Not every darkness can be brightened with a flame. There is darkness that suffocates candle flames and covers the stars. There is darkness that hides the moon and does not let any light through. There are nights that lie like a blanket over the earth and bury everything beneath it. In one such night, the girl Eria had lost her way in the forest. She had gone out to gather rags and had dared to go far into the abyss. When the dusk had surprised her, Eria had gone back blind to the left. But what had kept her going was lost in the thicket. So she had spent a night in cold and fear and was thirsty and exhausted. When the first morning light broke through the branches and twigs, she made her way. Because if she just kept walking straight, she had to get to the forest sooner or later, she thought. The pine needles dampened her steps, and against the fear she sang a song with her delicate voice. She did not know that she was getting deeper and deeper into the heart of the forest and was holding the tree trunks, which were getting more and more barren, for her rescue. So the pain was all the greater when she stepped out onto a clearing, which was surrounded by meadows. She knew the clearing near the edge of the forest, and on none of them did meadows grow. Eria lay down in the middle of the clearing, sprinkled with golden sunlight, and cried. In that moment, the wind blew through the twigs and its rustle filled the air. Immediately Eria woke up, because she remembered the song she had just sung. Wind in the meadows, show me the way, she sang with her beautiful voice, and the rustle in the twigs became quieter as if it were listening to her. My fate was in your hand. The wind blew down on the clearing and playedfully tore Eria's hair. She felt his knuckles and his tickle, and then he shot between the trees and moved the leaves. Is that the way? the girl asked. Do you feel me away from here? Eria ran into the forest, and as if in response she accompanied the rustle of her steps, and stepped into the trees in front of her, which terrified her, threw off the leaves. The wind led her to a creek, where she could quench her thirst, and to sweet berries, where she could quench her hunger. And not a day later did she leave the forest. It was not a familiar look that opened here. She saw a village that was not hers, and fields whose farmers she did not know. But the wind tore her hair and she moved on with him. First into the village, then into a city, where she sang her song and the wind nicked the people, that they laughed and threw coins at Eria. Together they stayed here, soon there, and soon Eria had forgotten her old life. She saw the world with its deserts and oceans. She saw roofs made of gold and flags of silver and purple. She saw animals that could only have come from a lively imagination. Everywhere the people marveled at the girl with the wind, and gladly gave her what she needed to live. But while the wind has been wandering over the earth since the beginning of time, and it will do so until the stars no longer shine, Eria's days of life were numbered. At some point she was no longer a girl, but a woman, and at some point she could no longer continue on a forest clearing full of pines. Wind in the distance, show me the way, she sang her song quietly, while she became completely tired. My fate was in your hand. And the wind tore her hair and strode rustling through the trees. He knew what he had to wait for. Then Eria closed her eyes, and before her soul could escape to heaven, the wind took her and gently hugged her. Since then they have been walking together around the world, the girl and the wind. And wherever they sing their song, the people rejoice and continue to tell their story.