The Lighthouse at Windmere Point
The old lighthouse at Windmere Point hadn't shone in over fifty years, but to Clara, it still felt alive.
Every summer, she visited the crumbling structure with her grandfather, who would sit on the
weathered bench nearby and tell her tales of ghost ships and lost sailors who followed the light
home. This summer, however, was different. Her grandfather was gone, and the lighthouse stood
like a silent monument to his memory. One evening, as fog rolled in from the sea, Clara heard a low
hum echo from within the tower-an unnatural sound that drew her closer.
Inside, dust blanketed the spiraling staircase and shattered glass crunched beneath her boots. As
she ascended, the humming grew louder, more melodic, almost like a song. At the top, where rusted
gears and a broken lens once stood idle, a strange mechanism now pulsed with blue light. Clara
reached out instinctively, and as her hand met the glowing surface, the entire room lit up. For a brief
moment, she could see the sea stretching endlessly, dotted with lights-ships, old and new, moving
as if they had never left the waters of time.
The light faded, and Clara found herself alone again, the tower silent once more. But something had
changed. In her pocket, she found a small brass key with her grandfather's initials etched into its
side. He had left her something-perhaps a final adventure, or a mystery only she could solve. As she
descended the stairs with the key clenched in her palm, Clara knew one thing for sure: the
lighthouse had called her for a reason, and the story was just beginning.