The Midnight Circus

This piece begins in the quiet sanctuary of an Eden Valley night, though as you’ll see, the peace doesn’t last long.


The Midnight Circus
© Veronika Sophia Robinson

A cool breeze flows steadily
through the open window,
cutting through the vast,
rural stillness of the Eden Valley.

It washes over my skin,
clearing the lingering warmth of daylight
and carrying the deep, undisturbed quiet
of the countryside into the bedroom.

There are no city hums here, no rushing traffic,
just the immense silence of acres of meadow grass
and distant fells resting under the night sky.

By my bed, the flowering jasmine claims the dark.
Clusters of star-shaped white blossoms
gleam like pale pearls in the silver moonlight,
their delicate petals luminous
against the deep shadows of the wall.

Blossoms unfurl.
Each one exhales
a thick, intoxicating perfume dominates the room,
wrapping around me
and weaving through the heavy warmth of the sheets.

The solitary, haunting hoot of an owl
echoes from the distant woods,
vibrating through the rural quiet,
but my senses always return to the jasmine,
its sweet spell anchoring my mind in pure peace.

Suddenly, the stillness fractures.
A soft scratch on the sill. Two fluid shadows blur.
Our cats Pelé and Kali
leap through the open frame,
breaching the boundary
and treading the crisp white linen.

Their paws crinkle the pristine duvet
with the wild energy of the night.
Instantly, Pelé collapses against my side,
melting into the fabric
and vibrating with a heavy, rapid purr.

But Kali ignites.
She storms across the floor!
She races in frantic circles!
She skids on rugs, bats at shadows,
and makes a riotous racket,
utterly thrilled to invade this forbidden territory.

I lie trapped beneath Pelé’s warmth,
caught between amusement and sighs
as Kali’s wild midnight circus swirls.

Through the chaos,
the luminous jasmine keeps breathing,
exhaling its steady, quiet calm,
until the fiasco finally fades,
the rural silence reclaims the house,
and the fragrant dark folds us all to sleep.