19/11/2025
🌙 “The Lantern in the Forest”
Once, in a quiet valley surrounded by soft blue mountains, there was a small forest where the trees whispered kindly to anyone who passed by. In the center of this forest lived a traveler named Arin—someone very much like you. Arin wasn’t the loudest or the boldest person, but they carried something far more valuable: a bright curiosity and a heart that wanted to grow.
One evening, when the sky was painted with sleepy purples and golds, Arin found a tiny lantern resting on a mossy stone. Its warm glow pulsed softly, almost like it was breathing. Attached to it was a note that read:
“This lantern shines brightest when you believe in yourself.”
Arin smiled, unsure if the words were true, but took the lantern anyway. The moment Arin wrapped their hands around it, the forest around them shimmered ever so slightly. Fireflies drifted closer, as if greeting an old friend. The trees leaned in just enough to show a path ahead—one Arin had never taken before.
With each step Arin took, the lantern glowed a little stronger.
At first, it was only bright enough to light the ground. Then, as Arin walked with more trust in their stride, it began to illuminate the branches above. Soon the whole path was bathed in a gentle golden light, warm and calm and reassuring.
Arin realized something:
the lantern responded not to perfection, but to courage—tiny, steady courage.
When Arin hesitated, the lantern dimmed just a little, as if whispering, “It’s okay. Try again.”
And when Arin continued, it brightened joyfully, as though saying, “See? You can do this.”
Eventually, the path opened to a quiet lake. The surface was smooth as glass, reflecting moonlight like silver silk. Arin sat by the shore, lantern by their side, and watched tiny ripples spread across the water—soft, slow, peaceful.
The lantern glowed its warmest here. Arin looked at it and understood:
the same light had always been inside them. The lantern only helped them see it.
