FORTY WINKS

dance of the fireflies    In the realm between shadows and light, illusions dance,  A phantasm, a trick of sight.  Whispers draw me closer, clouding my mind,  Casting its spell, playing with my psyche. Mysterious, obscure, and deep. Embracing me in its warmth. Isn't love an illusion?  As is life.  Fleeting, frail, and magical like folklore.  I wander through this dreamlike land,  Light as a feather, tender as a teardrop. In twilight, when stillness stings,  A tapestry of yearning weaves its threads,  Each stitch is embellished with pleasures I want to know.  Isn't love an illusion?  As...

(  The short story fiction category was chosen for an online writing competition. The story began as a 50-word submission I wrote for a prompt on Instagram.) The Patterns In The Sky Ten-year-old Nina pointed towards the sky, her eyes sparkling with wonder.  "Look, Mom, the sky looks so beautiful," she exclaimed. It was a cold, dreary morning in January, and the looming clouds veiled the entire landscape. Nina and her mother, Neelam, were nestled in the tranquil embrace of their farmhouse courtyard, enveloped by the undisturbed rural panorama. As Neelam hesitantly looked up from the book she was engrossed in, she couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between the dull, gray sky and her daughter's vibrant, elated expression. Instead of basking in the warmth of her daughter's joy, she was unexpectedly trapped by a bewildering surge of conflicting emotions. Unsure of navigating this whirlwind of feelings, she was transfixed. She realized that this moment would ma...