One More Place Set

On the open moor where four roads meet, Wren keeps the busiest house on the road. At its centre runs a long wooden table, always laid, with a candle that never goes out — so that anyone crossing the dark can steer by the one warm point of light and know a place is kept for them.

On the last quiet night before the road fills, a scholar who has chosen her solitude takes the far end of the board and will not be drawn up it. Then the travellers pour in, more than her benches can seat, and Wren meets them the only way she knows: more benches, more bread, more candles. But the scholar has asked her a question she cannot answer, and it will not leave her.

A warm, low-stakes cozy fantasy about loneliness, being known, and the light that is always kept.