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PODCAST

Stories

Francis Rosenfeld

A weekly podcast of short stories and book readings by Francis Rosenfeld. Discover literary fiction, surreal tales, and introspective narratives exploring reality, identity, and human connection—perfect for listening on the go.

fiction

All Episodes

2:55

A Year and A Day - The Ceremony

Stories ·

2026/04/17

The day after the Night of the Mothers, for the second time, grandmother asked Aifa.“Did you enjoy the ceremony, granddaughter?” And again, Aifa responded. “It was beautiful, Doyenne, I just thought I’d feel different after that, is all.”

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10:15

A Year and A Day - November - The Manifestation of God

Stories ·

2026/04/10

Atthe end of November, nature had finally settled into its cold season slumber. There was a chill in the air, a chill whose fingers got colder every morning, and which was embroidering lacy frost on the ground and on the windows, the icy breath of the earth made manifest.The Twins seemed unsettled. Aifa could see them look out to the horizon, towards the sea, as if waiting for somebody, or seeing something that was revealed only to them in the frigid mist.

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11:18

A Year and A Day - November - All Souls’ Day

Stories ·

2026/04/04

“Are you coming, granddaughter?” grandmother asked, somewhat impatient. Aifa was still fiddling with her garment and time was growing short. “We have to go right now, otherwise we’ll be late.” “Late for what, doyenne?” Aifa asked, heading towards the door. “Our trip, dear. No, don’t take that, we are not going to need it,” she said, when Aifa tried to pick up a lamp for the return trip. Sunset was about an hour away, and the shadows of dusk had already started concealing the farther

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10:55

A Year and A Day - October - The Celebration of the...

Stories ·

2026/03/27

Aifa looked out the window, a little worried about a couple of leaden clouds that had started gathering over the horizon. The feast of the Victory of Good over Evil was mostly celebrated outdoors, and she didn’t want the rain to ruin her delicate silk garments or wash off the intricate body painting that several of her relatives had worked so hard to finish the day before. The dances had already started in the streets, and people were slowly gathering in the Market Square, where preparations were

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10:34

A Year and A Day - October - The Blessing of Animals...

Stories ·

2026/03/22

Everybody loved the Blessing of Animals and Nature, especially the children, of course, who had waited all year to bring their pets to the Hearth so that the Twins could utter a benediction over them.At the beginning of October, all families climbed the stairs up to the Market Square, bringing a basket, a birdcage or a fish bowl, happy to show off their beloved pets, which had been specially groomed for this particular occasion, even though they looked a little grumpy in their carriers, appalled by

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10:37

A Year and A Day - September - The Feast of Trumpets

Stories ·

2026/03/13

The sun set slowly in the sound of the trumpets, falling like a large orange ball into the sea. The trumpets kept calling as the light subsided, and the people looked out into the open waters from the elevated platform of the market square.“Today we release our burdens. Cast all your regrets to the winds, don’t let them follow you into the future.”

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11:14

A Year and A Day - September - The Celebration of...

Stories ·

2026/03/06

There weren’t many times when the Hearth was bare, but the Celebration of Harvest was one of them. People were scattered around the city, busy with the preparations, only returning to the Great Hall to bring things for the feast. The Twins, who had far outgrown the need to be watched like children, were often left alone at this time, with only one or two Caretakers to attend to their immediate needs.It was for this reason that Aifa found herself alone with the Twins the evening before the feast, at

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10:57

A Year and A Day - August - The Snake Ceremony

Stories ·

2026/03/01

Aifa, her grandmother and the rest of the Caretakers had been working hard all morning, braiding bunches of colorful ribbons into rainbows. The entire Grand Hall of the Hearth was filled with ribbons, whose silky threads seemed to be animated by their own inner spirit and slithered into crevices and recesses, never to be found again.In the middle of the room, the Twins were getting ready for the ceremony, learning how to properly carry their ceremonial staffs. “Are those snakes?” Aifa whispered,

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11:13

A Year and A Day - August - Ancestors’ Day

Stories ·

2026/02/21

“Hurry up, granddaughter, we wouldn’t want our guests to find us unprepared,” Aifa’s grandmother commented, more to assuage her own tension than anything else. Everything had been prepared, cleaned, shined to a blinding polish, planned to the last detail. “Today is a big day, you know, the time when the door between life and death is left ajar, so we can rejoice in our departed loved ones’ presence once again.”“How would I know if they are here, doyenne?” Aifa asked, a little confused. “Oh, you

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10:49

A Year and A Day - July - The Day of Abundance

Stories ·

2026/02/13

“Knead joyfully, granddaughter, you don’t want that bread to be heavier than a rock,” grandmother teased.All the Caretakers were gathered at their house to bake together for the Day of Abundance. They had started early in the morning and the aroma of fresh bread, right out of the oven, filled the whole house. Under their diligent hands, the first grains of harvest yielded their goodness, transformed into an elastic and malleable dough that was lighter than air. Masterful fingers kneaded and

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10:52

A Year and A Day - July - The Festival of the Chariots

Stories ·

2026/02/07

The middle of July brought with it an abundance of early harvest, but the Caretakers were so busy, they didn’t even notice the buoyant unfolding of life around them. They spent day after day, gathered around the Twins, listening to the wisdom the two poured forth, wisdom whose source nobody really understood, and which, they believed, could only come from on high.“What about you, doyenne?” Aifa asked. “Haven’t you heard this before?” “Oh, no, child. No two years’ teachings are ever the same. What

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10:57

A Year and A Day - June - Bonfire Day

Stories ·

2026/01/30

For the second time that year, the community took their trip down the side of the mountain, down to the sea. It was the middle of June, and it seemed like the whole world was covered in flowers, especially the tall, bright yellow flowers of the meadow, which some still believed were faeries in disguise. There was talk that at night, on the eve of this feast, they could be seen dancing across the fields and meadows, as if stepping on air, ethereal like the breeze itself. When asked about it, people

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10:36

A Year and A Day - June - The Gifts of the Spirit

Stories ·

2026/01/26

“Are you nervous, granddaughter?” grandmother asked.It was Aifa’s first public speaking assignment, one for which she had prepared the entire week, and she was, of course, all nerves. “Don’t fret over it, you will do just fine.” “What if I don’t?” Aifa asked, wretched. “Then you won’t,” grandmother joked. “I’m sure they’ll let you live.” “Don’t joke about it, doyenne!” Aifa chided. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” grandmother said, trying very hard to be serious but unable to suppress a smile.

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10:47

A Year and A Day - May - The Day of Enlightenment

Stories ·

2026/01/16

The Great Hall was filled with light and flowers, there were so many flowers, so many candles, the whole floor was covered in them. It felt strange for Aifa to watch the Twins, who were dressed up in their simple white garments and had flowers woven in their elaborately braided hair, sit donning unearthly smiles on top of a mound of flowers, like living statues.

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10:47

A Year and A Day - May - The Day of Enlightenment

Stories ·

2026/01/10

The Great Hall was filled with light and flowers, there were so many flowers, so many candles, the whole floor was covered in them. It felt strange for Aifa to watch the Twins, who were dressed up in their simple white garments and had flowers woven in their elaborately braided hair, sit donning unearthly smiles on top of a mound of flowers, like living statues.

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10:23

A Year and A Day - May - The Night of Power

Stories ·

2026/01/02

“Aifa,” grandmother whispered, although nobody in the house was sleeping. “Are you ready, granddaughter? It is time to go to the Hearth.”Aifa wrapped her garment a little tighter around her waist and washed her face with the rose water her mother had made, put on her shoes and walked in silence behind her grandmother, stepping purposefully on the old stone paving, under the eerie brightness of the full moon. There was no wind in the air, there were no clouds in the sky, and the perfume of the

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10:38

A Year and A Day - April - The Return of the...

Stories ·

2025/12/27

Anyway, that afternoon Aifa and the Twins were out on the daffodil meadow, which Ama and Jal seemed to be particularly fond of, when all of the sudden the sky grew dark and shook with rumblings. Any other children would have run for the hills, screaming their lungs out, but not the Twins, who looked mesmerized towards the horizon, as if they have been waiting for this particular event their entire existence. Covering the horizon, gigantic and proud, their wingspan the width of a mountain, their

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10:26

A Year and A Day - April - The Feast of Returning to...

Stories ·

2025/12/27

From the moment the Twins arrived, poor Aifa hadn’t experienced a moment’s rest. They were five years old now, constantly moving around and getting into everything, and last, but not least, they never stopped talking. They seemed to have reached that glorious age when everything aroused their curiosity and the Caretakers couldn’t stay abreast their endless lists of whys.One question they seemed to be obsessed with was that of mortality in general, and their own mortality in particular. They

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10:26

A Year and A Day - March - The Dawn of the Flowers...

Stories ·

2025/12/19

The closer it got to the spring equinox, the more animated the Grand Hall of the Hearth became, engulfed in a flurry of activities related to sprucing up, clearing and decorating it for the arrival of the Twins. Every now and then one of the Caretakers went out into the yard, to check if the ice on the pond had thinned, or even melted, gazing intently at the space above it in the hope of seeing two snow flurries, the last of the last snow, fall into the water, the sign that marked the blessed event

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11:41

A Year and A Day - March - The Reading of Blessings

Stories ·

2025/12/12

The Day of the Blessings usually started early in Aifa’s household. Aifa and her siblings were already dressed up in their costumes by the time the sun was high up in the sky, and were crowding each other in the kitchen, where they were all gathered to stuff their goody baskets with filled pastries and other yummy treats.They were lucky this year, the day was sunny and relatively warm for the beginning of March, it was really no fun having to wear a heavy coat over the costumes they had spent so

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114 results

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