There is a story about the little lighthouse near our town. It is said that it's haunted by a girl who waited for her lover to return from his voyage at sea but he never returned. At night you could hear her sing softly about how she waited for him to return. The light would work under her hands, and hers alone. No one dared to venture in there out of fear of being locked in there as the girl was.
I never believed such a tale but the fear of being locked in the lighthouse kept me from it. There were times where I was tempted to enter it but there was always something from making a silly mistake such as that. I always found myself staring at it as I stood by the sea. When I was little, I swore I saw a silhouette of a young woman looking down at me, but my older brother told me I was crazy and imagining things. I believed him. I believed I was imagining things.
"Angela," my mother called from the kitchen. "I need your help." I disdainfully set down my book and assisted my mother in the kitchen as she prepared dinner. I didn't like to be interrupted with my reading but I find it unwise to disobey my parents. They had scorn that would send me to my graves. In other words, I feared them.
When I finished, I decided to take a walk through town. I slipped on my flip-flops and made my way around town. The sun was out, beating hotly on my golden skin. I had remembered to put sunscreen on this time. I didn't have to fear being burnt in this ridiculously hot weather.
I could smell the salty ocean water as it crashed against the banks and cliffs. Rocks perturbed from below the unsteady sea like tombstones of all the ships that seemed to crash there in the past.
"Angela," a young man said as he approached me. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his semi-tight black pants as he walked up to me. I couldn't help but smile to see how feminine he looked. "What are you doing here babe?"
"I'm going for a walk," I told him before I laid a kiss on his lips. I was in love with this boy. I had been dating him for three years and where were still going strong. "Would you like to join me?" He smiled devilishly at me and agreed.
"Where are we walking to?" he asked wrapping his arms around me. "Somewhere private I hope." I only shrugged. I wasn't in the mood for what was on his mind but I usually never was. "Come home with me. My parents aren't home."
"I have to get home soon," I protested. "My mom is almost finished with dinner." He pulled me in for a sumptuous kiss and I couldn't refuse him. It was only two hours later when I was running home for dinner. Quickly, I tied back my hair to disguise it's messiness.
I burst into my house just as my mother was setting the table. I found it hard to believe that it took two hours to cook the meal but later I found out there was a minor setback. A wave of relief washed over me. I didn't have to make up excuses for being late for dinner.
"Sorry, mom," I told her as I walked into the bathroom the wash my hands. "I lost track of time. Henry and I were walking by the beach." Sometimes, I just couldn't help but lie but she would have flipped if she found out that Henry and I were alone in his house.
"Not a problem," my mother responded. My parents and I all ate, discussing the day's events as we did. I noticed the sky growing dark as we sat and ate but I didn't mention it. My mother was the one who cut my father off to mention of the darkening sky. "It looks like a bad one tonight," she said pushing her food around nervously. I recently discovered my mother's phobia of storms. I never understood why but she would always disappear into her room before it happened. My father would go in to comfort her.
The loud booming and crackling of thunder shook our little house. My mom gasped but never released it. The fear was clear in her light eyes as the lightening weaved through the dark clouds and reached out like hands toward solid objects on the earth. I was surprised to see how fast this storm had taken to get here but my mind was soon distracted by mi mother's cries.
