Aileen always believed

the aurora was no more than a distant spectacle—

something that had nothing to do with her.

In her eyes,

the world was like the Arctic’s endless winter night:

long and frigid,

with even her hopes frozen in place.

Then Yawen appeared,

brimming with boundless enthusiasm,

and invited her to the far north

to see the Northern Lights.

Aileen gave a cold laugh.

“Will that light really change anything?”

They sat on the desolate tundra,

where the night sky was as still as a frozen lake.

Days passed without any sign of the aurora.

The biting wind only made Aileen more restless.

Standing up,

she brushed the snow from her coat.

“All I see is never-ending darkness.

We shouldn’t have come at all.”

Yawen looked at her calmly.

“The Northern Lights never left.

They’re merely waiting for the right moment.

True light will always find its way.”

Just then,

a soft glow tore across the horizon

like a golden fissure,

ripping open the curtain of night.

The aurora rose,

ribbons of light dancing across the sky,

warming the barren land with a gentle radiance.

Aileen gazed upward,

feeling as though that brightness slipped through her chest,

melting the cold deep within.

Yawen stood beside her and said quietly,

“See? The light doesn’t exist just to adorn the night sky,

but to remind us

that even in the deepest darkness,

a direction still remains.”

Aileen turned to look at him.

She saw that same tender glow reflected in his eyes,

illuminating not only the snowy ground

but also her own heart.

A lost smile surfaced on her face—

warm and bright,

just like the Northern Lights.