The meaning of life

Previously

…The hermit merely inclined his head. “The mountain knows where to find those who are meant to be found. Go. And remember, the truest treasures are not always the ones that glitter.” With a final, lingering look at the ancient man, Lily turned and began her descent into the hollow, the hermit’s cryptic words echoing in her mind. The pursuit was still a threat, the artifact still a mystery, but now, she carried a different kind of map within her – one etched not on parchment, but on her soul. The wind still howled, but it no longer sounded like a lament; it sounded like a song, a song of journey, of discovery, of life itself, flowing like water towards an unknown, yet beautiful, end.