Lumen and the Lost Feather

Lumen was not like anyone else in the Grove Between Worlds.
He had the legs of a deer, the heart of a boy, and soft, velvety antlers that shimmered gold in the morning light.

One sunny afternoon, Lumen was skipping along the Pebble Path when he saw a single bright blue feather lying on the ground.

“Oh!” he said. “Who dropped you?”

The feather didn’t answer, of course, but Lumen thought it looked lonely.

He picked it up and tucked it gently behind his ear. “Don’t worry. I’ll find where you belong.”

He asked the robins.
“Not ours,” they chirped.
He asked the bluejays.
“Too soft for us,” they sang.
He even asked the wise old owl.
“This is a sky-dancer’s feather,” the owl hooted. “It belongs to the wind.”

The wind? Lumen tilted his head. How could a feather belong to the wind?

Then he heard a faint cry from the meadow: “Help! Help!”

There, tangled in tall grass, was a tiny bird with one wing bare.

“My feather!” the bird squeaked.

Lumen’s antlers glowed warm as he stepped forward. He knelt, untangled the bird, and placed the feather back on its wing.

The bird flapped once, twice, then soared into the sky with a joyful whoosh.

“Thank you, thank you!” it sang as it disappeared into the blue.

Lumen smiled. He hadn’t just found where the feather belonged—he had helped a friend fly again.

And from that day on, whenever Lumen found something small and lost, he remembered:
Helping someone else find their way helps you feel a little more found, too.

Reflection Questions:

1. Have you ever found something and helped return it?
   
2. How do you feel when you help someone?