Storyfeather Gazette: A palm tree that leads from life to afterlife, a celestial festival, and an everyday pleasure that once belonged only to the gods

Published over 1 year ago • 2 min read

May 2025 Issue 2

In this issue: Short fiction and podcast episodes from the first half of May, and thoughts about savoring stories.

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

I'M A SEASONED AUTHOR 😏

I recently tried Everything Bagel seasoning. I heard about what the ingredients were, which made me think I might like the stuff. Garlic, onion, a variety of small and charming seeds, and salt, of course. Sounds good to me. I've been putting it on my cheese toast (that's what I call it when I toast a slice of sourdough bread with shredded cheddar on top). Delicious.

The right combination of ingredients can create an amazing flavor that might even become a favorite. Stories can be like that. But one person's favorite might be another person's "I'll pass on that."

I don't know how you feel about Everything Bagel seasoning. But I hope I've managed to cook up a story or two that you can savor. 🍽

✒️ 🪶 🎙

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.

Here we go...

Maythology 🪽

✒️ My chosen theme for the May stories this year is mythology. I've heard, and this is baffling to me, that some people consider mythology to be boring. Picture me pulling my collar away from my neck with a nervous laugh. Below, I present an underdog story about mortals pulling one over on their gods, and another story where divine animals gather for feasting.

🦁 🪿 🐏 🐢 🐬 ✨️

🎙 The podcast episodes feature a story about kids spying on a god in the woods, and a tale that tells of how and why we lost our only conscious link to the afterlife.

Titles and taglines below. Enjoy!

Short Stories

Digital drawing. Composite. The sun and planets of our solar system, seen in overlap from the sun at left to Pluto at right. The spheres get smaller from left to right but are not to scale. Earth’s moon is shown, but no other moons appear. Translucent images of animals float above and below the planets and in front of the sun. A lion’s head overlaps the sun. Above Venus is a swan’s head. Above and between Mars and Jupiter is a ram’s head. Above Uranus is a dolphin. Above Neptune is a humpback whale. Below Mercury is a parrot. Below Earth is a cat’s head. Below Jupiter is an elephant’s head. Below Saturn is a turtle’s head and partial shell and leg. Each animal has a single sparking star in place of the visible eye. Right of Pluto is a lone sparking star. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along Saturn’s rings. Copyright notice at bottom middle reads, “Copyright © 2025 Nila L. Patel.”

We're in Year 12, the Year of Praxis. The word essentially means "practice." Through the stories, I'm exploring elements of my writing practice.

Each link below leads directly to the story post.

FESTIVAL OF THE CELESTIAL BEASTS
Celestial beasts gather at a festival where one of them tells the tale of how his family came into being, and how they came to become beasts.✨️
Genre: Mythology

STEALING SUGAR FROM THE GODS
A vision reveals that a thief will steal from the gods themselves, a rare and precious treasure known as sugar. 🍬
Genre: Mythology

Podcast Episodes

Digital drawing. A stylized depiction on a tapestry or scroll. At left, a man stands in front of a black cobra that is larger than him. Both face to the right. The man holds his right hand on his hip and holds his left hand out, palm forming a “stop” gesture. They stand on a green shore with bright blades of grass. At right, a man in a boat raises his hands and face to the sky. Before him two strange beasts with hooked beaks and feathery scales stare to the left. Between boat and shore are stylized curls depicting waves. Top center, the bottom half of circle that depicts the sun. Bright rays beam to the left, bolts of lightning fan out to the right. The sky at center is blue, but darkens from left to right between the bolts. Top and bottom borders depict a repeating pattern, in two rows, the tops of palm trees. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along a ray of sunlight at center left.

We're in season 8, the Year of Revisitation. Each episode is a standalone story, but it's inspired by an earlier story.

The text links below go to the Explore page on Storyfeather, where you can listen to the episode, find the links to the episode(s) that inspired it, and more.

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

THE SANDALWOOD GOD

Three children are determined to find out if the tales they’ve heard are true…that there is a god living in the middle of the forest outside their village.
Genre: Mythology

In an age long past, death was not a mystery, for a palm tree once grew upon the earth that served as a path between life and afterlife.
Genre: Mythology

The Caligo Palm

May 9 · Storyfeather

28:54

🌀

“At the center of our realm is a great and terrible maw,” the lion said. “It abides only to drink all that there is. Draw close enough, and it will swallow you. What happens beyond that moment, I do not know. What I do know is that this strange thing that only knows how to devour is the reason we are all drawn together.”

–From “Festival of the Celestial Beasts”

Parting words🪶

Next time, more myths and mayhem from the May stories and podcast episodes.

If you're enjoying my stories, I'd love to hear about it. You can reply to this email to let me know. Likewise, if you've got any questions.

Until next time, happy reading and listening! 📚
—Nila

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