Today’s prompt: “As dusk falls, lanterns light up the village in a soft glow. What do you feel as you walk through the village?”
Today’s music: A Vow - As the Light Fades, by Infin3on. 🎧 Listen on SoundCloud.
The Lanterns at Dusk
Yesterday had left me feeling a little restless. Not like I wanted to leave Hearthlight, but like I wasn’t doing enough. I’d been treating the hamlet as a holiday park, and it wasn’t what Hearthlight was for. Sure, the place didn’t come with an instruction manual, but it was… inviting me? Encouraging me?
Or maybe that was just me, agitating as I always did.
I sifted through town for most of the day, distracted and adrift. Things here weren’t as idyllic as they seemed; Hearthlight might need me as much as I needed it. I wasn’t sure how to offer that help, but I also didn’t think Hearthlight was asking. Was I inventing problems?
The day turned to dusk. It took a while to work out what was going on, as my head was down and my eyes fixed on the cobbles as I paced the streets. As the sun faded, a different light took over the streets: lanterns. They were pinned to every house, every doorway, and every street sign.
The lanterns offered a warm glow. They appeared to be made of paper, but the light inside was steady and insistent. One lantern was set up by Trudy’s gelato store. The store was closed, the lantern affixed to the glass door by a hook. I padded closer for a look. The lantern wasn’t warm. It looked as if it should be warm, with a light deep and rich like that provided by a wick or mighty candle, but it wasn’t. I peered inside.
There wasn’t anything there.
I squinted, trying to work out what was happening. Inside the lantern, its walls were lit. I carefully put my hand inside, and sure enough, produced shadow puppets on the wall for my troubles. Moving my hand about inside suggested a central point from which the light emanated, but there wasn’t a filament or wick. I passed my hand through the centre and felt no resistance or heat.
Well, I’ll be dipped in shit. A magic lantern.
It struck me that I’d never been inside an electrical bulb. What would being the filament be like? Would you see yourself glow? Is that what these lanterns were? Was there some kind of… ugh. I didn’t have the words, but I felt in my heart that something lived in the lantern. It was what shone.
I padded about the market square. Mike had hung five lanterns outside Mike’s Meats. The reconstructed public bench was festooned with lanterns. The pub where I stayed had about a zillion lanterns—one in every doorway, window, or on the tables.
I saw Dorothy, Sam, and Maxwell enter the square. The front of Mike’s Meats opened, and Mike stood, beckoning them closer. As Sam and Maxwell headed toward Mike, Dorothy saw me and urged them on. She walked toward me with a slight spring in her step. I smiled as she drew closer and said, “Good evening.”
“It is, but not for the reasons you think.” She rubbed her hand across her finger, and I could see she had her ring on this time. Dorothy noticed that, and cast a glance toward Mike. “Thank you for the other night.”
“I only played fetch.”
“That’s not all,” she said. “But thank you for not making a big thing of it, too.”
“What’s with the lanterns?” I looked around. “Everyone’s got one.”
She gave a small, sad smile. “Tonight is when we remember.”
I thought that through and came up empty. “Remember what?”
Dorothy rubbed her ring again. “Everything. All the paths that brought us here. All the people. The things we made or broke. The people we hurt or helped. We remember them, and Hearthlight remembers, too. Each lantern carries the memory of a soul. And if we do our job right, they burn so very bright.”
I watched her walk back toward Mike’s, then looked at the lanterns. There were a lot here. All burning bright enough I was sure you could see the square from space. But perhaps there could be more lanterns. Maybe there was a way to make the hamlet even brighter.
I was wrong before. Hearthlight didn’t need me… but its people did.
Roll result? One softly glowing town, one memory rekindled, and a quiet promise that you’re not alone.
XP gained: 1 lantern’s wisdom, 1 nudge toward purpose, and +1 to hope in low-light conditions.
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