The Lantern Keeper
A small town keeps one light burning for a reason nobody remembers.
At the edge of the village stood a lantern that had never been allowed to go out. Each night a different family carried oil up the hill, and each night the flame leaned into the dark like something listening.
When the youngest keeper asked why, the elders admitted they had forgotten. "But a traveller once found their way home by it," said the oldest. "And someone, somewhere, is still walking."
So the girl filled the lantern, trimmed the wick, and sat with the light until morning — which, she decided, was reason enough.