The Quartet's Quest

Chapter 1: The Fickle Flicker of Fire

Shadows melted into shade,

on a moonless night.

We begin our journey...

a weighted blanket of darkness.

Save the flicker of a stubborn flame

He held a map that promised every dawn,

Its ink a steady pulse that knew the way,

Each line a measured road paved with sunshine.

But paper's edges whispered into skin,

Small cuts taught his lamp the art of dimming.

He kept it to remember how the world

Asked him to outgrow his quiet hunger.

So he turned from applause. Seized agency.

Carrying the folded ache... aimlessly.