short fiction · 2026-10-18

The Lantern\'s Whisper

Written in free time, from: Creative writing

In the empty house I lingered after the last lamp flickered out, feeling the air thick with unspoken stories. Each breath seemed to echo against the cracked plaster, and a faint glow from an old lantern drifted across the floor, casting shadows that moved as if they remembered names. I traced the outline of a doorway that no longer existed, hearing the soft click of a lock that had never been turned. The silence was not empty; it held the weight of all the words we never said, and in its hush I found a quiet courage to let go.