The Dreaming Lighthouse
From his bedroom window above the river, a young troll named Nicholas watches the brightest light along the Famas coast — a lighthouse on an island, taller and stranger than any other. And every night, he dreams of going there.
By Yaryna
There is a house in Famas that sits on the river.
It is easy to mistake it as nothing special, just a stone box with shabby walls — like hundreds of other houses in the city.
A family of trolls lived in that home, and on the highest floor of the house was the bedroom of a young troll named Nicholas.
Every night, when mum and dad said it was time to go to bed, Nicholas would go to his room, put on his pyjamas, turn off the light, and instead of going to sleep, he would sit by the window and watch the river Niprod flow under the night sky.
Tiny lights, quiet buildings and piers could be seen along the coast. However, the brightest and most mystical light came from the lighthouse.
This particular lighthouse was built on an island a few kilometres from the coast in honour of Samon, the first major of Famas and one of the most famous orcs, who, in his childhood, dreamed of living on the seashore but settled in the big city.
This lighthouse was taller than any other, painted white, with a scarlet red roof. It was fully operational, and its light cut through the darkness over the water from dusk to dawn.
On some nights when the winds would blow from the city, puffs of smoke and vapours covered the shore, scattered along the coast and spread over the water.
When the fog was thick, Nicholas could not see the lighthouse's light from his window — and on these nights, it seemed to him that the lighthouse itself completely disappeared, shining its light on a river somewhere else.
Nicholas loved the view of the light shining over the river and would often fall asleep on the windowsill, dreaming of going to the lighthouse one day.
One night, Nicholas sat down on the windowsill and saw that the first blizzard of that year had begun. Snowflakes the size of golf balls fell from the sky.
Through the snow, he saw the coastal lights and the bright beam of the lighthouse and eventually fell asleep watching the light shine through the blizzard.
In the middle of the night,he suddenly woke up. He rubbed his eyes with his fists, looked out the window again, and was utterly amazed.
The snowfall had stopped, and there was so much snow it touched his window on the highest floor!
The lanterns and the roads below had disappeared entirely, and the river was not visible. Instead, under the moonlit sky was a blanket of thick white snow. Then, suddenly in the distance, unusual lights appeared, the little troll realized that it was the top of the lighthouse peeking out from under the snow, but it wasn't just the one beam that usually shines from it, but a lot of them — and they were all different colours.
Nicholas opened the window to get a better view; a cold wind blew through the room as he bent down and touched the snow with his fingers. It was real!
As quickly and quietly as he could, he ran to the closet and pulled out his winter jacket, a hat, gloves, boots and a scarf. Throwing it all on over his pyjamas, he sat down next to the open windowsill and jumped onto the frozen snowdrift.
Then he stopped, looked around, and saw the upper floors of other buildings from under the snowdrifts. He looked for lights and any signs of life from the windows and realized he was the only one awake. The only light shining from buildings that night was the lighthouse, and this was his chance to see it up close.
Nicholas was so excited that he felt like it didn't take a long time to walk to the lighthouse; the time passed quickly, and the red roof got closer and closer. Finally, he reached the lighthouse and even though it was covered in snow, it was bigger and brighter than he had ever imagined.
Nicholas walked over and carefully peered inside, shielding his eyes with his hand. After a minute, his eyes adjusted to the light.
Inside the building,a large round room with dozens, maybe hundreds of lanterns hanging from the ceiling and walls — all glowing with different colours.
He noticed someone in the room and took a careful step to the snowiest edge hanging over the arch window to get a better look. Suddenly he slipped and fell with a squeal straight into the room. Once on the floor, embarrassed, scared and a little bruised, he curled up and fell silent.
Nicholas felt a gentle touch on his shoulder and looked up to see an old grey-haired man with a big beard extending a helping hand. He observed the stranger for a minute and noticed his warm red sweater, large round glasses on the bridge of his nose, and what looked like kind eyes behind them. Nicholas accepted the help and got to his feet.
The older man was the Lighthouse Observer, and noticing that Nicholas was slightly frozen during his journey to the lighthouse, the Observer waved his hands.
Then, two armchairs, a table, and two cups of cocoa, magically appeared in the room near the stairs leading further into the lighthouse. The older man sat down, and Nicholas followed, asking about the strange colourful lights and the magic he had just seen.
The Observer began to tell the story.
When he was young, he travelled a lot, learning magic, and eventually, his travels brought him to the river Niprod lighthouse. He could sense something lonely and almost alive about the building. The lighthouse dreamed of visiting the sea, it loved the river's shores, but all the other lighthouses stand by the sea.
Assessing the situation, the young sorcerer decided to help. However, to do this, it was necessary to create a unique spell; the main component of this spell is the memory of an experienced traveller's favourite adventure.
The sorcerer found such a traveller and asked him to tell the story of his favourite adventure. The feelings and words from this story filled a small lantern and, when complete, would glow. So he brought the lantern back to the sad lighthouse on the river and recited an enchantment.
The lighthouse rumbled and purred from below, the walls of the building trembled slightly, and the whole structure began to move.
Although a lighthouse usually directs sailors to the shore with its light, this time, the light of a small lantern and a little magic helped the lonely lighthouse move to the seashore.
The sorcerer continued his story.
Having fulfilled the dream of the lonely lighthouse for several hours, he decided to continue to periodically visit the lighthouse, bringing other lanterns and memories of travellers embedded in them. For each movement, the sorcerer needed a new adventure-filled lantern. Together with the lighthouse, they visited hundreds of shores and saw different seas. They stood both on the deserted shores and in the thickets of palm trees; they travelled to calm shores and stormy sea lines and watched many beautiful sunrises!
And whenever the lighthouse temporarily disappeared from the Famas river Niprod, the sorcerer would mask it, changing the direction of the wind so that no one would notice the lighthouse was missing.
—“But I noticed it,”—awkwardly admitted the little troll
—“It means that I am not as cunning as I thought,”—the Observer chuckled
He continued his story.
After visiting many places in his youth and feeling it was time to settle, the sorcerer set off on his last rather long journey. He returned from a trip with several dozen lanterns full of magical memories and settled in the lighthouse, becoming its Observer, and continued to fulfil the dreams of the lighthouse.
On this night, he had the last lantern he brought back from his travels years ago. Hanging it on a hook, the Observer unsuccessfully waved his hand and hit it against the wall; the lantern cracked. The memory in it, mixed with the magical spell, burst out and caused an unexpected blizzard. The story that filled that lantern was about a journey across a tremendous snow-covered plain!
The Observer worked hard to fix the spell for several hours, and in that time, the snow fell in Famas and filled the streets to the very tops of the houses. The memory became a twisted and bizarre reality. And no matter how hard the Observer tried, he didn't know how to fix it.
—“But you are also an experienced traveller,”—remarked Nicholas as he finished drinking his cocoa
—“Yeah, but for this spell, I can either share the memory or cast the spell. Not both,”—the Observer sighed sadly
—“And I don't know where to find a traveller in a city where everyone fell asleep in houses covered with snow to the very top. Soon it will be morning, and everyone will start waking up, and I have no idea what to do.”
They were silent for a while. Then the boy scratched his nose.
—“Would the memory of an inexperienced traveller be fine with you?”
—“What do you mean?”
—“Well, just an hour ago, I woke up and saw the magical light from the lighthouse and walked through the snowdrifts to visit the one place I have dreamed of being since I first saw it.”—said the boy with inspiration
—“Mr. Observer, this is the best trip of my life.”
—“I'll take grab a new lantern,”—said the Observer excitedly
And it worked!
As soon as Nicholas recounted his adventure in full detail, the new lantern brought by the Observer began to shine. And then the lighthouse suddenly purred even louder than the first time.
And it moved to the seashore. Covered with ice, but without drifts, with a giant moon above the horizon.
The Observer magically made more cocoa, and he and Nicholas sat for a long time, enjoying a warm drink, and looked out at the winter night sea.
Time passed, and the boy fell asleep, eventually waking up to his mom gently knocking on his bedroom door, telling him to get ready for school.
His heart was pounding as he jumped up and ran to the window.
He noticed snowdrifts, but they were small and low. Cars and trams were driving along the roads, and several ships were leaving the port while the lighthouse stood in its place.
Nicholas grew upand entered the University. Then he moved to another city, and over time — to several others. He travelled a lot by land, by sea, and by air. He met extraordinary creatures and saw incredible places. Finally, he married and became a father.
And then, one day, he returned with his family to Famas.
He got a job at the port and settled there. In the morning, he went to work, returning home to relax with his family in the evening. He would sit in his favourite chair by the window overlooking the old Famas lighthouse on weekends. He opened his journal and began to describe everything he had experienced.
He put a brand new lantern on the table next to him at such moments.
One evening, the troll described a travel story in which he met his wife.
It was even more magical than his first adventure through the enchanted snowdrifts to the lighthouse.
The lantern on the table lit up. Nicholas took it and went ashore. There he rented a boat and sailed to the lighthouse.
As he entered through the open door, he heard the walls purr softly and friendly.
And in the large round room upstairs were two chairs and a table. On the table, there were cups of freshly made cocoa.
The End.