The storm

“Hold on!” I shout over the sound of the wind whipping the windows open. Looking around desperately I reach for the broom, pushing the window shut allowing me to reach it, then snap the lock.  

Jadyn, my sixteen-year-old grandson was gripping the edge of the seat staring out at the sea.  

Waves at least twenty feet high were pounding into the side of the lighthouse with gale force winds topping One hundred and twenty miles an hour. Or at least that is what the dispatcher had told me over the radio. 

This wasn’t my first rodeo with a hurricane, but it was my grandson’s first ride. I had been working at the Lighthouse for thirty years now, and Jadyn had spent many evenings watching the tides roll in and out. 

He wanted to learn everything about running the old girl. That’s what I called her. My wife always called her my Mistress, I guess I had given her a lot of my time over the years. Lately I had been thinking about retirement and Jadyn was expressing interest in taking my place someday.  

Our one and only child, a daughter had loved coming to work with me in the evenings when she was younger. The sun setting over the ocean or dolphins playing in the waves would have her staring out of the large viewing windows. But she never enjoyed walking up the forty steps it took to get to the lightroom or having to change out the fixtures in the lighthouse. Memorizing the different flashes for the lights and the control room never held an interest to her either.  

I had started bringing Jadyn to the lighthouse with me when he was around five years old. He immediately began expressing interest. Helping me replace the Fresnel lens, asking what each symbol meant on the control board. He had even spent nights with me during rough waters, but this was his first full blown hurricane. 

Explaining the dangers of the storms was never going to be good enough. He had to experience it, which is why he was now white knuckling my captain's chair in the viewing room of the lighthouse. 

“What do we do now Grandpa?”  

“We make sure that light keeps flashing, so the ships know how close they are too the shore.” 

I do my best to appear calm to Jadyn but inside my guts are twisting. This kind of storm brings ships crashing into the rocks. I’ve seen it a time or two before and it wasn’t pretty. Seasoned Captains knew to stay out of the water when a storm was within a hundred miles, but it was the young ones that felt they were invincible, they could outrun, out maneuver or outlast the storms, that ended up with the boards of their ships floating in the aftermath. 

Looking at me and then out the window, I can tell Jadyn is fighting his feelings of fear. He understands this is part of the job and if he wants to take over, he will have to overcome. 

“Come on Jay,”  

The only way to do this was to throw him into a task. 

All of the windows are secured and the sky is getting blacker. The light from above bounces off the angry waves in short bursts.

“Grandpa a ship.” 

Jadyn is now on his feet and I turn and look in the direction he is pointing. 

“Damn! Come on son, that ship is going to need help.” 

 We head to the control room, and I grab the radio to try to signal the Coast Guard.  

The crackle coming through handset tells me there is no signal going out, if the Captain is trying to call for help, he wasn’t getting through.  

Jadyn is already standing in front of the switchboard waiting for my go ahead. I am proud of the fact he has learned all the signals and can work the board without my help. 

Nodding the go ahead he punches in numbers and the light starts flashing, one slow, two quick, one slow, two quick. This will bring more attention to the ship as it’s trying to keep it’s course against the storm. 

Ascending the stairs we move back into the viewing room. The pounding of the waves against the side of the lighthouse makes me think of The Kraken. I imagine the giant monster wrapping itself around the building as it lifts it from the foundation before dragging it under the sea.  

I consider telling Jadyn my thoughts but reconsider, he is already pacing the floor wringing his hands together while glancing out the window.  

“You know we’re safe in here, right?’ 

“Yea, I know. Maybe. Are we really safe? I mean could the Lighthouse blow over?’ 

I think about my first few years as a Lighthouse Keeper. I asked that question more than once, and now I would tell my grandson, the same thing my father told me when he trained me so many years before. 

“Come here son.” 

Jadyn stops pacing and comes to my side. He is a good kid and I couldn’t imagine anyone else taking my place someday. 

“You see these walls?” Jadyn looks around at the bricks that line the room we were in. 

“Yes Sir.” 

“This building was built over a hundred years ago. My father was one of the first Lighthouse keepers and believe me when I tell you he saw plenty of storms. I remember standing exactly where you are now, thinking the same thing. I believed the waves would destroy the lighthouse as it does the poor ships that get caught in its wake. But the people who built it, understood storms, they knew that waves would pummel it at times. They realized winds could be so strong as to rip trees from the ground. So, they built it to withstand all of it.” 

Just then a wave crashed against the windows spraying foam in every direction. The wind rattling the frames, but we stood still. 

“Did you feel that?” I asked Jadyn. 

“What do you mean, did I feel it? I saw it, I heard it, but I didn’t feel anything.” 

“And that’s my point. This building was made to withstand any storm. It was here before me, and will be here long after you. You are responsible for the safety of those ships out there and you cannot be scared of the storms. Mother Nature is powerful, but you’re still holding the reins. Or at least from this standpoint you are. Now the poor souls on that ship, that’s a whole different story. They are at the mercy of the storm. There is nothing we can do except make sure they see the light.” 

“They should have never been out to begin with.” Jadyn walked to the window cupping his hand over his eyes trying to peer into the darkness. The wind was howling like a lonely Siren singing it’s death song to entice the sailors in.  

“Grandpa......” 

I heard the distress in his whisper as I walked up beside him. I grabbed my binoculars and pointed them in the direction of the ship. Even in the darkness I saw the crest of the wave behind the ship and I prayed for people on board. A wave that high would split a ship in two and it would be sunk before the sun hit the horizon.  

“Do something Grandpa.” The pleading in his eyes pierced my heart, but there was nothing I could do. Our eyes were glued to the wave as it grew rising higher and higher over the ship before crashing over the top of it, swallowing it whole. 

Jadyn jerked and turned his head into my shoulder not wanting to see the ship torn to pieces. 

“Wholly shit! Look Jadyn it made it.” 

Jadyn peeled himself out of my shoulder as I handed him the binoculars. God was on that ships side, at least for now. Just then the clouds parted and the full moon shown through revealing the storm had moved on. 

The ship was bobbing up and down as the waves continued to froth but no longer slamming into the lighthouse. Even the wind had stopped and now an eerie quiet took it’s place. 

I throw my arm around Jadyn’s shoulder as we stare at the reflection of the ship in the light of the moon. Once again I prayed for the safety of everyone on board and hoped no one got washed over the side. 

“Come on, lets go see if the radio is working yet.” I motion Jadyn to follow me and we head to the control room. As soon as we open the door I hear the voice asking if anyone could hear him. 

“Hello, I can hear you. Is everyone ok?” 

“Yes. This is Tony with the Sealion. We are a deep sea fishing ship. We were heading in when the storm hit.” 

“I didn’t think you guys would make it. Did you take on any water?” 

“My men have acessed everything and it we are dry, but our rotor was hit and we can’t turn. I have been trying to call the Guard but the signals were down.” 

“Yea, I tried to call myself earlier and realized the same thing. You guys hold on tight. We will get you help asap.” 

“Yes sir, by the way, thanks for the light signal. It was the only thing that kept us from not being swept away. We knew the direction of land and turned against the wave. You guys literally saved our lives.” 

Pumping his fist in the air Jadyn’s worry had now turned into pride. 

“We did it.” 

“We sure did son.” 

“Thanks grandpa. I am going to make you proud of me someday.” 

Blinking back the tears in my eyes, I think of myself at his age telling my father the same thing. I wrap my arms around him and squeeze him tight just like my father had done to me. 

“You already have son, you already have.” 

Together we walk back to the viewing room to watch the sun rise, the beauty of the colors splashing across the ocean showing no indication of the storm that had just raged through. In the distance I can see the outline of the Coast Guard ship heading toward the Sealion and I thank God for keeping them all safe. 

Looking toward Jadyn as his eyes reflect the blue of the water, I know I have made the right decision and when I’m ready, he will step into my place and maybe someday, he will be looking at his own son as he teaches him how to respect the storms and save the ships.