This may take a little digging. Find an old book full of pen marks, or an old cookbook stained with flour and other ingredients. Using the dirtiness of the book, tell a story about how the blotches or stains may have gotten there. Is there a particular rage in the marginalia, or a certain messiness inherent to the cook? All worth writing about.

The definition of ‘palimpsest’: a very old document on which the original writing has been erased and replaced with new writing

Length: 500 words.