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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

“Paloma ” by Vie L'cast

Submitted to Contest #176

On the eve of my fifteenth birthday my parents' struggling marriage reached a boiling point. Their constant threats to divorce began to actualize when my father threw a pair of freshly pressed button downs into his weathered black suitcase and grabbed his keys. My mother's insults rattled against picture frames that displayed photos of a family I no longer recognized and my dad's compulsory need to reply to each and every one of them prolonged his departure. In the morning, having allowed the guilt of their actions to settle, they shift...

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“BIRD BRAIN” by Susan Catucci

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...

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“A Page Turner” by L.L. Williams

Submitted to Contest #176

Abagail sat in her car outside the nondescript structure, looking back and forth between it and the card in her hand. The invitation was as unremarkable as the building. A matte black postcard with just coordinates, a time, and a date on the back in small white letters. The postcard didn’t even have Abagail’s address or postage on it, so she was not sure how it got to her. Earlier today, she came home from a particularly difficult day of work and school. She had gotten a D on a biology quiz that she had studied hard for. At work, she spill...

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“The Shadow Puppet Theatre” by Maria Blackman

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...

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“My last story ” by Jennifer Cameron

Submitted to Contest #176

I stumbled across the word ‘serendipity’ and it’s meaning engulfed me like hot flames. It means the art of finding something beautiful without looking for it. To see a butterfly’s fragile wings in vibrant yellows and muted peaches, the sound of the sea spitting at rocks that had been softened by the cruelty of time, the taste of ripened blackberries breaking apart on your tongue. We don’t look for any of it and yet the world offers it to us anyway. In the same way, the world offered me writing and I graciously accepted. Bookshops had been pu...

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“Revenge of the Hamster” by Jeffery Young

Submitted to Contest #176

“I’m a hamster. There’s no avoiding it. Those stupid coven witches turned me into this cute, fluffy, adorable rodent,” my little black eyes burned with ferocity, my nose twitched with a mighty and rageful inhalation, “REVENGE!!!” I squeaked, the time was nigh. There was an impossibly high door in front of me, those witches having dumped me only a few feet outside after a day of shoebox imprisonment. I remembered human-me stooping over as I entered the coven’s bayou-steamboat lair the day prior. They told my fortune, sang about their f...

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“The Elixir of Fortune” by Pious Alpha

Submitted to Contest #176

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, Elizabeth stood at the edge of her balcony and surveyed the sprawling city below. Despite her many accomplishments and successes as a businesswoman, she felt a sense of weariness and exhaustion wash over her. She worked tirelessly for weeks, her sharp mind and quick tongue driving her to ever-greater heights of success. But the constant demands of the corporate world had begun to weigh on her, and she found herself longing for a moment of respite. She gazed out at the city, her mind lost in thought,...

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“Blue Hour” by C. J. Peters

Submitted to Contest #176

Thomas stood outside in the cold, snowflakes landing on his shoulders and melting in his curls. Hands tucked in wool-lined pockets, boots planted on the icy sidewalk, he gazed up at the sign of the new bookstore, Blue Hour Books. He’d thought the name curious when he’d first passed it by days ago, yet curiouser still how he hadn’t truly noticed the building until now.Blue Hour Books, though it had only opened a week before, radiated the quality of a long-standing staple in his small town. The new owner had given the door a fresh coat of navy...

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“More Deadly Than Poison” by Michele Burke

Submitted to Contest #176

More Deadly Than Poison WARNING: Gore, Violence I look at the strange liquid in front of me. If you could even call it that. The potion moved like sludge in the glass container. The residue streaking the sides like spoiled gravy. Hesitantly I lift the bottle to my lips. Unprepared for what comes next. The deep crimson color is almost unnatural. A soft glow emanates from the bottle. The very same color as the liquid itself. The pulsating of it taunts my cowardliness. I recall what would lead up to this point in my life. The idea came to lig...

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“A Toxic Love Story” by Lezly Collins

Submitted to Contest #176

There’s a reason they say never mess with anything you don’t know. Wanting to find love, Vanessa tampered with something she knew nothing about; something that almost ruined her. Vanessa and Samuel have been best friends since middle school, with Vanessa developing romantic feelings as they got older. Samuel had always been oblivious, even years into their 20s, setting his sights on every other woman but her. Over the years, Vanessa’s infuriation grew as he overlooked her. One night, she finally decided to reveal her feelings after a night o...

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“Dance the Way” by 𝔊𝔲𝔞𝔡𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔭𝔢 𝔗𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔯

Submitted to Contest #176

In the darkness of the nest, I sense a Gatherer dart past me, her abdomen wildly waggling. Hurriedly scraping wax flakes from my own abdomen, I blend with the crowd observing the map. The dancer has stopped her dash, and begins turning half-circles. As I watch my sister turn one way and then the other, I discreetly scrape my whole body, and give each antenna a quick combing. My plan will fail if I am covered in wax bits. The Gatherer makes a final dash, and then heads toward the portal. I did not understand at all. Flutte...

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“A Whimsical Adventure in Jasper Hallow” by Savannah Wagner

Submitted to Contest #176

Under the midnight rainshower, a runaway evenscesed from the stonecold walls of the medieval castle, deep into the Anthraxian Woods. The runaway slipped her royal blonde locks into her hooded tunic. She crunched through dead leaves and roamed past trees resembling upside-down spiders. Moonlight and biolumincensant toadstools glowed, guiding her deeper into the woods. Unicorns trotted past wafting the scent of roses and the songs of the bullfrogs croaked. She was close. Through the break in the terrain was a tea green lake flooded with earthy...

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“The Unfinished Novels” by Bianca Jagger

Submitted to Contest #176

It’s the start of a new day! The bookshop owner eagerly gazed out his storefront’s window, awaiting the arrival of his newly acquired customers. Although his London shop had been open for 60 years, with him at the helm for over half its lifetime, every day still felt like its grand opening. His mother was the originator of the shop and the day she shared the family’s secret was forever imprinted in his mind. The secret is hidden deep within every book’s page, completely oblivious to the naked eye. Although hard to uncover, the premise is a...

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“Snow Deal” by Benny Regalbuto

Submitted to Contest #176

Raymond’s camcorder beeped, causing him to nearly fall out of the tree he was perched in. How long had he been asleep? He’d checked to make sure the camcorder was working, and then… Shit. The moon had been much lower last he’d seen it. The camcorder beeped again. Low battery. He rummaged through his ski jacket’s puffy pockets, hoping his past self had thought to bring extra AA batteries. He hadn’t. Shit. Well, maybe there was enough time to run home and grab some. Snow still covered Dr. Haberworth’s driveway, which meant— The front doo...

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“The Fall and Rise of Zorko the Great” by Eshawnial Lowry

Submitted to Contest #176

Birthday parties are insanely overrated. From the silly balloon animals, to the overpriced cakes and decorations. Don't get me started on the gift bags for the kids in attendance. I'm ashamed to admit this, but Zorko the great, was relegated to tween birthday parties using subpar magic to make ends meet. Yours truly, who once saved the world going wand to fang with Dracula himself. *"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."I didn't have much of a choice thank you very much. It all started i...

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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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