Adrift

by Robin Wainwright

tomb.

  At the center of the room was a large circular hole. Curious, Heather peeked over the edge of the hole, but all she could see was darkness. Looking up she saw a couple of long chains dangling down from somewhere way above.

  Well I’ve made it this far. Why not go for it? Heather headed for the metal stairs that curved up around the inside of the lighthouse. She gripped the metal handrail tightly and began her ascent. Heather knew she wasn’t in terrific shape, but she was surprised how quickly her breath became labored. She reached a landing and paused to look out a little rectangular window.

  She could see a sliver of beach and a big piece of the sky. It looked like she was up really high, but she realized that part of this was the perspective of being at the top of the cliffs instead of on the beach. Glancing up she saw that she had a long climb ahead of her and decided to power on.

  Finally, she reached the top of the steps only to be met by another door. Crap, she thought, this one better be unlocked after all that climbing! Reaching forward she tried the knob, and she would have done a happy dance when the door swung open, except that her legs were killing her.

  The door opened onto a small room that held big dusty boxes and pieces of broken wood. It looked like a storage room of some sort, and then she saw the next set of stairs.

  Her legs wanted to start a mutiny but she said, “Come on it’s only a few more stairs then we can rest and enjoy what has got to be an incredible view.” Her legs decided to delay the mutiny and carried her the rest of the way to the next door, which luckily was unlocked too. This door opened up into a large glass enclosed room. In the center of which was the actual light for the lighthouse. At least she assumed it used to be a light. In the center of the room was a metal cylinder and scattered around the floor were pieces of thick glass. Heather was saddened by the waste. ‘Why break something like that?’ she thought. ‘Even if the lighthouse isn’t currently operating people should respect the history of a place like this.’

  Looking up from the broken glass she let out a startled gasp, the view was amazing. She could see everything from up here—the beach with the waves crashing on the shore and all the way out to the horizon. She turned to her right to see the village spread out below her like a miniature model. The village looked beautiful with all its colorful buildings and splashes of green.

  Heather jumped when a fat white and grey seagull landed on the railing outside the window and let out a loud screech. Glaring at the bird Heather told it, “I don’t have anything for you, so you can just buzz off.” The seagull turned its head this way and that, checking Heather out closely, and then jumped off the railing to fly back toward the beach.

  Heather walked around the room to a small glass door that led out onto the walkway that encircled the outside of the lighthouse. Should I chance it? She wondered. She’d been lucky so far, but the walkway looked rusty. Heather opened the door and put a tentative foot on the walkway. A rusty bolt broke loose from the side of the lighthouse and tumbled down to the rocky shore below. Heather quickly pulled her foot back in and said, “Nope, I guess not.”

  Closing the door behind her, she felt a deep sense of loss. It was depressing to think of all the history this building had seen and that it was now abandoned and falling to ruin. There was nothing else to explore, so Heather began her long descent back to the ground floor.

  Even though the descent was much easier than the climb, her legs were still screaming when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Deciding that she had had enough of the depressing feelings inside the abandoned lighthouse she went back outside into the sunshine.

  Heather found an old bench under a beautiful tree and settled herself there to rest. The cool sea breeze dried the sweat from her brow and rustled the leaves above her head. Much better, she thought. Leaning back against the tree she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

  It was a beautiful sunny day, The perfect day for a picnic, she thought as she spread out a blanket in the shade of the tree. As she began to pull the food out of her basket and arrange it on the blanket before her, a hand covered her eyes.

  “Guess who?” said a male voice.

  “Umm, is it Mayor Johnson?”

  “Nope, guess again.”

  “Is it Reverend Samuel?”

  The male laughed, “It had better not be.”

  “Okay, then I guess… it must be my handsome sailor.”

  “Finally,” he said and released her eyes. “These are for you.” He said as he pulled a large bunch of wild flowers from behind his back.

  “They’re lovely,” she said taking the flowers and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Have a seat.” He settled onto the blanket across from her. As she gazed at him her heart swelled with love. She loved how he looked, all dark and broody until you looked into his dark brown eyes and saw the twinkle of mischief that lay within. She loved his voice, his humor and above all else, she loved that such a hardworking man could treat her so gently, like something fragile that he really cherished. Of course, she knew she wasn’t fragile. In fact, she felt like a very capable young woman, but it was nice to have someone else feel that he needed to take care of her.

  They shared their picnic goodies and soon they were sitting side by side leaning back against the tree. The view was spectacular and peaceful but she didn’t feel peaceful. She felt tense with anticipation and she almost jumped when he slid his callused hand into hers. She smiled shyly up into his face and he looked deeply into her eyes. Her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest when she realized that he was going to steal a kiss. His lips descended to brush across hers lightly. It made her think of a butterfly’s wings, gentle, soft and magical.

  All too soon, he moved away and she slowly opened her eyes feeling dazed and languid. He was smiling down at her as he raised his other hand to gently brush her hair away from her face.

  “I love you, Gigi,” he said. Her dazed and languid state rapidly dissipated and she stared up at him in stunned surprise.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “I think so…”

  With a concerned look on his handsome face, he repeated himself. “I said I love you.”

  She felt her heart stop and then fly from her chest in joy. A huge smile lit up her face.

  As soon as he saw it, he let out a big breath and said, “You scared me. Can I assume by the smile on your face that you love me too?”

  “Oh yes, I love you so much!” She cried and flung herself into his arms for a big hug. He laughed and held her tight.

  “I’m so glad. I was afraid that I’d have to cut this tree down.”

  Confused she pulled back and looked up into his eyes, “I’m sorry I don’t understand.”

  He gently pulled her to her feet and pointed at the tree trunk. High up over her head she saw that someone had carved a big heart into the bark of the tree and within it were their initials.

  “You carved our initials into the tree?” she asked feeling honored and cherished.

  “Well I would have carved them into stone, but I only had my pocket knife.” He laughed and pulled her back into her arms.

  Feeling hot and sweaty, Heather opened her eyes. Dammit! She thought. She’d fallen asleep again, and while she had slept the sun had shifted leaving her sitting in full sunlight. With horror, she looked down at her arms and saw they were even redder than yesterday. Tentatively she touched her face and pulled back her fingers with a hiss when her touch caused a stinging sensation. Visions of beet red tourists in tacky tee shirts and capris ran through her mind, and she put herself right in the middle of the herd. Yep, tourist. That is what she was and she had the red badge to prove it.

  Her legs screamed at her as she got to her feet, reminding her of how much she had abused them earlier. Heather stretched and twisted trying to loosen up so she could walk back into town.

  She glanced up into the tree and froze. Way up on the trunk of the tree she could see what looked like a large heart. ‘No way!’ she thought and she felt a chill run through
her body. Grabbing the trunk of the tree for balance, she pulled herself up onto the bench but she couldn’t make out what was written inside the heart.

  I hope they’re Gigi’s and her sailor’s initials, she thought and then laughed. Yeah, right. The sun has obviously gone to my head.’ Laughing she climbed down from the bench and turned back toward town.

  7

  As Heather strolled back into the village, she felt that she was receiving a lot of stares and pitying looks. Is my sunburn really that bad? She wondered as she ducked into Java Junction.

  At the counter, Jennifer froze and stared at Heather.

  “Oh my god Heather, what happened to you?”

  Sighing Heather replied, “I feel asleep in the sun.”

  “Oh honey,” said an older woman who was standing behind the counter. “Do you have anything for that horrible burn?”

  “Yeah, I bought some aloe this morning. I even put on sunscreen this morning, but guess I didn’t put on enough.”

  Jennifer turned to the other woman and said, “Heather may I introduce my boss, Mrs. Abers? Mrs. Abers this is Heather.

  Mrs. Abers was a slender older woman with beautiful silver hair that fell around her face in shimmering waves. She was dressed smartly in a button down white blouse and an A-line skirt.

  Putting out her hand Heather said, “Heather Moore, nice to meet you Mrs. Abers.”

  “You too dear. Now why don’t you follow me upstairs and