Luma tumbled through the velvet dark, past clouds like soft white wool, until she crashed into a tangle of branches. The forest below swallowed everything in shadow. Only her glow answered back.
Luma looked up. The sky was a ribbon of distant stars, impossibly far. She pushed against the branch with her tiny hands, but sank back down into the tangled dark. A frog croaked somewhere below, echoing like a drum.
A moth fluttered past, and Luma called out, 'How do I get back up there?' The moth circled once, wings catching her light, then vanished into the leaves. Luma gripped the bark and climbed higher.
Something rustled below. A fox stepped into her circle of light — silver at the edges — and stopped. Behind it, a rabbit, a hedgehog, and an owl appeared in the shadows, watching.
Luma noticed the animals were tracing a path with their eyes — her light lit it up like a trail. She followed the fox's nose toward a break in the trees where the sky looked closest.
Luma reached the highest branch and leaped into the air, arms outstretched. But she fell again, landing softly on a bed of moss. The fox whined once and padded away.
Luma stared at her small, faint glow against the dark ground. Then the fox stopped and looked back. The rabbit hopped forward. The hedgehog rolled forward. They formed a line leading toward the trees.
Luma stepped onto the path and followed. The fox led the way through the dark trees, and the others trailed behind. They stopped at the edge of the forest where the sky opened wide.
Luma climbed one last time, reaching for the sky. Her fingers brushed a warm beam of starlight. She let go of the branch and floated upward, the forest shrinking below.
Luma floated upward, the forest shrinking far below. She settled back among the stars, and far below she saw a small steady light moving through the trees — guiding the way.
Below, the fox paused at the edge of the clearing and looked up. The rabbit, the hedgehog, and the owl stood beside it. Their eyes were bright in the dark, and the path glowed softly behind them.
Luma settled among the stars, no longer alone in the dark. She twinkled once — just once — and the forest below shimmered back.