Each evening, as the Sun set, she hung a lantern over the gate. The soft white light could be seen for miles, and it always brought him home, riding after dark with whatever he had hunted or foraged in the wilds.
Until the night that the storm blew the lantern down, and he didn’t return. The search party found him days later, swept away by the flood.
During the funeral, she said sat very still and said very little. That night, she repaired the lantern.
She hung it over the gate again, hoping its light would guide his spirit home.

“Lantern” by Juhana Leinonen is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Everyday Drabbles © 2025 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.

Thanks for reading!