Rafi’s Unseen Lanterns — Under the quick green roof of Fernfold Wood, Rafi hurried along the ribbon path with a pouch of glow-drops bumping his hip. Read the full story →
Under the quick green roof of Fernfold Wood, Rafi hurried along the ribbon path with a pouch of glow-drops bumping his hip. He wanted to sprinkle one at every bend before moonrise, so beetle carts and sleepy snail riders could roll home without bumping roots. Flick, flick, flick went the drops, warm as honey and smelling faintly of rain-wet bark.
The forest answered with wings. Fireflies zipped over the ferns, mushrooms nodded their red caps, and Rafi waved as he jogged, not stopping to count who saw his work. “Plenty for the next traveler,” he called, tossing his last glow-drop beside a puddle shaped like a tiny moon.
Then a small voice rose from under a spotted cap. “That one was for you.” All along the path, the mushrooms tipped forward, revealing the glow-drops they had saved inside their gills, shining like secret lanterns. Rafi laughed so hard leaves shook loose overhead. He had been lighting the way for strangers, while the strangers had been lighting the way for him; and if you trace the ribbon path with your eyes, you might catch the honey-warm flick, flick, flick.
