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The Lantern That Walked Home

fantasyEveryone
5 contributors · 3 paragraphs deep

Wren untied the string and let the lantern go. Instead of drifting up, it floated forward, low over the path, waiting for her to keep up. "Okay," she whispered. "Lead, then." It bobbed once, like a nod, and started down the riverbank.

The lantern led Wren up a hill path she'd never noticed, away from the sleeping town. At the top stood a crooked wooden door with no house around it, just a door in the grass. The lantern floated up to it and waited, glowing, as if asking her to knock.

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Wren knocked. The door swung open onto a warm kitchen that couldn't possibly fit behind it. A young man sat at the table, looking lost. "You found the way," he said, smiling. "I lit that lantern to find the road home, but I forgot which door was mine. Thank you."

IF
Inés Ferro
9 votes · future 1 of 3