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#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 – 51 stories

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

Adventure – 25 stories

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

Kids – 48 stories

Set your story in a magical bookshop.

Fluff – 46 stories

Stories

Gift for the Chosen

Submitted to Contest #176

Content Warning: Language and Mild Horror Elements Gift for the Chosen by E.L. Montague I met death on a sultry summer evening. He was a handsome man. Terrifying, but handsome. He gave me a gift. I was only thirteen. Changed my life. I was never the same, not ever. He was a lovely man. No one knew what my grandfather was, none of us kids anyhow. We just knew we was scared of him. Old. He was old, eyes all filmed over like a dead fish, ‘cept they was shiny. And when he stared at you with those milky eyes, it was like he could see righ...

18 likes 16 comments 16
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A Magical Summer

Submitted to Contest #176

They sent me to live with Grandma Violet after my Mom ended up in the psychiatric hospital. She painted our side of the neighbor's house sky blue because she wanted a cheerier view. Then she spent a thousand dollars on art supplies and bought us a first-class one-way ticket to Malaysia. But the last straw fell when she took a dog, who'd been chained to a tree for days. The dog's owner came out, and she gave him an uppercut that Grampa had taught her when she moved into the city. I'm used to her odd choices, but this time she required much mo...

17 likes 9 comments 9
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Jack's Best Friend

Submitted to Contest #176

They didn't let me be with Jack in the hospital, when he needed me the most, so I was all the more excited when he came home. I turned in circles, my tail spun like a propeller. I could hardly coordinate myself, I was so happy. But I managed to run to him, slipping on the polished wood floor. He was sitting in a chair that looked like a bicycle, and I put my front paws in his lap.  His father tried to shoo me away. "Max, get down, boy", but Jack held me so tight I didn't go. He needed me. I recognized his smell the second the door ope...

17 likes 10 comments 10
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Breaking the Curse

Submitted to Contest #176

Kate rushed down the hall holding tightly to the canister in her hands. She couldn’t get out the door fast enough. She was certain that the scientists in the Lab were closely following her. She tried to be as inconspicuous as possible to not draw the attention of the receptionist who appeared to be deeply involved in the magazine she had opened in front of her. Kate flashed a brief smile at the receptionist who looked up as Kate hurried past. She was almost to the big double doors that dwarfed the entrance to the Lab. She took a quick glance...

17 likes 10 comments 10
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Fenrir

Submitted to Contest #176

…..……”It’s war. Making this proclamation was Fenrir the magnificent, undisputed king of the cat cabal.   Born of noble lineage, rarest of chinchilla Persian cats. With a silky luxuriously thick white fur, finely etched streaks of black on paws and around the neck, he was spectacular.Fenrir resided in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. His owner, Lord Garvagh, was descended from the errant son of a noble English family, banished to cool his aristocratic heels in the colonies. Links to the famous Courtauld's silversmiths k...

17 likes 13 comments 13
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The Hands of God

Submitted to Contest #176

My mother likes to tell the story of the magical woman with the hands of God who saved the life of a baby on Christmas Eve. She will tell this tale to anyone, anytime, but she especially loves reliving it on Christmas Eve. Gathered at her house, the holiday energy funnels through the eyes of my children and their cousins, still young enough that the magic of Santa is breathtakingly real, every strange noise a reason to pause and listen, wide-eyed, in case it’s reindeer on the roof. They run rampant through the house, high on sugar and hope...

17 likes 14 comments 14
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Loose Ends

Submitted to Contest #176

Loose Ends Happily-ever-afters never found their way to Amanda, Sherry, or Eli’s world.  They languished somewhere between neutral and destruction. On this particular day, the sun cast long, drawn-out afternoon rays.  Later, not unlike their lives, it would squeeze out the last of its glimmer before twilight. Sherry shoved the groceries in her car as she looked down the street for some other place to kill time. Kill time, kill herself, kill, kill, kill she thought.  She dodged two little girls running between some ou...

16 likes 1 comment 1
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The Book of the Throne

Submitted to Contest #176

“What did you say we were looking for?” I grumbled.            Thorin and I were in the oldest, most worn down looking bookshop I had ever seen. Dust covered just about every square inch, and books were packed in and piled precariously everywhere. I could barely walk through the aisles without knocking a stack over.            “Well, that’s the thing,” Thorin said, catching a small pile of books as it began to topple after he bumpe...

16 likes 3 comments 3
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Look Homeward, Witch

Submitted to Contest #176

“Good evening, sister. And where is our little Ravelil?” Luella sipped more tea and looked around for their niece. Hmph. Just like her to miss the evening restorative. The girl has become a leetle self-centered. “The devil only knows. Her car is here. Maybe she’s sleeping,” Jeruda said. She went to the window and pulled the thick curtains closed. The sun was still up and it didn’t do to let too much sun touch their delicate, ochre skin. The witches that did that wound up with skin that looked like the skin of mortals. The incorrigible Ravel...

16 likes 28 comments 28
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The Street Magician

Submitted to Contest #176

Growing up, I’ve always been into magic. I got one of those kits for Christmas in elementary school, and I had been practicing since. Until recently, anyway, but I’ll get into that. I’ve never considered myself good enough to pursue any kind of career, but I was pretty well known in high school and competed in all the talent shows and everything. I even performed at Prom.  I continued throughout college, though with less frequency. Just occasionally to impress friends with a card trick here or coin trick there. After I got my undergrad...

16 likes 4 comments 4
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Liquid Courage

Submitted to Contest #176

CW: mentions of date rape“Here you go, sis. S’later.”Julian pulled over and stopped at the café where Shelby worked.“Aurora’s my friend, Jules. Get real. We could hang out. Get acquainted. See if you like her.”“I’m already in love with her, Shel.”She grinned. “So, you love her cute little mole…?”He gasped. “Wait. She has a mole? Like a pet?”Selby stared in disbelief. “No idiot. She has a whole flock of them. On a ranch up north.”“What?”“On her lip. The mole on her lip. A beauty mark. I don’t believe you.”~Julian followed Shelby in. He watche...

15 likes 8 comments 8
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Lactose Intolerance

Submitted to Contest #176

I wasn’t supposed to be in Daddy’s study that day. I definitely wasn’t supposed to be in the closet of Daddy’s study that day. And I certainly wasn’t supposed to find out the real reason that Daddy was a very rich man indeed. I was only in there because my Tesla (a mini remote-controlled version that has the same number plate as Mommy’s but I’m not telling you what it is because it’s embarrassing) took a wrong turn and nosed the door open. The big brown door with the peephole in it too far up for me to even try to look through, the door th...

15 likes 7 comments 7
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Elixir of Life

Submitted to Contest #176

In the years before we got a motor vehicle, it was my job to hold Charlie’s reins whilst Papa stowed his precious crates at the rear of our waggonette. Papa trusted me, even with my one healthy arm, because Charlie was docile first thing in the morning. As long as Mama topped up his nosebag, there was no chance of him trotting off. After Papa secured our goods, he’d join Mama and me on the wooden bench and tweak my nose.Well done, laddie, he’d say, adjusting his lucky hat to Mama’s chagrin. She’d roll her eyes and sigh as Papa clicked his to...

15 likes 9 comments 9
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The Shadow Puppet Theatre

Submitted to Contest #176

Laurie’s mother found the shadow puppet theatre on the day that he was home sick from school. “What’s that?” Laurie asked as June pulled the box out from the closet. “It belonged to your great-uncle, Robert. I used to love visiting his house when I was little. You never knew what you would find.” She stood up, knees creaking. “Let’s get you some lunch, then we’ll have a look together.” June made toast for Laurie and tea for herself. A crow perched on the fence beyond the kitchen window, jutting its head up and down. June placed the lar...

15 likes 7 comments 7
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BIRD BRAIN

Submitted to Contest #176

***WARNING: This story is meant for adult children. Profanity where necessary.* * *Hello. My name is Peppy. I’m a parrot. I’m gray, and I’m also an African Grey. I have soooo many words that I can say. Vocabulary. I am a pretty bird and I eat corn. I’m so smart. I’m not just a pretty beak.  I sing pretty songs. 'Cain't nobody teeell me no-thin'. I'm gonna take my horse down to Old Town Road. I'm gonna riiiiiide 'til I cain't no mo'.  See? So, not just a pretty bird. I...

14 likes 31 comments 31
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