The Lantern Keeper

The ferryman laughed when she asked about the promise. "People need the boat. What else am I supposed to say?"

Sora offered to steer. He refused until she admitted she did not know how. For the first time that evening, he smiled. They practiced on the quiet bank while the village argued about the darkness.

By dawn, Sora could hold a straight course. Two neighbors came to learn with her. The ferryman showed them where the current looked harmless and was not.

At the bridge, the oldest council member demanded that he renew his oath. The ferryman looked at his shaking hands, then at the three people waiting by his boat. "No," he said. The lantern flickered once, like someone clearing a throat.