The Lighthouse Love Potion

Welcome to The Spot Writers. The prompt: your character looks outside the window and sees something strange.

This week’s contribution comes from Chiara De Giorgi. Chiara is an Italian author and currently lives in Berlin, Germany. She writes fiction, with a focus on children’s literature and science fiction.

 

The Lighthouse Love Potion

by Chiara De Giorgi

 

Created with Mistral

Elsa Mon was questioning the wisdom of spending the night at an abandoned lighthouse for inspiration for her current work-in-progress, a romance set on a little island whose male lead was a lighthouse keeper.

The Stranger had convinced her. She’d appointed herself Elsa’s literary tutor and insisted a night at a lighthouse would be perfect for inspiration. Only, she hadn’t mentioned it was abandoned. She’d actually told her she’d booked one!

Anyway, now they were there, and Elsa was determined to make the most of it. Night was falling, and a soft, nice breeze was blowing as they sat together on the gallery, watching the darkening sea and sky behind the rusty railing and chatting about possible plots.

When the sky and sea had darkened into one, and the breeze turned too cold, they decided to head inside for the night. But as they stepped through the door, they heard a rustling.

That’s when they noticed two evanescent figures floating mid-air just beyond the gallery railing. Elsa should’ve been used to ghostly sights by now, but she still jumped whenever a supernatural creature materialized out of thin air. The Stranger, instead, warmly welcomed the newcomers.

“It’s so nice to meet some locals!” she chirped. “Why don’t you tell us about yourselves? I bet this’ll be gold for your novel,” she whispered to Elsa, tugging her cardigan sleeve.

That’s how they ended up sitting on the floor, chatting with Marina, the dead mermaid, and Rob, the dead lighthouse keeper, and learning how they had become best buddies instead of stepping into the light and moving on to the Afterlife.

“If I moved on to my Afterlife,” Marina explained, “I’d never, ever have learned how to smoke a pipe, and it’s so much fun! Look!”

She pulled a pipe out of nowhere and popped it into her mouth. Immediately, smoke rings shaped like fish started rising from it, following the breeze and slowly dissolving into the night sky.

Rob laughed and slapped his hand on his thigh. “I’d never have believed it, but it’s more fun to watch her play with that pipe than it ever was to actually smoke it when I was alive! And, by the way, she taught me how to sing. Want to hear?” And he proceeded to sing an opera piece with a booming baritone voice.

Elsa was speechless, but the Stranger was delighted, clapping her hands and laughing. She elbowed Elsa.

“Come on, ask them questions! You know,” she added, turning to the ghosts, “she’s a writer, and her next novel is going to be set on a little island with a pretty lighthouse, just like this one!”

Marina and Rob made delighted noises and offered to share their stories on one condition: Elsa had to include their names in the acknowledgments.

“Would you like to know how I died?” Marina asked. “It’s quite the funny story,” she said, chuckling.

“It really is,” whispered Rob, winking, “but wait until you hear how I died... that’s even better!”

“Tell us, tell us!” cried the Stranger, excited. Her enthusiasm finally reached Elsa, who shook herself and pulled a pad and pencil out of her pockets to take notes.

“I used to lurk around the island because I knew that sometimes lighthouse keepers forget to turn the light on. When that happened, boats usually crashed on the rocks, and I’d be able to pick one or two sailors for myself. You know, to enchant them with my singing and lure them to the bottom of the sea. Mermaid things. One night, I found a sailor I really liked, so I decided to keep him alive.” She sighed, a sweet smile stretching her lips. “My one and only love, Rudy. I brought him to the bottom of the sea to live with me, enchanting his lungs so he wouldn’t need to breathe. I could never leave his side, though, because he kept trying to get away.” She chuckled at the memory and shook her head. “Such a playful fellow! I’d run and I’d chase him until I caught him. It was our love game, I adored him so much! One day, he managed to trick me and I ended up on the shore without realizing it, where I promptly turned into foam. He was such a clever guy! I’m still impressed by his wit every time I think of it.”

Elsa cleared her throat. “But... he killed you.”

Marina’s eyes brightened. “Yes, he did! My clever, clever Rudy! Not a day goes by without me thinking about his incredible intellect. It’s no easy feat to outsmart a mermaid, especially for a sailor! Wasn’t I the luckiest of them all? My sweet Rudy...”

“Well, if you’re happy and have happy memories, this clearly worked for you,” the Stranger said, nudging Elsa.

Elsa snapped out of her daze and smiled. Marina’s story had left her a little stunned, but her mind was already racing with ideas for her novel. A novel where death couldn’t crush true love: of course she could use that trope! It was, after all, one of her favorites.

“And you?” she asked Rob, now leaning in.

“Ah, I have a love story to tell you, too!” he said, closing his eyes for a moment. “The lady I wanted to impress was called Sally. I met her in the village and noticed she was intrigued by me working at the lighthouse, so I invited her over for dinner one night. Marina and I were already friends, and I told her about my date. I was a bit nervous, as I’ve never been a great cook... so Marina taught me a recipe that was guaranteed to make my lady fall for me.”

He glanced sideways at Marina, and they both chuckled.

“What happened?” Elsa asked, planning to ask for the recipe before they parted. You never know when something like this might come in handy.

Rob sighed and shook his head. “Well... we both ‘fell,’ you could say. That fabulous dish turned out to be poisonous, and we both died after just a few bites.”

“Oh.” Elsa wouldn’t ask for the recipe, after all.

“The lady was quite angry,” he went on.

“She was positively pissed off,” Marina laughed.

“Yeah,” confirmed Rob, smiling broadly. “She threw a fit, then stomped into the light. And that was it.”

“Why did you stay? You could have gone with her,” Elsa objected.

“She wouldn’t have anything to do with me, even if I did,” Rob pointed out. “I like to stay at the lighthouse. They didn’t hire a replacement after I died, so it’s very quiet and pleasant. And I like spending time with Marina, talking about things, and reminiscing about the past. Love is a great topic, you know?”

Elsa smiled broadly. “Oh, I do, believe me!”

Dawn broke, and Marina and Rob yawned, their forms turning translucent. “We’re going to sleep now. Thanks for the company!” They disappeared like fog, leaving behind a few sparks that vanished with the sun’s first rays.

Elsa stretched and looked at the Stranger with a mischievous smile and a bright light in her eyes. “Come on, let’s go home. I have a story to write! And the tile will be The Lighthouse Love Potion!”

 

 

The Spot Writers:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/