The morning light filtered through the trees like soft ribbons of gold, casting warm shadows on the forest path ahead. Elarien stepped forward carefully, her fingers brushing the trunks as if greeting old friends. The silver wolf padded beside her, silent but watchful.
The circle of stones was behind them now, but something lingered in the air—an echo of her mother's smile, a whisper of courage in the leaves.
As they walked, the trees began to thin, and a soft mist crept over the ground. It clung to Elarien's feet like quiet thoughts, curling around her boots as she stepped into a small, hollow clearing.
In the center of the clearing stood a single lantern.
It was unlike any she had seen before. Not made of glass or iron, but carved of pale wood and strung with threads of silver. It glowed with a faint blue light, like moonlight caught in a jar.
Elarien reached out gently.
The lantern flickered once, then flared softly, casting the mist in dancing hues of violet and sky-blue.
"What is this place?" she asked, her voice low.
The silver wolf's ears twitched.
This is the resting place of lost things.
"Lost things?"
The wolf nodded toward the lantern.
Every soul leaves behind pieces as they journey. Hopes. Fears. Promises. This light gathers them—so they are never truly forgotten.
Elarien knelt beside the lantern. It pulsed gently in response, and for a moment, she saw a shadow within the glow.
A child.
Not herself.
Not someone she knew.
But a girl with tangled hair and tearful eyes, clutching a broken wooden bird.
Elarien gasped softly.
"She's alone."
She is waiting, the wolf said. For someone to carry her wish forward.
Without knowing how, Elarien reached into her pocket and drew out the acorn she'd carried since the early days of her journey. It was smooth now, polished by her touch. A small token of beginning.
She placed it beside the lantern.
"I'll carry it," she whispered. "Her wish. I don't know what it is, but… I'll carry it."
The lantern's light flared once more. The mist lifted. And the shadow of the child smiled.
Just for a moment.
Then she was gone.
Elarien stood slowly. The wolf bowed his head.
You have honored the lost.
"Where do we go now?" she asked.
The lantern's glow shifted. It pointed gently east, a beam of silver showing a path through the underbrush.
Forward, said the wolf.
And so, Elarien walked on.
With a new light in her heart.
And one more wish in her care.