Tavish Shares the Shine — Every dusk, Tavish polished one stubborn lantern pane and dared himself to bounce its glow one crystal farther through the prism mine. Read the full story →
Every dusk, Tavish polished one stubborn lantern pane and dared himself to bounce its glow one crystal farther through the prism mine. He kept a tally on his boot heel, tiny scratches under the smell of cold stone and lamp oil, and snickered whenever the light startled a cave moth into zigzags. Until one dusk, his “one more bounce” struck the tall purple spear at the stair mouth, split into seven colors, and leaped away like a pack of naughty cats.
Because of that, the mine cart began flashing ruby, teal, and gold down the track; because of that, sleeping geodes popped open with little glassy hiccups; because of THAT, every quiet tunnel answered with sparkle. Tavish tried to look stern, but joy fizzed behind his mustache. Finally, he raised the lantern high and let the whole cavern borrow his challenge. By midnight, even the darkest cracks were laughing in reflected glow, and Tavish added one enormous scratch to his boot heel for the shine he could not keep.
