By dawn the Lantern Festival was over. Wren walked the rows along the river, pinching out flame after flame. Every paper lantern died at her touch but one. It hung at the water's edge, glowing a steady gold no breeze could shake. When she reached for it, the little wick leaned away from her fingers and tugged its string, like it wanted her to follow.

Wren ran to fetch old Mira, who ran the festival every year. Mira took one look at the stubborn gold light and went pale. "Some lanterns," she said quietly, "aren't lit for the sky. They're lit for someone who never came home. That one's looking for the person who made it."

Mira pressed a folded paper into Wren's hand. "My son Tomas lit a lantern thirty years ago and never came back from the river. I've lit one for him every year since. Maybe this is his, finally answering. Follow it, child. I'm too old for hills."

Wren unfolded the paper. It was a tiny map drawn in a child's hand, marking a willow tree by the river. She followed the lantern straight to it. Under the roots lay a small tin box, and inside, a letter Tomas had written the night he vanished, waiting thirty years to be read.

Wren read the letter aloud by the willow. "Tell Mother I found a brighter river, and I'm happy." The lantern glowed warm as she finished, then lifted from her hands and floated home toward Mira's window, carrying its message back at long, long last.