Verse 1 — Three Paths Down

Aleea:
Above apple-crate stage, I ask,
“Which light will show the way?”

Emmitt:
I take the feather-clearing path
and ask, “What clue is here today?”

Lillian:
I come by the quiet side and ask,
“What changes when the lantern turns?”

Partner Ending A

Aleea and Emmitt:
Follow the bright magnetic face;
the pinecone shop is near.
The lantern points the quick way down;
the ending sounds so clear.

Partner Ending B

Emmitt and Lillian:
Follow the darker backing plate;
the slower line stays true.
The clue may face the other way;
a second ending comes in view.

Chorus — Ask It Another Way

All:
Ask it another way;
turn the clue and start.
One question changes shape
as it travels part to part.
Which light? What clue? What changes?
No wording comes again.
Two endings wait together
till the lantern shows the beginning.

Verse 2 — The Clue Was Already There

Lillian:
I turn the magnetic lantern over.
The back plate catches rose-lit shade.

Emmitt:
The clue we sought was already here,
serving as the lantern’s base.

Aleea:
I set the plate backward by mistake.
Its window points across the ground.

All:
The odd turn opens the next phrase;
the song begins where wrong-way turned around.

Bridge — Visible Repair

Aleea:
I slide the plate into the open groove.

Emmitt:
I hold the lantern body still.

Lillian:
I thread one blue cord through the hinge
and tighten one visible loop.

All:
The repair stays where we can see it.
The backward cue remains.
We do not hide the misunderstanding;
we carry its useful change.

Final Chorus — Pinecone Shop

All:
Ask it another way;
turn the clue and start.
Bright face, backing plate,
blue loop at the heart.
At pinecone shop, the moving shadow
changes leaf to loop to wing.
The repaired lantern keeps the picture
after the partner endings sing.

Shadow Coda

The lantern rests on dry ground. Fast little cloudlets shift the rose-colored light through its cutout, moving the shadow from leaf to loop to wing. Aleea, Emmitt, and Lillian watch; no one moves the lantern.