Storyfeather Gazette: A sleeper who wakes to wild worlds, two dreamers who wander through whimsy, and four friends who find high jinks at an ice cream bar

Published about 1 year ago • 2 min read

July 2025 Issue 3

In this issue: Short stories and podcast episodes from the second half of July, and a brief comment of how weird it is to sleep.

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

WHAT A STRANGE AND SPLENDID THING IS SLEEP 😴

I've been sleeping strangely lately. Not as strangely as the young woman in my story (below). But it's made me think again about how we all need to do this vulnerable thing, just falling unconscious for hours on end. Never really knowing what we'll wake to. It's a necessity. And yet, it can also be a luxury.

I hope you sleep well and scrumptiously when it's time to sleep. And when you need a break, while you're still awake, do find someplace soft to settle in, and wander through one of the cozy stories I have for you in this issue.

✒️ 🪶 🎙

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...

Jaunty July 🪲

✒️ I've visited many settings in my stories throughout the years. This month, I'm focusing on different aspects of setting. Not just physical locations. But mood and atmosphere. The two stories below are out of this world, so to speak.

🎙 The podcast episodes are also about visiting places beyond the known world. A trio of gardeners trek towards a supernatural garden, and two siblings explore a whimsical world in a shared dream.

Titles and taglines below. Enjoy!

Short Stories

Digital drawing. View of a tabletop and three figures. On the tabletop in the foreground from left to right are a soda glass filled with a tan liquid with whipped cream on top and a silver straw sticking out. A placemat with “Welcome to the Stars” written at the top, upside down to viewer. A dish with three scoops of charcoal-colored ice cream on top of the placemat. At center behind the table is a muscular figure who’s only seen from shoulders down. His shirt is open at the top, revealing a hairy chest. His right arm lies along the table’s edge with the hairy forearm shown. Sitting on top of the arm is a small creature with the head of a puppy and the body of a dragonfly, eyes looking up at the large figure. At right is a much smaller figure with the head of a fence lizard, wearing a collared shirt, mouth open, gazing at the ice cream. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along the right collar of the central figure. Copyright notice at bottom right 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.

SLEEPER AND BLINKER
Every morning, Nyx awakes in a new world. 🛏

Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy

SCATTERED STARS ICE CREAM BAR
Four friends get together to celebrate and commiserate, at one of the only ice cream bars in the sector. 🍦

Genre: Science Fiction

Podcast Episodes

Digital drawing of a stream cutting through a grassy meadow. Foreground left corner displays glowing curling stems. A ladybug is perched on one of the stems. Bottom middle edge, a piece of paper floats in the water. To the ladybug’s left, a wooden sign juts up from the grass. In the upper third of the image, forests are visible through purple haze, and mountains even further back. The sky glows with sunlight. The rectangular image is made square with top and bottom borders that repeat and continue the top and bottom of the image. Watermark of "Storyfeather" along the edge of the river at center right.

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 GARDEN OF PERPETUATION

To preserve their endangered houses, Black Radish, Purple Carrot, and Green Garlic send envoys to reach a garden hidden beyond the natural world. 🌱

Genre: Fable, Mythology

The Garden of Perpetuation

Jul 18 · Storyfeather

29:02

TWO TICKETS TO DREAM SECTOR DISIGMA

Two siblings end up in a shared dream and explore it according to their priorities: eating food and making friends. 🐞

Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy

Two Tickets to Dream Sector...

Jul 25 · Storyfeather

39:55

🍨

Nickwicket fluttered her wings gently. “She’s just waiting for her family to arrive, and then they’ll take me out.”

“What?!” Sid leaned forward.

“This must be a misunderstanding,” Feltoriod said. “Who would feud with you?”

Sidra nodded. “And ‘take you out’ could mean a lot of things.”

“Well, I don’t think she wants to date me. She told me to get my friends, and we’ll settle things outside when the time comes.”

Gree glanced between them all. “We're a bunch of lovers and dreamers. Not fighters. What should we do if they get violent?”

Feltoriod looked down at his muscular arms. “He’s right. These are only for show.”

“Let’s offer to buy her whole family a scoop,” Sidra said. “That might cool things down.”

—From "Scattered Stars Ice Cream Bar"

Parting words🪶

Next time, we'll cross the border from sky to space. And we'll find out what August is plotting...

Happy reading and listening! 📚
—Nila

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