Out in the desert, where the wind hums low and the stars cut sharp, there’s a man who walks at night with a lantern. Folks say he’s been out there forever, lighting the way for the lost.
One evening, a traveler stumbles into his glow, tired and worn. “Which way to town?” she asks.
The lantern man tilts his head. “Which way do you want to go?”
She hesitates. “I don’t know.”
He smiles, sets the lantern down. “Then sit awhile. Light don’t rush the dark away—it just waits ‘til you’re ready to see.”
By dawn, she knows her way. The lantern man is already gone.