A Lonely Lighthouse
Facilitated By Michael Li
July 8, 2022
This reminds me of when I was last stationed in Germany, during my time in the Navy. I remember being on the crew that did all the tidying up on deck in case we ever had to deploy, so I got to see some amazing shorelines. I passed by a lighthouse just like this one in this picture. I could picture the man who lives in that little building with the orange roof. It is just him with his dog. His wife passed away a long time ago, when they both used to live in the city. He was a watch repairman, so he knows his way around fixing things. After his wife passed away, it was just him and his dog, but he could not stand the noise of the city without someone to celebrate with. He moved to this lighthouse which needed somebody to maintain it. It was abandoned for a few years before he moved in, so it was all dusty and had a damp smell because one of the pipes in the ceiling was leaking. The stairwell to the top was in an empty brick tower, and walking up the rusty stairs would send a loud echo. The man took his time to cleaning the place up, and restored the lightbulbs. He had to clean out the rust and grease up the spinning mechanism in the lighthouse so that it could function for real again. He did all of this with his dog watching quietly in the background. One day he finally restored the whole lighthouse back to its normal state. The man was proud of his accomplishment, as it reminded him of his younger days when he would restore watches. But at that moment he also felt sad, as he missed his wife. She always made the decorations during the holiday and kept their home in a festive mood. He could never match her skill when it comes to decorating a home, but he knew she would be proud of his restoration of the lighthouse. At that moment the man's dog came over to ask to be pet, and the man was reminded he was not totally alone. "Good boy", said the man, "do you think Jessica would like to live here?". The dog barked and the man chuckled to himself. He knew his wife would never agree to live in such an isolated area, but he appreciated his dog's company. The man sat on top of the lighthouse at night, smoking his pipe, and watched the light spin peacefully. He sat there wondering and hoping that his new restoration could bring relief and direction to other lonely voyagers out at sea trying to find their way back home.
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