The Flag Has Been Raised

The flag appeared early one morning.

No announcement. No ceremony. By the time most of the Village was awake, it was already there—raised high enough to be seen from almost anywhere.

Black. Gold. Red. Green.

At its center was the heart.

People began to gather beneath it.

Some recognized the symbol immediately. Others had seen it before but couldn't remember where. The children were mostly interested in who had managed to climb that high without anyone noticing.

Then someone found the note.

It had been folded twice and secured at the bottom of the flagpole.

There were only six words:

HEAVY IS THE HEAD.LET US MAKE LIGHT.

That was when the conversations started.

Who raised the flag?

Why now?

And what exactly were they being asked to do?

Someone in the crowd finally said what several people had already begun to wonder:

“Maybe the message isn't for the Village. Maybe it's from the Village.”

A child standing near the flagpole tugged at her mother's sleeve.

There was something else.

At the very bottom of the note, almost too faint to see, someone had drawn a row of tiny lanterns.

All were dark.

Underneath them were four words:

BEFORE THE EVENING COMES.

Someone counted the dark lanterns.

Then they counted the people gathered around the flag.

There weren't nearly enough of them.

Whatever was supposed to happen before evening, it was becoming clear that the Village could not do it alone.

They would have to find the others.

But how?

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What happens next is up to us.

This year's Give Sanctuary story will be written by the Village.

Add 1–3 lines in the comments that move the story forward.

You might tell us:

• What does someone notice about the lanterns?

• Who steps forward from the crowd?

• How can the Village find the other Guardians?

• What happens when another lantern is lit?

• What does “before the evening comes” mean?

• Or take the story somewhere we haven't imagined.

Introduce someone. Add dialogue. Find a clue. Create a problem. Answer a question—or leave us with a better one.

Don't try to finish the story. Just move it forward.

Comments for this chapter close Monday, August 24th at 5:00 pm.

When they close, your contributions will be gathered and woven into the next chapter.

And we'll see how much light the Village can make before evening.

Your line could change what happens next.