Member-only story
Midnight Clouds at Whisperwind Acres
Chapter 1: A Story Dream Like Never Before
This story was created for a writing challenge on Vocal titled “Under Purple Clouds,” with the following criteria: Write the first chapter of a magical realism story (between 600–5,000 words) that starts with the following sentence: “Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky.”
Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. And every night, like clockwork, my son and I would brush our teeth, get into our PJ’s, gather our blankets and pillows, and make our way outside to settle in promptly at 11:55pm.
“I wonder what the story will be tonight,” James would often say as he nestled into me, clutching his teddy bear. I always reminded myself to savour these moments when my little boy still felt little. If only I had known just how quickly the precious years would pass.
It didn’t matter if it was a rainy or stormy day. Somehow, it never failed to clear up before midnight on the farm. It had always been that way — for my son, for me, for my parents, my grandparents, and so on.
Whisperwind Acres had belonged to our family for at least seven generations. To us, the magic that happened at night over the farm field was simply a normal and…
