The Lighthouse Keeper

Another body washed ashore today, hand-delivered by the sea, just like me. There was no wreckage nearby, but it is normal for broken vessels to get buried in the depths. Survivors are few out here near the Island of Abyss. When their initial lifelines sink, there is no driftwood nor buoys to cling to; not even the birds flew out this far. Most often, they sank into the deep darkness exhausted from trying to keep their head above water. Sometimes a fortunate beast happened upon them and swallowed them whole. Some would say the latter is a greater mercy since they did not have to struggle much and it was soon over.

This morning’s offering came in low tide as the waves receded. I spotted him through the morning fog as I made my rounds of menial chores. They were all necessary tasks, but their main purpose was to keep me sane. People needed a purpose to survive.

My first duty to the new visitor was to check for a pulse. Even the faintest of quivers set resuscitation in motion. To find a body still breathing is the rarest of gifts for us Keepers. We try our best to save everyone, but most often they are too far gone, either bloated or half-eaten. Our gracious task then is tying a windswept stone to them with dried kelp and returning them to the ocean for good. Since land is scarce here on this island a sailor’s grave is the best we can do for proper burial.

Today, I could see his stomach rise and fall as I approached. He was unconscious, so I carried him to higher ground and propped him up against a large boulder. His head flopped back and forth as I gently slapped his face, trying to help him wake. It did no good, so I sat with him awhile before returning to my duties. I chose the work nearby to keep an eye on him as best I could.

As I was harvesting seaweed offshore not far from where I found him, I heard the loud gasp of the man coming to. There was some retching of saltwater as I rushed to his aid with some freshwater gathered from the rain. His eyes were wide, searching for answers, but they settled a bit as the water brought him back to life.

“Who are you? Where am I?” he asked between pulls from the bladder.

“You have washed ashore the Island of Abyss and I am its Lighthouse Keeper.” I smiled with pride as my eyes shined with joy.

“How’d I get here? I don’t remember much of anything right now.” he coughed through a raw throat as he began to get frantic again.

“You came here much the same way they all do I reckon. Lost at sea with no wind for your sails nor fuel in your tank. There is no evidence of a boat here, so I imagine the waves ravaged it in the storm not long before you arrived.” I explained.

“Yes, I remember being out on a boat, but not much else. I’m not sure why I was there nor if I was with anyone,” he admitted with dismay.

“Do you remember your name?” I asked.

“William Stig,” he answered with certainty.

“Do not worry Mister Stig. The details should return to you in time. For now, let us get you inside to warm up and have a bite to eat.”

William followed the Keeper to an old arched door set in the stones of the towering lighthouse. It took some effort to move the heavy oaken door turned gray after years of exposure to salty air. To William's surprise, the door opened without a sound. After taking a closer look, he noticed the hinges showed no rust and had a velvet sheen to their blackened iron.

The Keeper caught him looking. “Part of my duties is to keep those lubricated with whale oil. I use this door often throughout each day and learned long ago the pain of sticking hinges.”

“I am impressed at your attention to even the finest details. Had I been more in tune with my boat as you are with the things of this island, I may have never wrecked in the first place.”

“Learning to appreciate the small things often requires hard lessons. It also helped to have a good teacher. Come, the table is up the first flight of stairs.”

The only light on the bottom floor came from the open door. William made out some shelving tucked under the stairs and around the perimeter of the walls. This floor must be for storage he thought to himself. The Keeper led him up several stone steps set into the walls which led to the floor of the second level. The ceiling was much higher in this room. William noticed a wooden ladder descending from a hatch above them on their right as they walked in. He imagined it led to the lamp.

A small bed with a nightstand was on the opposite side of the room. There was an iron stove nearby with its chimney fed out a small window behind it. A rectangular table sat next to the wooden ladder with two chairs underneath. Humble accommodations for such an important job. William sat at one of the chairs as they passed by the table. The Keeper started the wood stove and shucked oysters he had pulled from a bucket.

At the table sat a leather-bound book. William glanced at the Keeper and saw his back was towards him, so he ventured a look. The only inscription on the cover was a lighthouse insignia in the top right corner. He opened to the first page and read what it said. The Lighthouse Keepers serve a vital mission. Cast light into the darkness to save those with hindered vision. William raised an eyebrow and leafed through several more pages. None of it made much sense to him, but it appeared to be a part manual & part logbook of sorts. The Keeper had returned to the table without William noticing. He set a plate of oysters and dried seaweed chips in front of them.

“I see you could not resist The Companion’s call.” the Keeper said.

William started and almost knocked the plate from the table. “I’m sorry. It’s rude to go through a stranger’s belongings. I hardly gave it much thought, to be honest.”

“Do not fret my friend. I had planned to show it to you anyway."

“What do you mean?” asked William.

“First, let us eat together. You should have a clear head.” said the Keeper as he set an oyster on a seaweed chip before tossing it in his mouth and then smiled.

William followed suit, though seafood was not his favorite. He did not want to be an ungrateful guest. It did not take long for William to finish then ask for seconds and thirds. Being famished, he hardly tasted the food as he shoveled it in his mouth. The salty meal had him drink through another flagon of water before he was content. William expressed profuse gratitude and offered to clean up for them. The Keeper welcomed the help he had not had in a while.

“We will have our discussion upstairs,” said the Keeper when they finished. “The ocean air brings clarity.”

He put The Companion in his belt and led William up the ladder. The hatch could be tricky to open depending on the draft up there, but the winds had favor on them today. For the lamp to not blind, there was put a shielding wall in the entrance. The Keeper still kept his back turned as he entered out of old habit and William did the same. They met out on the gallery and William would have slipped had the Keeper not reached out his hand.

“Thank you for catching me,” he said as he tried to catch his breath. "I didn’t realize how slippery it would be.”

“It has been a while since another has walked here with me, but the instincts remain.” replied the Keeper. “Are you steady now on your own?”

“Yes, I have a firm grip on this railing with no intentions of letting go.”

“Good. Let us begin—”

“Hold on, I realized I never got your name. If we are about to have some serious conversation, then I should at least know your name.”

“I already told you my name. I am the Lighthouse Keeper on the Island of Abyss.”

“That’s not a real name, but your occupation. What is your real name?”

“I understand what you mean, but I gave up my old name long ago. When one becomes a Keeper, they surrender their old name. The occupation and the new name are the same.”

“Very strange. Is there a shorter version I can call you?”

“You may refer to me as Keeper if you like and you will not think it so strange if you choose to understand.”

“Understand what, Keeper?”

“Allow me to show you.”

Keeper pulled The Companion from his belt and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and recited the creed under his breath. William recognized it from the first page of the book.

“Before I begin, you must know you have a choice. There is a supply plane that arrives every other month and the next one is due to arrive next week. You can return to the mainland on said plane and go back to your old life. I would then hope you had learned your lesson when you cheated death. You could also choose to stay and become my apprentice to learn the ways of the Keepers. I only ask you not to choose in haste. Give me your ear right now and shadow me for this next week before deciding,” said Keeper.

“You saved my life, the least I could do is hear you out,” replied William.

“Good. I will start by explaining the purpose of this island and its lighthouse. I am sure you know why lighthouses exist, so I will spare you those details. This one is particularly special though.

Many ships became lost to the Abyss long ago with nothing guiding their way. When airplanes started flying the skies, they often would get lost out here too. They would run out of fuel and crash into the Abyss. There are a lot of different vessels that make up the bottom of this part of the ocean.

There was an Order of Keepers established at the building of the first lighthouse. They sought to solve this problem by putting a lighthouse out here. With no land for many leagues, they could not think of a way to build it. A very brave group of those Keepers came by ship to this area and sounded the depths. When they started to run out of fuel, they made the hard choice of turning back home empty-handed.

One of them suggested they continue to sound as they returned home. That is how they discovered a mountain buried in the sea. It was on this mountain they built up the island and set up the beacon of hope this lighthouse has become.

Now, planes can find help navigating the skies. They look for the light to determine their trajectory. Ships gave up these waters long ago due to the difficulty traversing this area. Those who make it here by accident though find this a haven as they get pointed in the right direction. Then, there are those like you and me; our ships did not make it, and our fates seemed sealed. If it was not for this island and those who keep it, certain death would have been how our stories ended.”

William nodded his head as he listened with intention. It was easy for him to see what this island meant to many, but was it the place for him? He decided to see how the week went, but he was already torn on the choice set before him. Keeper was a capable man, he could see that much. As William watched him talk and gesture though, he could also tell Keeper’s time here was short.

“It’s a great story you tell Keeper and I look forward to learning more. I admit the choice is a more difficult one now, but I will still need the time to think. What do you have for me in the meantime?”

“We can start with this,” Keeper said opening The Companion for William to see.

Page after page was explained in great detail. Keeper gestured to different parts of the island and the lighthouse below their feet. He spoke more of the Order of Keepers who had established themselves centuries ago. They had a vast network of lighthouses spanning the globe. It often took a survivor to become a Keeper having been lost before someone came and guided their way. The shot at redemption is what drove them to service.

Keeper closed The Companion having explained enough for now. He decided to show William an average day of life on the island. At the end of the day, they retired to sleep. Keeper took the floor with a blanket and pillow he pulled out of storage. William was grateful for the bed and spent the night dreaming of a shipwreck with dread.

The rest of the week went by in a flash. William lost track of the days and was surprised to hear a plane one morning. He was out collecting seaweed and whatever shellfish he could find. The shore had a higher tide than before, but William did not mind. Keeper walked down the beach from the lighthouse to join his Brother from the plane.

“Well William, the day has come for you to make your choice. The plane must take off as soon as we offload its cargo. Will you give us a hand?”

"Sure!" said William with enthusiasm. He grabbed a wooden crate the pilot had thrown on the beach and followed Keeper to the lighthouse. "Okay, I have made up my mind."

"Have you now?" asked Keeper.

"Yes, I have decided to stay and follow in your stead. Fate brought us together and let me survive, so it wouldn't be right to turn my back on this now."

"Alright then," Keeper said with a knowing smile. He retrieved The Companion from the second floor and handed it to William. "A Keeper you will be."