The meaning of life

Previously

…As she descended the creaking attic stairs, leaving the silent relics of her grandmother’s life behind, Lily carried with her not just a map, but a burgeoning sense of destiny. The world outside the attic window was darkening, but within Lily, a new light had begun to dawn. The journey would be long, she suspected, fraught with unknowns. But for the first time in weeks, the emptiness was gone, replaced by the thrilling, terrifying prospect of a quest for the ultimate meaning. The Lumina Veritas. She whispered the words, the sound lost in the quiet house, a promise made to herself, to her grandmother, and to the ancient, whispering map. The adventure had begun.