The Lighthouse

Anjali M Naik posted under Flash Fiction QuinTale-07 on 2019-03-20



Seguin lighthouse was an old and historic lighthouse situated on the Seguin Island in the gulf of Maine at the southern mouth of the Kennebec River, Maine. Wlliam Crawford, a warrant officer working with the US Lighthouse Services, was sent  to the island to decommission the Seguin lighthouse. Shockingly, the Duty lighthouse keeper had committed suicide after killing his wife. Since then, the lighthouse was lying abandoned in the absence of a keeper. William reached the island late in the evening. He felt there was certainly something magical about the lighthouse and looked forward to spend some memorable time there. With a forceful blow, he opened the lock of the keeper's brick house. He stepped carefully inside but was surprised to see the house in a pleasant condition. It looked unreal to believe that it was unoccupied . He rubbed his eyes and made arrangements to sleep. He was too tired to think of anything else. Next morning, William started an exhaustive job of clearing the lighthouse. He was ordered to stop all the operations of the lighthouse. Since it was already lying unused, he had an easier job at withdrawal. After a tiring day, he decided to pamper himself in the evening with a warm bath mixed with scented herbs. Engrossed in himself, William was suddenly distracted by a piano tune that seemed to originate somewhere nearby. A shocked William, hastily wrapped a towel and rushed out to encounter the musician. But disappointment welcomed him, with no one in sight. Strangely there was not even a piano in the house. William thought the exhaustion must have racked his brain to cause such auditory hallucinations. He decided to go off to sleep instead. It was a dark, stormy night. The ferocious waves crashed on the rocks. The howling winds created an eerie atmosphere. He kept tossing and turning on his bed. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He jerked and sat upright. He switched on the lights but could see no one. He decided to sleep with the lights on. With a roaring thunder and a blazing lightning, the electric line was snapped. The lone house was submerged in darkness. William was shaken but tried to keep a brave front. Just then, he heard a ruffled voice screaming, "Go away, loser!" William experienced his pulse racing and palpitations loud enough to be heard miles away. He felt his heart would burst out any moment. Somehow he gathered composure and stuffed all the packed things onto the small boat anchored at the shore. The boat man had gone into the village in search of  local alcohol and appeared to have got stuck in the bad weather. William didn't want to take any more chances. So he himself decided to sail away on the boat.

***

Next morning, the radio announcer reported that a boat with a warrant officer was missing from the Seguin Islands.

***

At William's funeral, the Chief Officer declared the Seguin Lighthouse inaccessible due to mysterious reasons. _ For more of such content follow us on Social Media: