The Night Mira Couldn’t Name Her Feeling

In the quiet glow of Whisperwood, when the moon painted silver light across the leaves, Mira fluttered slowly above the forest.
Usually, night made her feel light.
Peaceful.
Happy.
But tonight…
Something felt different.
Not big.
Not loud.
Just… strange.

Mira landed gently on a soft glowing leaf.
She pressed her wings close to her body.
“I don’t feel like me,” she whispered.
Nearby, Whimsy zipped through the air in a swirl of glowing loops.
“Look at me!” she giggled. “I made a sparkle circle!”
She stopped mid-spin when she saw Mira.
“…Oh.”
Whimsy floated closer.
“You’re not sparkly tonight.”
Mira shook her head softly.
“I don’t know what I feel.”
Whimsy tilted her head.
“Is it a sad feeling?”
Mira thought.
“…No.”
“Is it a happy feeling?”
“…No.”
Whimsy blinked.
“Is it a snack feeling?”

Mira almost smiled.
“…I don’t think so.”
Just then, a warm golden glow approached slowly through the trees.
Tillo arrived, his lantern shining softly.
“Good evening, little ones,” he said gently.
Whimsy fluttered beside him.
“Mira has a mystery feeling!”
Tillo nodded calmly.
“That happens sometimes.”
Mira looked up.
“But I don’t know what it is.”
Tillo sat beside her.
“That’s alright,” he said.
“Not all feelings arrive with names.”

Mira blinked.
“They don’t?”
Tillo shook his head.
“Some feelings are quiet. They take time to understand.”
From behind a bush—
“KA-CHOO!”
A burst of sparkles exploded into the air.
Puffin tumbled out, covered in glowing dust.
“I sneezed into a mushroom again,” he announced proudly.
Whimsy giggled.
“That’s not how mushrooms work.”
Puffin sat beside Mira.
“…Why do you look like a sleepy cloud?”
Mira sighed softly.
“I feel something strange.”
Puffin thought very hard.
Then said,
“Maybe your feeling is hiding.”
Mira blinked.
“Hiding?”
Puffin nodded seriously.
“Sometimes I hide my snacks so well… even I can’t find them.”
Whimsy laughed.
“That is NOT helpful.”
Tillo smiled gently.
“Actually… it might be.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Feelings can hide,” Tillo explained.
“Especially when we don’t understand them yet.”
Mira looked down at her wings.
“So what do I do?”
Tillo’s lantern glowed softly.
“You don’t need to fix it,” he said.
“You just need to sit with it.”
Whimsy floated closer and gently wrapped her wings around Mira.
“Like this?”
Mira nodded.
“…Like that.”
Puffin leaned in too.
“I will also sit.”

He sat.
Very dramatically.
And then immediately fell slightly sideways.
“Still sitting,” he said.
Mira let out a tiny laugh.
The strange feeling didn’t disappear.
But it felt… smaller.
Softer.
“I think…” Mira said slowly,
“I feel a little heavy.”
Tillo nodded.
“That’s a good place to start.”
Whimsy smiled.
“And you’re not alone.”
Mira looked around.
Her friends were right there.
Not fixing.
Not rushing.
Just… staying.
And somehow, that made the strange feeling feel less scary.
Above them, the moon glowed softly.
And Mira rested her wings, letting the quiet feeling be there…
Knowing it would change,
In its own time.