河边的陌生人

Mei lived in a village beside a wide river. She helped her mother take care of the ferry and knew every safe direction through the reeds. One evening, a stranger arrived with an old jade lantern. He offered it to Mei and asked her to keep it until the next full moon.

The lantern had no candle, yet a pale green light appeared inside it when Mei touched the handle. The stranger warned her not to open its small glass door. Then he left without taking the ferry. Mei watched him disappear along the riverbank and wondered why his shoes were completely dry. She carried the lantern home and placed it beside the window, where its color slowly changed with the river tide.