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

Posted in Fluff on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 74 stories

“Insignificant Other” by Shoshana A

Submitted to Contest #106

It was one of the chilly months of the year when every bone of your body shivers rhythmically and your mighty teeth chatter to chime in. Well, my body felt as much, so I donned a black thick woollen coat and a scarf as buttress against freezing wind blowing outside. Earlier, I was planning to slip my head inside a cowl but it would have looked inappropriate.It was not any run-off-the-mill event for which I dressed up like a royal lady.It was something which sent a chill up my spine, a mere thought of it gave away sensation of snakes dan...

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“Burnt Toast and Life's Other Pleasures” by Darby McGuire

Submitted to Contest #106

The coffee pot gurgled to life as I snatched the burnt lumps of bread from the toaster. I forgot to take it out on time again because I had been too preoccupied scribbling on my lipstick in the hallway mirror to notice it was burning."Pour a bowl of cereal for yourself and your sister, and eat up, quick!" I said as I held up the blackened toast for Sean to see."Aw, mom, c'mon. We only have the nasty cereal." He rolled his eyes on his way, begrudgingly, to the kitchen cabinet.I ruffled his dirty blonde hair with my free hand as he p...

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“The Lover's Flower” by Barbara Mealer

Submitted to Contest #106

The Lover’s Flower Rosalind plodded along the path, picking flowers to add to the two plain yellow roses she held. The hem of her best black gown was dirty now, but she didn’t care. In three days she would stop wearing black. Her life wouldn’t change, but she would no longer be in mourning. Everyone but her had forgotten what today was. If they hadn’t forgotten, they didn’t seem to care. She didn’t forget. She would never forget. She left her mother and sisters to cook and feed the gathering of family and friends, and one ...

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“Born of Water” by Megan DeRouin

Submitted to Contest #106

Born of Water I remembered the day the merfolk surfaced. I remembered what I was doing, what I was wearing and what I had been eating in that stuffy little diner absently watching the local college football game on TV. I wasn’t a local, I was just passing through, eighteen years old, fresh out of high school and driving across the country thinking that maybe along the way I could find myself. I was watching the game for lack of anything better to stare at, absently picking at my onion rings and I remember thinking that they were a bit too ...

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“Onion Love.” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #106

"Ssssshhhh. Ok, ok, class, settle down please. Could you all please settle down and be quiet."Miss Taylor glanced around the room, waiting for the class to listen. “Thomas! Can you get your feet off the desk please. Thank you.”Gradually, the noise dulled to a murmur. She flashed a white smile and waited for the last of the whispers to stop. “Now then, if you remember, last time I saw you, I asked you to write about something that's beautiful in your life. Like, I don't know, your Mum or Dad or, say, I don’t know, your cat?”The class began to...

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“Can't Miss It” by Michael Martin

Submitted to Contest #106

“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”The voice that came through his phone's speakers sounded so different than Emily’s did just minutes ago when she'd asked to watch Minecraft videos. How had she changed so much in just a few short years? Emily was only 3 then, her hair was shoulder length. Sharon had put it up in pigtails that morning. They bounced along with Emily as she implored him to wake up.He was glued to the small screen, replaying the video from four Father’s Days ago. How had he forgotten about that yellow flower dress? ...

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“Heaven's Banquet” by Ian Mitchell

Submitted to Contest #106

Warning: This one is rather graphic, and more than a bit gruesome. I’d never realized just how beautiful a soft summer rain can be, despite having seen it hundreds of times in my life. That was the thought that went through my head on a Thursday afternoon, as I lay dying upon the sidewalk after being struck by a car that had skidded out of control. Time seemed to be moving so slowly, and everything hurt so much. The people around me were frantic. Who could blame them? After all, it’s not every day that you see someon...

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“Insignificant Moments of Bliss and Loneliness - A Love Letter” by Clementine Daisy

Submitted to Contest #106

About DescriptionsThe first time I tried to write, it occurred to me that despite my strong conviction that I am a writer, I could not describe an object; anything at all. All I could do was replace simple words for fancier words; but let’s not fool ourselves. That's a trick, not writing. Say, for example, that I have imagined an object. The object lives nowhere but in my imagination and I am thus, the only being having knowledge of the existence of the said object; of its properties, its looks, its functions. A description would t...

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“The Vanity” by Cathryn V

Submitted to Contest #106

The old mahogany night stand had been surgically excised and bruised, yet it survived in the elegant bedroom, standing out like a fly on a wedding cake. It had been in their daughter Tessa's room until she moved out for college. Meridee intended to take to the dump, but Kevin insisted on using it next to his reading chair in their bedroom. Meridee had objected, of course, since it would ruin the elegant look she had achieved there.But that day, sitting in her now ex-husband's chair, she breathed in the faint smell of his aftershave and musky...

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“Dandelions in the Bathtub” by Abby Stone

Submitted to Contest #106

Dandelions in the Bathtub Dandelions are unappreciated. They are loathed by gardeners, villainized by homeowners with pristine lawns, and ridiculed by chefs as not being good enough to be a contributor to the salad bowl. Dandelions are loved by children. They are picked by the fistful and stuffed into bowls of water in the kitchen so the ants can pour out onto the table. When picked past their vibrant yellow stage, dandelions are used to make the most important of wishes to a child. And many summer days have been spent weaving dandelions...

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“Wilted Hydrangeas” by Ella Dodge

Submitted to Contest #106

A few days ago she had been sauntering on the sticky streets of Southend-on-Sea and now, she traveled in a cloud of clay dust with a group of archaeologists into the Moroccan desert. Every object in sight was saturated in yellow, lustrous saffron in the scorching sun and flaxen rust in the sparse shade.Sonia sat adjacent to the window, brushing away the dust that had accumulated to show the sun, a dandelion that infested the sky that she was furiously attempting to keep at bay with her hand-held, paper make-shift fan. A woman with a fine car...

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“Deep inside the earth” by Kayise Mosotho

Submitted to Contest #106

I wake up draped in sheets of silk on a bed of tender foam. Pulling drips out of my arm and inner thigh as I try to stretch. The bed adheres to the weight of my body as I roll up to a sitting position. It could sleep six of me with room to spare. Its corners are surrounded by four pillars of carved wood. One carved in the totem of a snake. One of a bird of prey, perhaps a hawk or a falcon. One of a baboon. And one of an elephant. My eyes are pulled to the ceiling at this time. Pearls of varying sizes are lodged into the roof. Spinning ...

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“Complete and Utter Despair” by Amanda Fox

Submitted to Contest #106

I’m alone. I’m so terribly alone, and it’s dark in the apartment. The blackout curtains are drawn tightly to block out the aggressive summer sun. The overhead light is on, but it does nothing to cut through the darkness that is, I recognize, mostly in my own mind. There are times when the loneliness is so overwhelming that I can’t help but cry. This is one of those times, and a soft whine escapes my lips. I take a deep, shuddering breath and push the cry back down my throat. I mustn’t let the neighbors hear.&nbsp...

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“Burned Beauty ” by Leonora Juarez

Submitted to Contest #106

How many times had they walked these halls back then? How many times — without ever giving it a second thought? They had taken all this for granted… only to regret it now. To feel the lingering feeling of sadness right in their bones, making them shiver as they walked slowly from room to room, eyeing at everything. The smell of burnt something tickling in their noses, followed by the black spots on the floor, on the ceiling, on the walls. Dirt crunched as they stepped on it — it was the only sound they dared to make, though each of their ste...

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“after love” by Vie Tan

Submitted to Contest #106

Today, once again, the table is warmed by the dawning rays of sun. The dips in between each wood grain is still lukewarm, but the sun only grows stronger with each passing minute; underneath the delicate lace of the table runner, the wood is cold there. Already, there are two mugs on the table, only one half-full. When lifted, they leave water stains behind them, the wood stained irrevocably. These rings are marked in patterns of duets all around this wooden table, some overlapping like rings, and others just shy of touching. Here, w...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 74 stories

“Insignificant Other” by Shoshana A

“Burnt Toast and Life's Other Pleasures” by Darby McGuire

“The Lover's Flower” by Barbara Mealer

“Born of Water” by Megan DeRouin

“Onion Love.” by Phil Manders

“Can't Miss It” by Michael Martin

“Heaven's Banquet” by Ian Mitchell

“Insignificant Moments of Bliss and Loneliness - A Love Letter” by Clementine Daisy

“The Vanity” by Cathryn V

“Dandelions in the Bathtub” by Abby Stone

“Wilted Hydrangeas” by Ella Dodge

“Deep inside the earth” by Kayise Mosotho

“Complete and Utter Despair” by Amanda Fox

“Burned Beauty ” by Leonora Juarez

“after love” by Vie Tan

🌟 Similar prompts

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

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

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

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

Contest #106

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

153

Contest entries

206

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: