🌲 Part 3: The Lanternless Path 🔦

A story of being lost on purpose — and the ones who wait without pulling

There was once a traveler who walked with no lantern. 🧭

Not because they had forgotten — but because they chose not to carry one.

Others called it foolish. Dangerous.
But the traveler had learned early that light could blind just as easily as it could guide. ✨

So they moved in darkness.
Sensing more than seeing.
Feeling for roots with bare feet. 🌌
Letting branches scratch truth into their skin. 🌿

This path — unlit, untamed — made no promises.
But it never lied.

Some said the traveler had vanished.
Some said they had lost their way.
But in truth, they had simply stopped explaining their direction to people who didn’t listen. 🧙♂️

And far away — just outside the woods — sat a quiet being who noticed. 🧘

Noticed the absence.
Noticed the silence where laughter used to be.
Noticed… and waited. 🕯️

They did not send messages.
They did not enter the trees.
They simply stayed, building small altars from fallen leaves and whispers like:

“I trust you’re becoming.”

One night, the traveler stumbled back — not to the world, but to the edge of it.

Dirty. Hungry. Changed.

They did not collapse into arms. They sat nearby.
Close enough to be seen.
Far enough to still be free. 🍂

The one who had waited said only:
“No need to tell me what you found. Just rest.”

So they did. 🌑

The days that followed weren’t loud.
No declarations. No forgiveness needed.

Just shared fruit. 🍎
Rebuilt fire. 🔥
And a quiet promise never spoken:

“You can go again if you need to.
This place — this presence — will still be here.”

And though the traveler would wander again many times,
they no longer feared being forgotten.

Because someone had proved it:

To love without chasing is a sacred form of magic. ✨

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🌲 For those who walk without lanterns — and those who wait with open hands. 🔮