The End

That was a candle.

A candlestick was still stuck to its base.

He gritted his teeth and held the candlestick out as he felt his way forward.

Since there was a candlestick, there should be matches nearby.

Once he had light, his situation would no longer be so passive.

Likewise, once he could see, being within the circle of light would give him courage.

He cautiously moved closer, feeling around with only his free hand. Before long, he touched a cabinet.

He stood up and felt his way upward until he found the top drawer.

After setting the candlestick on top of the cabinet, he reached out to pull open the drawer.

He carefully pulled it out without making the slightest sound.

Once the drawer was more than halfway open, he reached inside and searched blindly for a matchbox.

Though he could not see, he could still identify a matchbox by touch alone.

Generally speaking, wherever there was a candlestick, there would always be matches or something similar nearby.

Either they would be placed on top of the cabinet with the candlestick, or they would be kept in the drawer closest to its top.

So, he quickly found a square object that seemed to be a matchbox.

When he tried pushing its edge, he successfully felt that distinctive sense of movement.

He took it out, removed a small wooden stick, held the end without the bump, pressed the other end against the rough side of the matchbox, and struck it hard.

"Sssst."

A tiny spark appeared in the darkness.

As though protecting the most precious treasure in the world, he shielded the flickering flame with his other hand and used it to light the candle on top of the cabinet.

The firelight grew a little brighter.

He blew out the