· Rovaniemi, Finland
The lantern maker.
From the journal of the Wolf of the North · a work of fiction
The lantern maker's family had shut themselves in the workshop after a reindeer overturned the market stall. Glass lay across the only exit, and his youngest son was barefoot.
I cleared a path with a broom and carried the boy out. The animal was already gone, leaving only a ruined display. The maker gave me a small green lantern, which hangs beside my door.