Leo pulled his blue blanket over his head. Everything went warm and quiet. He smiled — just for a moment.
The blanket flickered. Something moved at the edge of his vision. Leo peeked out — the room had gone still and strange.
The whole house was dark. Leo reached for the lantern on the shelf. His fingers closed around the cold handle.
He clicked the lantern on. Gold light spilled across the wall, and shapes appeared — a rabbit, a ship, a dragon curled like a question mark.
The dragon's tail wiggled when he moved the light. Leo blinked, then giggled. A walking tree stretched its wooden arms.
Leo sat on his bed, swinging the lantern slowly. Paper birds fluttered across the ceiling, and a sleepy bear waved from the wall.
"Again, again!" he whispered, grinning as the shadows performed their nighttime show. The bear bowed. The dragon curled into a smile.
Morning came, yellow and soft against the curtains. Leo set the lantern on his nightstand and climbed back into bed, already dreaming.