Adrift

by Robin Wainwright

they once again settled down with their mugs and relaxed back into their chairs. Heather had an overwhelming feeling of being at home with a dear friend and the feeling made her a little wistful. At home, all of her old friends had disappeared. She knew that it wasn’t really their fault. As Dad’s illness had progressed she had become more and more focused on him, because his illness really didn’t leave time for dinners out, or movies or even drinks with friends. After a while, Heather’s friends had just stopped asking her to join them, and Heather hadn’t taken the time to reach out and reconnect with them. Sitting across from Sarah she realized how much she had missed this comfortable camaraderie.

  Sarah took a deep drink of her cocoa and began her story.

  “Okay, the story of my life. My mother Sinthia, or Sin as she likes to call herself, was a wild child of the 60s. When Mom was 18, she left home and began hitchhiking her way up the coast to San Francisco to be with the other hippies.”

  “She made it as far as Crescent Bay and decided to crash on the beach for the night. Sometime in the middle of the night, she says she woke up surrounded by fog.”

  “When she looked out toward the sea she saw a beautiful three-masted ship. The sounds of sailors yelling floated to her from across the fog.”

  “The ship came closer and closer to shore and she began to be concerned about how close it was to the point of the bay. She glanced up toward the lighthouse but the light wasn’t lit.”

  “Then she saw someone running around the outside of the lighthouse with some sort of flame, like a lantern or something. That made her relax, because she knew someone had the situation under control. But then she heard a horrible scream and saw a woman falling from the lighthouse.”

  “She stood frozen in terror because she didn’t know what to do. She was too far away from the lighthouse to help the woman or the ship. She was running up the beach toward the village when she heard a large crash and more screaming, only this time it was men screaming.”

  “She spun around and saw that the ship had crashed on the rocks and that it was rapidly sinking. She said she ran as fast as she could into the village and was picked up by a police cruiser.”

  Shaking her head Sarah continued, “Poor Mom, the cop thought she was stoned. Why wouldn’t he? Here she was a vagrant, obviously a hippie, babbling on about a ship that had crashed and someone falling from the lighthouse. To calm her down, he drove her back to the beach. When they got there, the beach was clear, no wreckage or bodies.”

  “He drove her up to the lighthouse and there was nobody there and no sign of a body in the surf. Poor Mom was confused and scared.”

  “The cop offered to let my mom clean up at his house, I guess by that time he figured she wasn’t high or harmful in any way. That was almost 45 years ago.”

  “Wow! And your mom stayed here, after that?”

  “I’d say it was the magnetism of the handsome policeman that kept her here. They were married later that year and a few years later I appeared.”

  Heather grinned, “What a sweet story.”

  “Yep, the ghost brought my parents together, so to speak. So now, you can understand why I was pissed when you saw her. Sorry about that by the way, it was a knee jerk reaction.”

  “No, I understand. She is special to you. But what’s up with the ghost ship? I didn’t see that.”

  “More people see the woman than the ship. In fact the ship wreck has only been seen a few times over the years.”

  “Well tonight’s events will make tomorrow’s visit to the lighthouse even more interesting.”

  Sarah raised her mug and said “To ghosts and adventure.”

  “Salute.”

  Heather dreamed she was standing up high on the top of the lighthouse and in her hand, she held a lantern. She felt a deep sense of urgency and panic. She had to light the lamp inside the lighthouse. but there was something blocking her way. She struggled and pushed but she couldn’t get past the dark mass in the doorway.

  “Please!” She begged. “The ship is going to crash, please! He’s going to die!” The black mass overwhelmed her and she felt herself plunging back over the rail and tumbling toward the ground.

  She jerked upright gasping for breath and grasping for something to hold.

  “Oh god. Oh god,” she panted with her heart racing. “No more ghost stories before bed!” Slowly her breathing calmed and her heart rate returned to normal. Heather shook her head as she wiped the tears off her cheeks. “A shower, that’s what I need. Then some coffee. Yep, that’s the plan.”

  The shower washed the rest of the nightmare away and Heather felt more like herself as she stepped into her clothes.

  As Heather headed down to breakfast, Heather thought, Today is going to be a good day.

  The kitchen smelled of eggs, bacon and fresh coffee. “Nirvana,” Heather said.

  Sarah turned from the stove to give Heather a big smile, “Or the closest you’re going to come to it in Crescent Bay. Have a seat and I’ll get you some coffee.”

  Sarah and Heather settled down across from each other and dug in.

  A while later with their hunger sated, they sat back and sipped their coffee.

  “Amazing breakfast, but it made me sleepy.”

  “Really? You just got out of bed, aren’t you sleeping well?”

  “I think you were right the first night we met, no ghost stories before bed.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to have nightmares.”

  “Not your fault. After what I saw last night I needed to hear your story. I’ll be fine.”

  “Well you know where to go for an energy boost.”

  “Yep, Java Junction!”

  “Don’t forget to try the Three Musketeer latte I told you about.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” Heather rubbed her stomach, “but not for a little while. I think I’ll go check out the lighthouse first, work off some of my breakfast.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  “But first I need to pack up so I can check out. Do you mind if I leave my car parked out front until I leave?”

  “No problem, it’s quiet. When you’re all packed up come back down and we’ll settle your bill.”

  “Will do.”

  Heather returned to her room and packed up her meager belongings, it didn’t take long. She felt a little melancholy as she headed back downstairs and settled her bill with Sarah.

  “Well,” Sarah said, “I hope you enjoyed your stay. Maybe you can visit us again.”

  “I’d like that.” Then Heather was surprised to hear herself say, “Can I hug you goodbye?”

  Sarah smiled and opened her arms. “I’m glad you asked because I was afraid to.”

  Sarah and Heather hugged goodbye and Heather headed out.

  Stowing her luggage in her trunk Heather started walking toward the beach.

  6

  Heather stopped in a quaint village store to pick up some sunscreen and aloe. She didn’t want a repeat of yesterday’s embarrassment. She also bought herself a cute straw hat and a pair of flip-flops. While she admired her new hat in a mirror, she slathered on the suntan lotion. Laughing to herself she thought, My wardrobe is really growing. I’ll be alright, as long as I become a beach bum. Smiling to herself, she headed off toward the lighthouse.

  The day was warm and beautiful. A few wispy clouds where in the sky, but their whiteness just emphasized how intensely blue the sky actually was. The sea breeze smelled of the deep ocean and distant lands, it played with her hair as it tried to pull off her new hat.

  Heather felt her mood shift as she approached the light keeper’s cottage. She half expected to see the woman that she’d seen last night up on the widow’s walk puttering around in the overgrown garden or perhaps sweeping the front steps, but the cottage was eerily empty. The building didn’t look too run down, but Heather could tell that the ocean air had taken a toll on the wood. It was in serious need of some paint, and a couple of the windows had been boarded up, but she had ex
pected it to be in much worse condition. From what Sarah had said, it had been abandoned for quite some time.

  Mustering up some courage Heather peeked in one of the remaining windows, but it was too dark inside to see much of anything. She could make out what looked like a couch, and maybe a couple of chairs, but that was about it.

  She turned her attention to the lighthouse. It too could use a good paint job but most of the plaster was in good condition. As she approached the door to the lighthouse she could see that the door had once been secured with a large chain and probably a padlock, but now the chain swung free and the padlock was nowhere in sight. Perhaps someone is inspecting the lighthouse, Heather thought as she reached for the door. The door swung open on rusty hinges that made a horrible screeching sound. Well if they are, they now know that they have company.

  “Hello?” She called. Her voice echoed back, but that was all the response she got. Looking back over her shoulder to see if anyone else was in sight, she decided to chance it and entered the lighthouse.

  The interior was very dusty, but in the dust, she could see various footprints. She could also see empty beer cans, cigarette butts and other things she figured she didn’t want to look at too closely. Obviously, the lighthouse had become a party place for some of the local kids. She froze and listened to see if she could hear anyone else scurrying around, it wouldn’t do to startle some poor kid. The lighthouse remained quiet, almost too quiet. The thick walls muffled the sound of the surf and combined with the dim lighting the effect was that of a