WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:21.039 Us studious. The lantern Maker. There was a small shop 2 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:26.320 on a cobblestone street that sold nothing but lanterns. The 3 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:29.239 woman who owned it had been making them for as 4 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:33.079 long as anyone in the town could remember. Her name 5 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:36.880 was Alara, and she had silver hair that she kept 6 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:41.039 in a loose braid, and fingers that were always lightly 7 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:46.600 stained with beeswax and turpentine. The shop was called the 8 00:00:46.679 --> 00:00:49.840 Evening Light, and it sat at the end of a 9 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:54.479 narrow lane where the old stone walls were covered in ivy. 10 00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:59.479 There was no sign out front, just a single copper 11 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:03.640 lantern hanging from a hook by the door. Its flame 12 00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:08.599 warm and steady even on the windiest nights. People said 13 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:12.239 you could find the shop by following the glow, and 14 00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:16.560 that was mostly true, because the lane twisted and turned 15 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:19.280 in such a way that you had to know where 16 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:24.000 you were going. Alara opened the shop every morning just 17 00:01:24.120 --> 00:01:29.760 after sunrise. She would unlock the heavy wooden door, light 18 00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:33.799 the smallest lantern on the front table, and then spend 19 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:37.840 the first hour of the day in silence, working on 20 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:41.239 whatever peace had been left on her bench the night before. 21 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.840 Some mornings it was a paper lantern for a wedding. 22 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:50.400 Other mornings. It was a heavy iron one for a 23 00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:54.280 fisherman who needed light that would not go out in 24 00:01:54.359 --> 00:02:00.239 the rain. The lanterns she made were not ordinary. Each 25 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:04.599 one had a quality that was hard to describe but 26 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:09.960 easy to feel. A lantern made by Ilara seemed to 27 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:14.759 understand what you needed. If you were lonely, its light 28 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:19.400 would feel like company if you were restless, its glow 29 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:23.000 would settle you. If you were sad, It would burn 30 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.919 in a way that felt like someone was sitting beside you, 31 00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:31.680 not saying anything, just being there. People came from the 32 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:36.159 villages along the coast and from the farms in the valley. 33 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:40.639 They would walk through the door and stand for a moment, 34 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:45.159 blinking in the soft light, and then they would tell 35 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:51.479 Ilara what they needed, not always in words. Sometimes they 36 00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:54.599 would just stand there and she would look at them 37 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:58.520 and nod, and then she would disappear into the back 38 00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:03.159 room and come out with a lantern that was exactly right. 39 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:07.680 There was a young man named Callum who came to 40 00:03:07.719 --> 00:03:11.759 the shop one autumn evening. He had been walking for 41 00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:16.080 a long time. His boots were dusty and his coat 42 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:19.960 was thin. He stood in the doorway and did not 43 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:23.840 say anything. For a while. Ilara was sitting at her 44 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:28.080 bench polishing a glass shade, and she looked up at 45 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:31.680 him the way she looked at everyone, with a kind 46 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:36.800 of patient attention. I need a light, Calum said, but 47 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:40.159 I do not know what kind. Elara sat down the 48 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:44.599 glass shade. She studied his face for a moment, then 49 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:48.159 stood and walked to the back of the shop. Callum 50 00:03:48.199 --> 00:03:51.840 could hear her moving things around, the soft clink of 51 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:55.360 metal and the rustle of paper. When she came back, 52 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:58.879 she was holding a lantern made of dark wood and 53 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:03.919 thin brass. The glass was pale blue, almost the color 54 00:04:03.960 --> 00:04:08.400 of the sky just before the stars come out. This one, 55 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:13.000 she said, it will not chase the dark away. It 56 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:16.720 will help you sit with it. Callum did not understand 57 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:20.240 what she meant, but he took the lantern. He paid 58 00:04:20.279 --> 00:04:23.160 what she asked, which was not very much, and he 59 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:26.079 left the shop and walked down the cobblestone lane with 60 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:30.839 the lantern swinging gently from his hand. That night, he 61 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:34.079 found a quiet spot by the river and lit the lantern. 62 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:38.319 The flame was small and blue white, and it cast 63 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:40.800 a circle of light that was just wide enough for 64 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:44.199 one person to sit in. He sat down on the 65 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:47.639 grass and watched the water move, and he felt something 66 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:52.759 shift inside him. It was not happiness, exactly, It was 67 00:04:52.839 --> 00:04:55.439 more like the feeling of being allowed to be still. 68 00:04:56.600 --> 00:04:59.800 He stayed there for a long time. The lantern did 69 00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:03.480 not flicker or waver. It burned with the kind of 70 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:06.160 steady patience that you see in a candle that has 71 00:05:06.199 --> 00:05:10.360 been lit for someone who is grieving, and Callum understood 72 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:14.959 what Lara had meant. The dark was still there all 73 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:19.040 around him, but he was not afraid of it. He 74 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:21.560 was sitting with it, and it was not as heavy 75 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:25.000 as he had thought. The next morning, Callum went back 76 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:29.319 to the shop. Ilara was there, as she always was, 77 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:33.839 working on a new piece. She did not seem surprised 78 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:38.600 to see him. Thank you, he said for the lantern. 79 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:43.759 She nodded. It will last a long time, she said, 80 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:47.240 But if it ever goes out and you cannot relight it, 81 00:05:47.800 --> 00:05:52.079 bring it back. I will fix it. Callum stayed in 82 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:55.000 the town for a while. He found work at the bakery, 83 00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:58.879 helping the old baker who started his ovens before dawn. 84 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:02.600 In the evenings, he would walk to the river with 85 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:07.519 his lantern and sit by the water. Sometimes he saw 86 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:11.519 other people there, sitting in their own small circles of light, 87 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:16.000 and they would nod to each other without speaking, which 88 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:20.680 was its own kind of conversation. Alara made lanterns for 89 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:25.240 all of them. Each one was different. Some were made 90 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:28.879 of tin with punched holes that cast tiny stars on 91 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:33.240 the ground. Some were made of colored glass that turned 92 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:37.600 the light into something that felt like music. Some were 93 00:06:37.639 --> 00:06:42.000 simple clay with a single candle inside. And those were 94 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:44.480 the ones she gave to people who could not pay, 95 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:49.079 which happened more often than you might think. The shop 96 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:53.600 had no cash register and no ledger. Ilara kept track 97 00:06:53.639 --> 00:06:56.000 of things in her head, and she had a way 98 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:58.879 of knowing when someone needed a lantern but could not 99 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:02.360 afford one. She would hand it to them and say 100 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:06.360 pay me when you can, and then she would never 101 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:11.240 mention it again. Years passed, the town grew a little, 102 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:15.759 but not very much. The cobblestone lane was repaved once, 103 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:19.720 and the ivy on the stone walls was trimmed back, 104 00:07:20.839 --> 00:07:24.160 but the evening light stayed exactly as it had always been. 105 00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:28.519 Alara's hair turned from silver to white, and her hands 106 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:33.680 grew slower, but she never stopped making lanterns. One winter, 107 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:37.120 a storm came through the town that was worse than 108 00:07:37.160 --> 00:07:40.800 any one could remember. The wind tore branches from the 109 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:45.079 trees and knocked over fences. The river rose and flooded 110 00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:48.560 the low fields. The power went out in every house 111 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:51.480 and shop, and the town was plunged into a darkness 112 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:54.839 that felt absolute. But in the windows of the evening 113 00:07:54.959 --> 00:08:00.759 light there were lanterns, dozens of them, burning with steady, 114 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:05.759 quiet flames. Alara had lit every lantern in the shop, 115 00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:08.720 and the light spilled out through the windows in the 116 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:11.879 open door and filled the lane with a glow that 117 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:15.720 was warm and golden and unwavering. People came out of 118 00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:19.600 their houses and followed the light. They gathered in the lane, 119 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:23.480 in the shelter of the stone walls, and they stood 120 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:26.920 in the glow of Allara's lanterns and waited for the 121 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:31.199 storm to pass. No one spoke very much. There was 122 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:35.480 nothing to say. They were together, and the light was warm, 123 00:08:36.120 --> 00:08:38.759 and the wind could not reach them there. When the 124 00:08:38.840 --> 00:08:42.240 storm was over and the power came back on, the 125 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:45.600 people went home, but some of them stopped at the 126 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:49.240 shop and bought a lantern, even though they already had 127 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:52.279 one at home. They wanted a piece of that light. 128 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:55.399 To keep with them in case the dark came back. 129 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:59.639 Alara never talked about what she did. If you asked 130 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:03.039 her how the lanterns worked, she would shrug and say, 131 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:07.399 I just make them. But everyone who had ever held 132 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:09.919 one of her lanterns knew that there was something more 133 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:13.399 to it. The light they gave was not just light. 134 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:18.159 It was a kind of companionship, a kind of peace, 135 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:22.080 a kind of quiet that you could carry with you. 136 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:25.519 And on the nights when the world felt too big 137 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:29.080 and too dark, people would light their lanterns and sit 138 00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:31.600 with them, and they would feel the same thing that 139 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:34.919 Callum had felt by the river, not that the dark 140 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:37.600 was gone, but that they were not alone in it, 141 00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:42.399 that the light was there, steady and patient, and that 142 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:44.919 it would stay with them as long as they needed it. 143 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:48.879 The evening light is still there at the end of 144 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:52.519 the cobblestone lane. If you ever find yourself in a 145 00:09:52.600 --> 00:09:56.039 town you do not recognize, on a street you've never 146 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:59.600 walked before, and you see a warm glow at the 147 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:03.720 end of narrow path, follow it. You might find a 148 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:07.159 shop that sells nothing but lanterns, and a woman with 149 00:10:07.240 --> 00:10:10.720 white hair and gentle hands who will look at you 150 00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:14.639 and know exactly what kind of light you need, and 151 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:18.399 when you leave, carrying your lantern into the night, you 152 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:23.679 will feel it. The quiet warmth, the steady glow, the 153 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:26.679 sense that even in the deepest dart there is a 154 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:30.039 light that will not go out, a light that was 155 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:33.320 made just for you, A light that will sit with 156 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:36.600 you patiently until the morning comes.