The Lantern by the Shore

The wind howled through the cliffs, carrying the scent of salt and forgotten promises. Lydia stood at the edge of the rocks, her fingers tightly wrapped around an old lantern, its flickering light casting ghostly shadows on the waves below. She had been coming here every night for the past year, always at the same time, always waiting for something she couldn’t quite explain.

It started when her brother, Jacob, went missed at sea. The authorities had declared him lost, but Lydia refused to believe it. They said no ship could survive the storm that had raged that night, yet every evening, she swore she saw something a faint glow on the horizon, like a signal.

Tonight was no different. The waves crashed violently, but Lydia didn’t waver. She kept the lantern held high, her eyes fixed on the dark waters. Minutes passed, then hours. Just as she began to lower the light, defeated, she saw it. A glimmer small but unmistakable listening in the distance. Her heart raced.

Was it him?

The glow grew brighter, pulsing with an otherworldly energy. Lydia’s breath caught in her throat as a shadowy figure appeared, walking towards the shore. The lantern’s flame sputtered, but she held her ground, too stunned to move.

“Jacob?” she whispered, barely audible over the roaring sea.

The figure stopped at the water’s edge. It wasn’t her brother but it was someone, something, answering her call.

And for the first time, Lydia felt a chill that had nothing to do with the wind.