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Midnight Burning

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By Melissa IngoldsbyPublished 2 years ago Updated about a year ago 1 min read
Top Story - February 2024
The Midnight Sun (The Twilight Zone)

The midnight sun burned me up; I was up lingering in the faded ember of her deep, ravishing smile. That grand old time where I was truly alive. When my world was blanketed, coated, covered.

That soft, tingly, bone-in-chill sort of blanket.

That one sort of crystalline beauty that created a zest for seeing your own yells come to life in the air, puffy and white and full of playfulness. I'd lay on a hill and let the all the white become a better part of who I was, that crinkly and perfect form of water that I longed to keep in my heart.

But, alas, she was now lost. And the midnight burning lasts longer than I can admit, every minute on the hour. Every bleeding second of my everything, my seething vitriol and reason to keep existing in this hell on earth.

Do you know how you can sometimes still feel a limb even if it's been cut off? A phantom twitch, an imperceptible pinch of lost nerves, stealing away your sanity. Stealing away your very sense of time and space and energy.

Without the first burst of curled up brown, orange and red leaves collected into mulch, and that nip in the air that told us all the cycle of life was on schedule.

I realized my body was heating up to something that felt like the internal temperature of a dying star.

I saw my hand evaporate a small amount of water in a cup, into a puff of wispy nothing. Was I evolving? I'm scared.

I can't cry. I can't move. The whole earth is burning up and all I can do is try to reach out and try to remember…

I feel myself rise as rain evaporating into the clouds. I'll save them all.

MicrofictionStream of Consciousness

About the Creator

Melissa Ingoldsby

My work:

Patheos,

The Job, The Space Between Us, Green,

The Unlikely Bounty, Straight Love, The Heart Factory, The Half Paper Moon, I am Bexley and Atonement by JMS Books

Silent Bites by Eukalypto

Reader insights

Outstanding

Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

Top insights

  1. Compelling and original writing

    Creative use of language & vocab

  2. Easy to read and follow

    Well-structured & engaging content

  3. Excellent storytelling

    Original narrative & well developed characters

  1. Expert insights and opinions

    Arguments were carefully researched and presented

  2. Eye opening

    Niche topic & fresh perspectives

  3. Heartfelt and relatable

    The story invoked strong personal emotions

  4. Masterful proofreading

    Zero grammar & spelling mistakes

  5. On-point and relevant

    Writing reflected the title & theme

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Comments (29)

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  • Anna 2 years ago

    Congrats on Top Story!🥳

  • Hyde Wunderli 2 years ago

    Amazing description

  • I loved this intensely beautiful piece.

  • Alistairpo2 years ago

    Great post

  • Gabriel Huizenga2 years ago

    This is incredibly beautiful, striking, and powerful. Thank you so much for sharing!

  • Daphsam2 years ago

    Wow I can feel the urgency of this person realizing that it’s the end of the world. Scary but great writing. Congratulations on your top story

  • Novel Allen2 years ago

    Feels like the end of the world, seasons, life as we know it. Could mean anything, Prophetic and lovely. Congrats.

  • Ava Mack2 years ago

    Ah, the phantom twitch! I've also tried to capture and make sense of that phenomenon in my writing. Great job and congrats on TS!

  • Test2 years ago

    Tragically beautiful and so powerful 🤍

  • M. Lee, MFA2 years ago

    Nice one!

  • Paul Stewart2 years ago

    Melissa this is astonishing. I got lost in it and felt every single word, phrase, sentence, paragraph. Well bloody done! Congrats on Top Story too!

  • Leslie Writes2 years ago

    Wow, amazing intensity. I can feel this one 😳🔥

  • Rao Salman2 years ago

    excellent work

  • hassen fraih2 years ago

    good

  • Babs Iverson2 years ago

    Exquisitely written!!! Love this!@@ congratulations on Top Story!!@♥️♥️💕

  • Rachel M.J2 years ago

    Ooooh, this is gorgeous.

  • Wow. This was so intense. Went from cold warmth to burning chills.

  • Randy Baker2 years ago

    Nicely done!

  • Back to say congratulations on your Top Story! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊

  • Cathy holmes2 years ago

    This is amazing. I love how made a snow micro without ever mentioning snow...maybe because it doesn't exist. Very creative and well written entry. Excellent work, Melissa. Congrats on the TS.

  • JBaz2 years ago

    Beautiful word description you painted a melancholy picture with vivid details Congratulations

  • Caroline Jane2 years ago

    Oh, Melissa. Stunning. 🥰🥰🥰

  • sleepy drafts2 years ago

    "that crinkly and perfect form of water that I longed to keep in my heart." My goodness, this whole piece was so beautiful, but I especially love that line. Gorgeously done. Congratulations on a much-deserved Top Story!! ❤️

  • This was so heartbreaking, emotional, melancholic and intense! I loved it so much!

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