Page 6 - Annonce Dergi | İzmir Özel Saint-Joseph Fransız Lisesi

The Lighthouse

The wind was howling through the leaves of the trees how I lived; it was like she didn’t seem to mind. Which
that were changing into a brownish dirty color and slowly was probably the reason why she had been the only
caressing the window that wrapped around the singular person who talking to didn’t really bother me, for the
big room I called home. It was starting to get colder day past couple of years I even looked forward to my weekly
by day, almost as cold as it was lonely but I didn’t mind. I shopping trip just to talk to another human being that
could hear the waves brush up against the shore under didn’t judge my ways or gave me the coordinates of a
the orange evening sun which meant that in just about cargo ship.
half an hour duty would call and I would have to get up For the first couple years of visiting the store I found her
to guide the ships back to land. extremely annoying, it felt like she was trying far too hard
Whether it was through a storm or through a night sky to ignore how I chose to live. However, looking back, I
almost as clear as day, it was my job to warn the mighty genuinely don’t think she was, I think she was just as
sailors of danger and make sure they were safe and lonely as I was. Ironically, loneliness was what connected
sound on the giant metal cans floating on the water like us.
clouds on a calm spring sky.
Without noticing time had passed yet again and I was in
The lighthouse was on a small hill on a cliff just as small, dire need to refill my pantry. I got up, changed into some
overlooking the deepest blue blanket that held man’s decent clothes which consisted of some old worn-out
most discreet secrets. It was peaceful but not in the usual jeans that had started to lose color, a jumper with holes
way. It was quiet yet not quite enough but also too loud on the elbows that were still recognizable even though I
without being loud enough like muffled screams that you had tried my best to mend them and a coat. I looked at
knew were there but didn’t sound important enough to myself in the stained mirror and thought good enough.
do anything about. I put my boots on, went up and turned on the giant light
I came up here because I wanted to be alone. I wanted of the tower then I left. I didn’t even bother to lock it since
the only person who came up here in the past decade
to be so utterly alone that I could no longer live during was no other than myself. I got in my truck and started
the day and sleep through the night. Somehow doing driving down the gravel path that connected to the main
something supposedly everyone does and no one ever road which led into the town. It was obvious that it had
questions started to seem like a liability. The opportunity rained, the gravel was stuck on the soles of my boots and
felt like a perfect fit back then but I’m not as sure anymore. the air had that wet dirt smell. I didn’t want to turn on the
It’s been too long since I last woke up with the sun and radio since I could never turn it off at the lighthouse so I
slept along the dark, for the past 12 years the sun meant had a small collection CD’s that Sherry would occasionally
it was time for bed, it meant that it was time to pause give me to keep me company during the car rides into
everything that was happening and to rest my head on town so I wouldn’t lose my mind completely. I put on one
the same musty pillow that I had for a long, very long of those and started listening, it took exactly eighteen
time. For a good while the only times I heard a person songs to complete my journey, that felt sort of offsetting
speak was from the radio or at the small grocery store at but it was still enough to make me smile a bit.
the nearest town which was around an hour away since
it was the only place still open after 6 p.m. other than the I parked the truck right in front of the store that lit up
pub across the street and even though I made a pity pact the desolate street with its neon lights with one of the
with myself that I would no longer oblige to the societal letters broken and the other ones hanging on by threads
norms a little over a decade ago, I still needed to feed and a 24-hour sign. The only thing that could be heard in
myself, making the shopkeeper, Sherry the only person I the street other than the buzzing of the fluorescent lights
really engaged in conversation with. was the muffled sound of the jukebox in the pub right
across the road and dogs howling. ı walked into the store
From what I had learned from being potentially the most
loyal customer the shop had seen; her family owned the and started collecting the items that I drove an hour for,
store for about fifty years and she had worked there for oatmeal, rice, some apples, brown sugar, flour, butter
twenty five of them which meant that she must have and eggs. Once I got all the things on my list for the week
had started to work there around the time she started I went up to the register and was greeted by the warm
high school. She was in her late thirties, a little on the and optimistic smile of Sherry.
shorter side with shoulder length, frizzy auburn hair -Hey, stranger. What’s up?
that reminded me of one of those terrier type dogs but -Hi Sherry, good to see you too. I shot a weak smile.
in a good way. She would always ask small, seemingly
random questions but she would never ask why I lived She checked out my items and it paid per usual. We

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