The Keeper of the Light

Introduction

Charlotte Jenkins held tight to the railing on the small fishing boat that was taking her further out to sea. Behind them, the mainland was becoming a
distant blur. It wasn't until that moment that she began to question her decision to become the lighthouse keeper of St. Clare Island.

She had answered an advertisement in the local paper and hadn't given it a second thought until a letter arrived last week offering her the position.
It would be a lonely post that would last at least a year but would provide the solitude she was desperately craving. It had only been three months since her fiancé was killed in an automobile accident. A drunk driver had run a red light and plowed into her fiancé's car killing him instantly.
The drunk driver walked away with a few minor scratches while she had lost the only person in the world she had left.

Charlotte or Charlie as her friends called her was still reeling from all that had happened and the daily reminders of what would never be. She was tired of the pity she saw on everyone's faces when they looked at her. She heard the whispers behind her back about poor Charlie who had no one. Her parents had passed a few years ago and she had been an only child. She had no other relatives that she knew of. She had to get away. Answering this ad was the perfect solution if they would hire her. And they did, which Charlie found peculiar since there was no interview, just a letter in the mail telling her the position was hers if she wanted it. It described a meager salary and decent benefits. She would be given a small cottage next to the lighthouse. Her groceries would be delivered to her door along with anything else she requested.

There was a village close by, actually the only village on the small island, that hosted a trading post and a few other small shops. She wouldn't have any bills so most everything she made would go straight into her savings account. The letter went on to describe her duties and that she would be on an isolated island somewhere off the coast of Maine. It had taken a month to get this far. Apparently her new employer did not believe in phones or email. Still when the letter arrived giving her the information she needed to reach the island, she felt relief for the first time in long time. She wanted to be alone. She desperately needed solitude and peace.

After what seemed a few hours a tiny dot appeared on the horizon. As the boat got closer she saw the lighthouse perched high on one of the steep cliffs. The island was beautiful yet foreboding and mysterious. She giggled to herself as she remembered reading Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. She knew she was going to be happy here. She would be able to shut out all the memories of the past and start fresh.

The boat circled around the island and she could see the village. It was definitely just a village. It looked like something Norman Rockwell had painted. Bright colorful buildings and houses lined the only few roads she could see. Sea gulls squawked overhead. The sky was a brilliant blue with a few lazy clouds drifting by. It was beautiful. The captain was on deck when they tied off. Her bags were placed on the dock and then they were ready to escort her off the boat.

Charlie didn't have a clue as to what she was to do next. But there she was, in all her glory, Charlotte Marie Jenkins, the new lighthouse keeper of St. Clare Island.