A giant cursed baby, a crown made of stolen thoughts, a garden full of morbid beauty. Storyfeather Gazette.

Published 3 months ago • 2 min read

February 2026 Issue 1

In this issue: Short stories and podcast episodes from the first half of February, and an appreciation of small magic.

Circle format, a three-quarters view of Nila's smiling face from a photo with an oil paint filter applied.

IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS 🌱

When I was young, I was (of course) dazzled by grand accomplishments. But now, I am more enchanted by small sincere efforts. Humble, invisible, everyday things. Skills unappreciated until needed. Weeds that grow without tending, and one day bloom with unexpected beauty.

What small magic can our hands reach? 💫

✒️ 🪶 🎙

Greetings! I'm Nila. Every week, I release a new short story and a new podcast episode spanning the genres of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, mythology, fairy tale, fable, and horror.

Whether you're in the mood to read or listen, I've got stories to tell you.

Fairy Tale February 🧚‍♀️

✒️ For this month's theme, fairies cause and solve dilemmas.

🎙 The podcast episodes are about the necessity of everyday magic.

Titles and taglines below. Enjoy!

Short Stories

Digital drawing. The top of a person’s head from the level of the eyes, which are closed. The hair and complexion are in shades of rose pink. Two tapered ears extend from locks of wavy hair. A slim golden chain set with dangling golden drops wraps loosely around the figure’s head just above the brow. Above this, the head is circled by wispy glowing light, in bands, starbursts, bubbles, and sparks, in many colors, and tilted at slightly different angles like the rings around a planet. At front and center, three branching structures rise. Sparks and bubbles rise above this glowing crown. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along the edge of the right ear. Copyright notice along right side reads, “Copyright © 2026 Nila L. Patel.”

Year 13. This year's theme is WildCards. Cards pulled from games. Maybe characters who are wild cards? I'll figure it out as I go.

Each link below leads directly to the story post.

THE BABY GIANT AND HER FAIRY AUNT

When their baby daughter is turned into a giant by a curse, two loving parents turn to their child's fairy auntie for help. 🧚‍♀️

Genre: Fairy Tale

A CROWN OF CAPTURED THOUGHTS

A fairy queen acquires an enchanted crown at a dear price, but it leaves her with a hunger that cannot be sated. 👑

Genre: Fairy Tale

Find more Year 13 stories at the button below.

Podcast Episodes

Digital drawing. Composite. At center, a flower with three petals shaped like teardrops, one petal at top, two below, each with long tips that extend out of frame. The petals’ coloring combined to form the face of a monkey. Behind and at right are bright and shadowy overlapping outlines and silhouettes of a stem with branches that terminate in skull shapes. Behind and below the main flower is a smaller flower with a monkey face tilted to the right, its monochrome color fading into the background. Behind and at left, depicted in glowing monochrome is a flower that appears like a figure wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a flowing cloak. Behind this glowing figure at left is another silhouette of the skull shapes. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along the edge of petal at right.

The Wheel of Fiction turns and decides each story's theme. Thirteen spokes, with eight occupied by the themes of prior seasons. There's a Wild Card, and a "Turn Again" spoke. And three mystery spokes.

The text links below go to the Explore page on Storyfeather, where you can listen to the episode and find more info about the story

Pressing on the Spotify embed image leads to the episode's Spotify page.

OUTER CITY MAGICIAN

An uncertified magician, who’s not allowed to cast enchantments in the city proper, finds odd jobs to do in the outer city. 🪄

Genre: Fantasy

Outer City Magician

Feb 6 · Storyfeather

31:55

GARDEN OF THE PECULIAR

A person struggling with heartbreak is drawn into the history of a garden filled with morbid beauty. 🥀

Genre: Fantasy

Garden of the Peculiar

Feb 13 · Storyfeather

23:49

Find more episodes at the button below.

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She lifted the babe out of her mother’s arms. The babe reached up her hand, fingers like puffed wheat, reaching for the strange crown atop the head of the strange fairy who clutched her. Violet eyes shifted and flickered, following the thoughts that swirled above the fairy queen’s brow. The crown that never left the sovereign’s head. Made not of hammered gold and faceted gem, but of glowing, glittering, gleaming thoughts, woven over many years of wear into a fine filigree. Sparking with unspent potential.

—From "A Crown of Captured Thoughts"

Attention Fiction Writers ✒️

I have another newsletter, and it's for fictioneers. Every month, I pick a topic or theme to cover about fiction-writing. I send out a short weekly email to introduce the topic, cover a technique, talk troubleshooting, then use one of my stories to demonstrate some aspect of the topic. If you're a Gazette subscriber, you can get the fiction-writing newsletter by simply pressing the title here: Fictioneer's Field Guide.

This month, I've been covering fairy tales—being inspired by and writing them. It's not too late to join. In the last issue of the month, I'll include a brief recap of what I've been covering.

Parting words🪶

Next time, a fairy fish with an ambitious wish. And two people who come to question what they thought was common wisdom about enchanted dangers in their world.

Happy reading and listening! 📚
—Nila

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