Lanterns

• Candice Fu, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2016

She wanted to step back. Step back into the soft grass of her life, where nothing could touch her. She had been invincible back then. But not now. Now, she was broken, fragile. Like glass, she could be shattered into a million pieces. Every step she took forward, every movement she made, always sent her tumbling back, back to the start. No matter how far she got, or how hard she tried, she was always sent back. Her feet were always travelling forward, on a rocky road, like her life was being placed on repeat. She felt trapped. Trapped within the clutches of society, the clutches of her mortal life. She was constantly walking on a bumpy road, under a dark sky, with broken lanterns lining her path.
Whoosh.
She was back at the start. How many times had she been sent back?
She didn’t know, she had stopped counting long ago. She didn’t sigh, or yell in frustration, like she had the first couple of times.
Somehow, she had accepted that she might never get to the end.
And so, she dragged her feet across her path again, between the lanterns.
She didn’t remember her old path anymore. One day, she just started at this one.
This time was different though. A little orb of burnt orange light was flickering in front of her. It was strange and peculiar to her. Usually, these lights were a deep ice blue, who just flew around, ignoring her, like she was a ghost.
She felt warmth in her heart, she felt a little… happy. She felt like there was a magnetic connection with the strange little light, the roots of... friendliness? She stared at the light, feeling its warmth, as her mouth parted open.
“Hello.”
The greeting left her lips in a soft tone. She froze for a few moments, examining the light’s reaction. Her voice… she had forgotten what her voice sounded like…
Whoosh.
She was back at the start. She sighed in thorough disappointment, yet a small part of her had felt afraid of the orb’s reaction. It was better this way. She began on her path again. This time, however, truly was different. She had never known anything different for the last few years other than this lumpy path with the broken lanterns lining it under this dark sky. A lantern lit up. Then another, and another. The lanterns were all lighting up, lighting her path. Her eyes widened in surprise, before she cautiously took a step. It was alright to move.
And for the first time in years, she ran. She ran across her path, completely fearless to the possibility of failing. The sky begun to turn a welcoming shade of blue, followed by many violets, oranges and burnt reds.
Dawn.
She welcomed the warmth and light with great delight, before she stopped.
She looked around, taking in her surroundings.
She had made it to the end.