Hello and welcome to the Writober series! These posts will feature flash fiction stories that I wrote for #Writober 2020 — one prompt each day for the whole month of October. Prompts provided by Fanwriter.it‘s pumpINK list.
Day 1: Moon ?
She only came during a full moon.
He’s used to how dark most nights are. You have to be, when you’re a lighthouse custodian. The darkness isn’t scary anymore; it becomes your friend. Your lighthouse becomes your mistress.
There is no one else around. Boats come and go, but they never stay. It’s lonely, being a lighthouse custodian. It’s not a job anybody can do; and he’s proud that he can. The lighthouse gives him purpose; it’s his own special light, brighter than the moon itself.
It just gets lonely.
Which is why he’s grateful for her.
She’s not human, that much is clear. It never bothered him; he feels special that he knows she exists, while others remain oblivious. In a way, she gets overlooked just as much as he does.
She’s curious and friendly. It makes sense — after all, he’d be too if he didn’t live on land. He’s tried asking about her world, but she’s secretive. Says he “couldn’t understand”; that it’s “too grim to share”; that he actually doesn’t want to know.
He knows the sea; he knows how vile it can get. Nonetheless, she keeps her secrets.
She only comes to visit once every full moon. He forces himself to stay up to see her and talk to her. He could talk for months. She’s quiet.
He wants to see her world. He grows increasingly discontent with this arrangement, this star-crossed malarkey. He wants to be with her, always.
He pleads. He pleads. And pleads more.
Until finally, one cold autumn night, he’s relieved from the pleading, his wish granted.
The lighthouse no longer outshines the moon.
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