The cathedral whispered secrets, not the rustling of leaves or the chirping of crickets, but the quiet murmurs of dreams, the silent stories woven from moonlight and magic. In a quiet corner of a stained-glass window, nestled beneath a large red mushroom dotted with perfect white spots, lay a tiny field mouse named Flicker. Two smaller mushrooms provided a cozy cushion on either side of him. His fur, a mosaic of browns and creams, shimmered with an ethereal light, reflecting the starlight filtering through the repaired seams of the window. Flicker wasn’t asleep. He was gazing upwards, his bright, curious eyes fixed on the vast expanse of the night sky, visible through a gap in the cathedral roof far above. His tiny paws fidgeted, his whiskers twitched nervously, a restless energy buzzing within him.

By day, he flitted from window to window, his restless spirit driving him to explore every corner of the cathedral. But at night, he found solace in the stars. They calmed the whirlwind of thoughts that constantly swirled within him. He loved their distant glow, how they made him feel small, yet strangely alive. He would point his tiny paw and whisper their names, names he’d overheard from passing humans, names he’d misremembered and made his own: “Surferuss,” he’d call Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. “Poldarkiss,” he’d murmur to Polaris, the North Star. “Andromediaa,” he’d squeak to the distant galaxy, imagining it as a beautiful princess trapped in the sky.

He remembered his first days in the cathedral, searching for Lumina’s magic, the magic whispered in the legends. He’d searched every window, every corner, every point of light but found nothing. He felt like he was searching for “something” his whole life. Then, one night, he looked up. “Flicker! Must you dash about like a comet?” Nyx, the red-morph screech owl, would scold, her feathers ruffling in annoyance. “Some of us are trying to concentrate!” Delilah would sweetly say in her lovely, calming voice, “What Nix means to say, is that it’s time to meditate, little mouse.”

But nothing seemed to quiet the restless hum that vibrated through his tiny frame, until he looked up. Up at the stars.

As he gazed at the tiny flickering lights, he felt a warmth spread through him, a feeling of contentment he had not experienced before. The worries, anxieties and constant restless energies that plagued him during the day seemed to melt away, replaced by a sense of peace, a quiet joy.

He wasn’t just a trembling, annoying field mouse anymore. He was a part of the cathedral, a part of its magic, a part of its story. He was a stained-glass mouse, forever gazing at the stars, forever connected to the vast universe, forever at peace. The restless energy that had always driven him now flowed into a quiet sense of purpose, a connection to something larger than himself.

And as the moon climbed higher in the sky, casting its silvery glow upon the old, forgotten cathedral, Flicker remained there, lost in the wonder of the stars.

Suddenly, a burst of joy filled him. An exciting revelation that he just had to share! He threw all of his tiny paws up in the air and yelled, “Delilah! Elvis! I’m meditating!” The echo bounced off the cathedral walls.

From the shadows, a sleepy voice responded, “Shhhhh!” and a startled, angry screech owl began to trill.

“Shattered Midnight Mouse” is a Gansai (Japanese Watercolor) painting. It is a dark painting depicting dark blue forest floor. featuring 3 red and white mushrooms. The middle mushroom is large and one smaller mushroom on each side. There are shadows of leafy plants to compliment the mushrooms. Centered in the middle is a little field mouse gazing upwards on it’s back under the mushrooms with it’s little paws on it’s belly.

Please feel free to use the form below for commissions or gallery appearances. I will answer your request as soon as possible.

SKIP TO CONTACT FORM

Check out my other paintings at www.tobitokens.com or find out a little more about me at About Tobi! Visit Disclosures to find out how I establish these short stories.

Visit my Social Media for more up-to-date happenings!

Go back