The Light House

To all readers:
It has been some time since I have written a short story. I will later clean it up a bit with better grammar and punctuation. I just *had* to get this out 80)

So without further ado, I give you the Light House

As I tower far above the careening waves at the foot of the jagged cliff, I dream about the ghostly sailor in my mind. I wish for him, for his presence to be near me. He does not know of my feelings for him as he passes near the bay that I inhabit. I intellectually realize that we may never be, since I am the ghostly maiden of my lighthouse, which my spirit has encompassed, and he is human.

One dreary day, a storm blows in. I sense that he is near. I shine my light as bright as every inch in my being can muster. In my mind's eye, I can see his face. His expression changes to immense hope as he sees me. Safety is near! The waves crash heartlessly on the rocky cliffs above him.

In his heart, he maintains peace, that whatever happens, he will be okay. He feels at home on the ocean. Gilbert has been on the ocean since he was just a small boy. He has navigated the seas for many years. It is his home, where he lives. He is but a stranger on the land. It does not hold him as the sea does with her reassuring, subtle, though sometimes abrasive touch. Gil somehow always knew that he would die at sea, as he had lived.

Gilbert feels a kinship to the lighthouse that stands so tall and unassuming in Perinack Bay. She is blue with gray brick. Though she is not the newest or prettiest lighthouse, he is smitten by her sweet disposition on the shore, so strong yet unassuming on the harsh embankment. Her effervescence touches a part of his soul that no other lighthouse can find. He is unable to rationalize his kinship to her, but he feels a sense of peace when he is near her. Somehow, the sailor intuitively knows that they will share time, energy and even love, however impossible that my seem.

As the sailor is struggling through the storm, I watch the little vessel bobbing up and down upon the merciless waves. I hope and pray with all of my might, that he will be safe through this trial. Suddenly, an enormous wave looms before him and sweeps down, knocking him overboard. I intently watch for a sign of life. My foundation is rocked as I wait and wait.

The ocean stirs near where Gil went under the surface. A beautiful woman appears that sailors tell many tales about -- Anameria, the goddess of the ocean. She takes the sailor's lifeless body in her arms and his ghost emerges from it. I watch all of this with hope and anticipation. She tells him, "My name is Anameria. I have come to grant you the home of your wishes, since your love was my sea. You may choose any bay." He looks around in awe and tells her earnestly, "I have travelled over your waters for many years. The place I am most at home is here." Anameria looks up at the lighthouse, as she observes a figure coming down to the sea, where they are at.

Gilbert watches a beautiful woman floating toward him from the lighthouse. She is wearing a gorgeous, flowing blue dress. She has beautiful red curls cascading down past her shoulders to the small of her back. He has never seen a woman more beautiful in his eyes.

As I make my way toward them, Gilbert watches me in awe with a sweet smile forming and kind eyes that I have dreamed of since I first saw him. I tell him, "My name is Arriana. I would be pleased if you would like to share my lighthouse, my bay, and my heart."

He gently grabs my hand gently as I feel more peace and love than I ever thought was possible. He asks me, "Can I have this dance forevermore?"

I nod in my quiet, yet affirming way. And we danced upon the water as Anameria disappeared from sight. We danced and we will continue dancing and inhabiting the lighthouse for the rest of eternity. The happiness that we share in death, we both never knew in life.

And there are tales that if you look hard, sometimes a couple can be seen dancing along the waters of Perinack bay.