A Beacon in the Wilderness🔊

Once upon a time in a small town named Esterloch, nestled between an extensive labyrinth of forests and mountains, a charming little lighthouse stood tall beside a gleaming river's bank. It had a curious peculiarity: there was no sea in sight, but the lighthouse was lit every day as if guiding an invisible fleet safely home. Estherloch's lighthouse was known to all as the Lightman's Keep.

The keeper of the lighthouse was an old, haggard man named Murdoch. He had been the Lightman since anyone could remember, and residents often told tales about Murdoch being older than the town itself. Murdoch spent his days maintaining the Lightman's Keep and every night, he would ascend to the top to light the lantern, his illuminated silhouette a comforting sight against the dark canvas of the night.

One particular winter, a severe snowstorm swept through Estherloch. For three days and three nights, the town was cloaked in shadow and ice, and strangely, the Lightman's Keep was dark. Alarm spread amongst the townsfolk; they were worried about Murdoch. When the storm finally subdued, the town sheriff and a group of volunteers ventured out to the lighthouse. They found Murdoch, clinging to life but struggling to breathe.

Terrified, they did their best to nurse Murdoch back to health. Meanwhile, without the Lightman's guiding light, the town was in disarray. People stumbled around in the darkness, unsure of their safety. There was a sense of incompleteness without the warm, guiding light of the lighthouse.

As Murdoch's strength ebbed, he motioned for Eliot, a young orphan boy whom he had taken under his wing, known for his quick wit and earnest nature. 'Light the lantern, lad,' he breathed with an air of urgency. Eliot, having lived with Murdoch but never honestly understanding his obsession with the lighthouse, was bewildered. 'But Murdoch,' he stuttered, 'We are surrounded by mountains and forests, not seas. What is the purpose?'

Taking a last breath, Murdoch whispered, 'You'll see,' and with that, he was gone. Devastated by the loss and overcome with curiosity, Eliot decided to honor Murdoch's last wish. He cleaned the lighthouse, carried fresh oil in heavy barrels up the spiral staircase and by the time night fell, Eliot had managed to light the lantern. As the light echoed over the town, people came out of their houses, relief plain on their faces. They had their guiding light back. That night, Eliot decided he would continue Murdoch's legacy and became Estherloch's new Lightman.

Weeks later, during one of his quiet nights in the Lightman's Keep, Eliot stumbled across an old journal belonging to Murdoch. The entries were puzzling, with references to 'invisible sailors' and 'shadow ships.' Perplexed, Eliot poured over the journal, and then he found a passage that astonished him.

'The true purpose of our Lightman's Keep is not to guide boats, but to guide spirits lost in the ether. Lost souls see our beacon and find their way to the afterlife. It's not a job, but a duty, a calling.'

Eliot was taken aback. He understood now why Murdoch had so diligently lit the lighthouse every night. It wasn't a beacon for the living; it was a beacon for the dead, a beacon in the wilderness of afterlife. From then, Eliot became a devout keeper, understanding, at last, the gravity of his inherited responsibility.

And so, the story of Estherloch's Lightman's Keep and its curious lighthouse lives on. A beacon not for lost sailors but lost souls, a glowing presence in the tranquility of night, guiding and providing comfort in the otherwise pitch darkness of the wilderness beyond.