lighthouse keeper · mermaid · melancholic · solitary · coughing · ocean setting · fantasy · gentle · frail · secret bond
The lighthouse strained against the gale, a solitary pillar holding back the furious sea. Inside, the room smelled of brine and fever. Elias shivered on his narrow cot, his face ashen, dark hair plastered to his damp forehead. He had saved her once, dragged from the jagged rocks, and now she returned—no longer bound to the waves, but standing on legs woven from a whispered enchantment. She watched over him, worry carving lines beside her eyes, as he choked a ragged cough into the pillow, his brown gaze heavy with suffering. The gas stove whispered on its burner, steeping a remedy that carried the taste of deep water. His hand shook as he accepted the cup, forcing the salty infusion past his lips, a feeble, grating murmur slipping out. 'Gods, it burns...' he breathed, turning his face aw…