshop Somewhere on 7th Street” by Charly Woods

Submitted to Contest #176

---TW: Physical violence: mild--- In the bustling streets of a city I, unfortunately, called my home, I stumbled into an old shop. There were antiques behind glass, things I’d never seen before. I was somehow drawn to the shiny artifacts. One of the things that caught my eye, was a small box with bronze decorations on each corner. The sides were made of glass, and inside the box was what looked like a small rock. I looked around, there was no one. I turned back to the small box which was shielded with glass from prying eyes and greedy hand...

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“Dust and Devils” by Wesley Osigian

Submitted to Contest #176

“Pa said ya’ll put the boxes over there,” Jr. shouted at the bikers. Being small as Jr. was, he had to holler hard to get the adults to listen. “We heard ya Jr.- stop screaming! We're just taking a wee break,” Gus, the largest and laziest of the Round Hook bikers, yelled back. After unloading half the truck, he and the other bikers placed a few crates in a circle and were using them as chairs. Jr. peered out the warehouse window and watched as little, yellow, fuzzy dust balls danced in the faint flicker of the streetlight. “We gotsa’ hurr...

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“Diamond-shaped hole” by Rex Verborum

Submitted to Contest #176

I sit behind the wheel of my Camry, my face full of make-up, and bawl my eyes out. The beating of my heart hasn’t stopped so I place my hand on my chest. I suck in huge chunks of air and slowly release. My throat is a desert. The sun is doing a madness and as I bake in my jalopy held together with duct tape and hope, the white and red concoction on my face starts to melt. I pull off my rainbow wig. Right now, I don't want to feel like a clown. Besides, the magic was dead. Between sobs, my will gives way, shoulders buckle and head falls to th...

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“The Brown-Leather Suitcase” by Tom Brooks

Submitted to Contest #176

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Matthew?” “Yes," the boy said. “I’m with you. I’m not saying I’m not with you. But you know, if we are caught, they will arrest us. And if you fail —” “I know what happens, Captain Stark,” he said. The captain stared at him for a second, and then stood up. “Very well. We leave as soon as the wind changes.” Stark gave the boy one last searching look, as if trying to solve a riddle he couldn’t quite understand, and then he shook his head and walked out into the hallway, leaving Matthew alone in his ...

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“A twisted soul indeed.” by Jack Sink

Submitted to Contest #176

There was no sound he loved more than this, the roaring of the crowd, the sound of his spells sparking and exploding. Everything was perfect. The sparkling eyes of the audience as they howled with praise. Their arms shooting up, cheering the magician. “Now everyone please calm your cheers, for my next act requires absolute focus.” Kyrin the magician spoke in a deep powerful voice that commanded reverence from all that heard it. The audience silenced themselves almost immediately. He grinned widely with narrow cold eyes watching them shu...

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“Teaspoon ” by Cynthia Brooks

Submitted to Contest #176

The tea shoppe is located on a cobbled stoned street in the histoic part of high street. The structure is a black facade with a large bow window aligned with twenty six square individual planes of glass. A half moon window adorns its top. Right next to the half moon there is a circular window which looks like the spokes in a penny-farthing. Below penny-farthing window a weighty glass door with gold lettering etched in the Old London font, indicates this tea shoppe is called ,The Teaspoon. It's the quintessential...

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“The Little Witch's Cat” by Cherie Woods

Submitted to Contest #176

He was a cat. But he wasn’t just any old cat. He was a witch’s cat. All young witches after all were given some type of magical creature as their companions at a young age be it a black cat, a frog, a raven, a mouse, or a snake. In his case, he was a bit of a special kind of cat. His fur was not black like the others. Instead it was gray as if his coat hadn’t been fully colored. It wasn’t a bad thing. At least people wouldn’t automatically associate him with bad luck. And while the other animals did sometimes ...

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“I am Spinach ” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #176

I am Spinach He thinks he had a choice in my living with him and his mom, and I will leave it at that. I saw him walk into the SPCA that Saturday back in 2020. I could feel the need, the want, and the fun yet to be had. The last person I chose didn’t want my abilities; I’m a calming force. I’m cute, small in stature, and cuddly. I remind him of a dog he only remembers from stories and pictures. I look like a miniature version of her favorite childhood pet. I’m the perfect shade of tan with some markings of a German Shepherd, but I will never...

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“The girl with the treats ” by Makpal S

Submitted to Contest #176

I was born. There were a lot of people around me. They are watching and smiling. They looked at me for 5 minutes and left. The only person who stayed was the girl. What she is trying to do? She is still looking at me? Really, what you want from me? She is waving her hands. LOL. What I have to do? Hope she knows that we cannot wave back? What are you waiting for, I cannot shake your hand. She is still waving. Oh my God. I am not blind. Are you waiting for reply? She said 'such a cute calf. I am seeing such a beautiful baby cow for the first t...

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“Finke The Fox” by Andrew Crawford

Submitted to Contest #176

My name is Finke. Finke the Fox. I was never the cleverest pup in the litter. But my ability to hold my tongue has made me cleverer than many, I suppose. Bilifin, my now-deceased cousin, was too loose with his tongue. He should have stuck to licking chicken morsels. Instead, he got friendly with some little men on their homestead. They were not much bigger than he. The little men waddled to fetch their taller friends, hollering all the while. So I heard. Bilifin was never seen again. The poor fool. Some say he was blinded, skinned, then burn...

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“Consuelo” by Iking Lopez

Submitted to Contest #176

The high-rise buildings had erupted like perfectly aligned teeth, and the old gave way to the new. First, it was Mr. and Mrs. Yu, the old Chinese apothecary couple who were driven out to the red-light district, forced to rebrand their herbal medicines as aphrodisiacs. A year later, the beloved Paper Dragon Firecracker store exploded due to its centuries-old electrical wiring, and everyone mistook the conflagration as a premature New Year fireworks display. By then, most everyone was already ready to leave, as the small knickknack stores and ...

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“The Bookstore With the Little Door” by Nikolle Mack

Submitted to Contest #176

Content warning: BullyingEllen ran as fast as her legs could carry her, her hand like a vice on her dwarven friend's wrist as they rushed down the street.She could hear the jeering shouts of Liliope and her cohort following, they werent that far behind.Foza was shouting back at them, but Ellen’s grip stopped her from getting herself into trouble.As the pair turned the next corner, Ellen sent out a prayer that neither of them would get an up close and personal look at the cobblestones when a flash of light caught her eye.A little shop, with a...

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$250

Prize money

231

Contest entries

111

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 16, 2022 EST

Won by Kylah Adams 🏆

Title: I Knew Better

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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