🌊 The Lighthouse Keeper's Promise Episode 13 – The Keeper’s Farewell

 🌊 Episode 13 – The Keeper’s Farewell

📖 The storm came without warning.

I remember the night — thunder growling beyond the cliffs, waves slamming against the rocks as if the ocean itself was trying to break free. Elliot stood by the glass window, his lantern lit, staring into the chaos.

“Every year, around this time,” he said softly, “the tide rises higher… as if she’s calling me home.”

I begged him to come inside, to leave the tower and find shelter. But he only smiled, that same calm smile he wore whenever he spoke of Maeve.

 “If the sea wants me, Lara,” he whispered, “then I’ll go willingly. Some promises are meant to be kept — even after we’re gone.”

The wind howled louder. I reached out to him, but he stepped outside into the storm — coat flapping, light in hand. I chased after him, rain slicing against my face.

Lightning flashed. For a second, I saw him standing at the edge of the cliff, his lantern glowing through the rain like a heartbeat in the dark.

Then another flash — and he was gone.

Only the sea roared back, endless and merciless.

When morning came, the storm had passed. The lighthouse stood silent once more. On the table lay his final note, damp but legible:

 “Tell her I kept the light burning. Tell her I never stopped waiting.”

I placed his lantern by the window, where the sunrise hit it perfectly. It glowed one last time — a farewell flicker from the keeper of promises.

And somewhere, out there in the mist, I thought I heard Maeve’s laughter — soft, carried by the wind, at peace at last.

TO BE CONTINUED...