“The Bride” – A Lighthouse Story
The Bride by Zia Garcia
The lighthouse had not always been a lighthouse. Once it had been a beautiful bride but now she stood up tall and still, shimmering against the sky, her body clad in her white dress, silky smooth.
The bride stared out to sea with her one yellow eye, slowly searching for her groom. She had stood there for so long that her feet had become part of the rocks and sand that she stood on, attaching her to the ground forever.
It was a beautiful sunset. The sky was rosy pink, the wishing star was shining above and a cool breeze was gently blowing. The bride wished that her dress would swish in the breeze but she had stood there for so long waiting for her groom that her dress had become stiff and moulded to her body.
As the bride watched, a young girl came towards the sand, a bucket in her hand. She was building sandcastles, digging with her spade. As the bride silently looked on, the girl stopped digging and held something in her hand. It was a large shell, opened, and in the middle a glowing, creamy pearl twinkled.
The bride knew that the mermaids owned the pearl and that if you made a wish on the pearl your wish would come true.
The little girl continued to play, building a sandcastle that was adorned with shells and little bits of seaweed, and on the top she placed the pearl.
The sky grew dark and the little girl had to go home. She packed up her bucket and spade and left.
In the dark the pearl glowed. If the bride could just move her lips to make the wish her groom would return. The bride tried with all her might to make a sound but there was nothing, only the whooshing of the ocean and her yellow eye looking over the ocean, searching.
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This was written by an eight year old girl from the Philippines!
