The Lightkeepers

3

“ I thought they rarely came from the coast side, ” she stated, fiddling with her gold necklace.

“ I was thinking. You know, about before. How this lighthouse has survived hurricanes,

war, and just about everything, and now it has to live through this. And us? I wish it wasn ’ t like

this, ” I replied, my voice low and gravelly.

She passed me a water bottle, which I accepted gratefully. I took only a small sip before

returning it to her, barely wetting my throat. We stayed silent as the sun dipped lower, as if

reluctantly dropping into the ocean. As the sky blended into pinks and greens and eventually blue

and black, another set of feet caused the floor to creak with age. I turned in time to see my older

brother climbing up into the lighthouse ’ s tower. Henry came to stand beside me, leaning against

the railing as if it were a casual Sunday night.

“ You guys should get some rest. ” He reached for the bow and quiver of arrows, which I

relinquished to him before turning to climb down the tower ’ s ladder. Henry stopped me before I

followed Ellie down into the claustrophobic space. “ There ’ s a plate set aside for you on the landing.

Dad wants to make sure you didn ’ t forget dinner. ” Henry gave me a pointed look.

I rolled my eyes and sauntered down the ladder. I started down the spiral stairs, stopping

to pick up my plate before crawling into my window. Out of all the things I remembered about this

lighthouse, its thickness was one of the few facts that had stuck with me. One of the guides had

told us that the walls were ten feet thick at its base and narrowed as it went up to about four feet.

We used the window alcoves as beds. I shared mine with Ellie.

For the most part, we were never sleeping at the same time, but when we did, we ended up

elbowing each other or tangled together, fighting for space in the narrow yet deep window. I pulled

the heavy curtains shut and sat with my knees to my chest. My plate balanced on top, I sat against

the cold stone wall, inhaling the delicious aroma of the meal before me. Peas had never tasted so

good, neither had fish nor stale bread. I squeezed my eyes shut and savored the taste on my tongue

before swallowing. Opening my dulled eyes, I inspected my little room.

I sat opposite from my Katana, which we hung on the wall as best as we could with what

crude materials we had. Under that, Ellie and I had hung some pictures we managed to salvage

from the old days. There was one of us standing with our backs to the camera, standing together

with our arms across each other ’ s backs at the edge of the ocean. I think that was taken at Seven

Presidents, but maybe it was here. It was one of my favorite pictures, or at least of the ones we had

saved.

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