Their first night in the lighthouse was surprisingly uneventful. The ocean around them was calm, and the three youths slept well.
"Kyaah..!"
In the morning, Levi opened his eyes to the sound of a girly scream and metal falling to the floor. He slowly sat up in his bed, because of the cold temperature in his room, he had wrapped himself around several warm blankets and had even put on a sweater.
'What a great way to start the day..'
Pushing the blankets away, he got up to his feet with a groan and put on his shoes. Walking out the room, he looked around, then walked up the stairs where the noise had come from.
When Levi arrived to the kitchen, he was not exactly surprised by the scene in front of him. It was Mattie...
She had dropped the kettle onto the ground, fortunately none of the hot water seemed to have spilled on her.
But... she had burned the toasts when she had busied herself with trying to clean the floor from the dampness.
And when she finally saw Levi staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face, she gave him a forced smile and waved awkwardly.
"G-good morning Levi, did you sleep well?"
Levi shook his head in response. "Morning..." Then he proceeded to put the burned toast into the trash can and started heating new ones, he refilled the kettle too and put it to boiling.
The toasts were ready while the kettle was still boiling, so Levi took the time to make a sandwich.
He pulled open a small drawer, found a dull butter knife, and set a few ingredients on the counter, bread, butter, a half-wrapped slice of cheese.
He spread the butter evenly across one toast, slow and deliberate, the kind of movement that came from habit more than hunger. The knife rasped softly against the surface. Then he layered the cheese, pressed the second slice on top, and set it on the pan to warm.
A faint sizzle filled the quiet kitchen. The smell of melting cheese soon pushed away the bitter scent of burnt toast.
Mattie, still crouched on the floor with a towel, peeked up at him. "You know how to cook??"
Levi flipped the sandwich once, not looking at her. "It's just food. Anyone can make it if they pay attention."
"Yeah, but not everyone does," she said under her breath.
He ignored that, slid the sandwich onto a plate, then made two more of them. When the kettle whistled, he poured the hot water into three cups.
At that moment, Saranda climbed up to the kitchen and looked at the scene in front of her. Her eyes stopping at Mattie who was still crouched down on the floor with a towel in her hands.
"Why are you on the floor..?"
Mattie squeaked when she heard Saranda's voice, not expecting her to suddenly appear in the room. As she registered her question, she immediately got up to her feet and set the towel away.
"Oh... Good morning Saranda!"
Saranda nodded at Mattie, then looked over at Levi who was now carrying a tray down the stairs.
"That tray is not even shaking..." Mattie mumbled under her breath as she looked at the unmoving tea inside the cups even as Levi carried it.
"Well he did say he studied medicine, his specialty must have been a surgeon."
Mattie hurried after him, while Saranda sighed and followed at her own pace.
Once in the living room, Levi set the tray on the table and pulled out a chair for himself. The three of them sat around the table, and soon began to eat their breakfast.
"Thank you for the breakfast!" Mattie said as she finished her sandwich, then turned to look at Saranda who was getting up. "So what are we going to do today?"
"I think we should check up around the lighthouse, we could divide work among us, there is cleaning, checking the generators, cooking and trying to use those fireplaces."
Levi raised his hand slightly. "I will do the cooking for today." He got up from his seat and picked up the empty cups and plates into the place. "Oh and... I will heat up the stoves too."
"Okay, I will check up the generators and check how many supplies we have." Saranda replied.
Both turned their gazes on Mattie who looked utterly devastated as she looked at them with a pout.
"Please don't leave the cleaning to me! I will do anything other than sweeping the floors!" Mattie went as far to clasp her hands in front of her and make a cute expression to manipulate them into cleaning in her stead.
But all she received from Levi was utter indifference, and Saranda had already left because the cutesy was too much for her.
Mattie sighed in defeat and got up. "You guys are so mean to me..."
Levi gazed at her small, retreating back, shook his head, and forced himself not to laugh before heading out for firewood.
***
The next day came rather quickly, yesterday everyone had done their works diligently.
Other than Mattie of course, who complained every minute as she was forced to clean all around the lighthouse.
The sun had set, only source of light was the beacon of the lighthouse that shone brightly. Illuminating only some parts of the vast expanse of the ocean.
Three people sat around a table, finishing up their dinner.
"Thanks for the food, your cooking is great Saranda!" Mattie spoke up as she leaned back in her seat, patting her stomach.
However she felt someone give her the nastiest side-eye she had ever received in her life, but the feelings disappeared as quickly as it came. When she looked at where she had sensed the gaze, she realized that it was Levi who had thrown her the side eye, who was not staring somewhere else as if he had not done anything.
Giggling to herself she slapped Levi's shoulder multiple times, making Levi wince. "Your food is great too! Don't get envious just because I complimented hers too!"
Levi stared at her weirdly before stepping out of her slap zone. "What are you even talking about?"
Mattie was about to speak once again, however the lights flickered suddenly.
"Uh... what just happened?" Mattie got up from her seat almost immediately, looking slightly worried.
The lights continued flickering before shutting down completely.
"The lights went out." Levi mumbled.
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Saranda spoke up, earning a side-glance from Levi. The room was only illuminated by the moonlight that seeped in from the window.
"Generator must be malfunctioning. I will go fix it." Saranda said as she got up from her seat, Levi followed suit, grabbing a lantern and loading it with batteries.
"I-I am coming too! I can help!" Not totally because she was scared to be alone.
Together they walked down the steep stairs, Saranda lead, Levi held the lantern as they walked downwards and Mattie... well she made scared sounds.
The basement smelled faintly of rust and salt. Drops of condensation trickled down the pipes, echoing softly in the dim space.
The generator sat tucked against the wall, a squat, metal box streaked with grime and sea-dust. A single red light blinked weakly on its panel, then went out with a click.
Saranda crouched in front of it and lifted the small latch on the side panel. "Looks like seawater got into the wiring." she muttered, brushing her fingers over the corroded edge. "Salt ruins these stuff."
"I'll try." She pulled a rag from her toolkit and wiped away a thin layer of grime, then tightened a few loose bolts with her wrench. The machine groaned but didn't start. "Mattie, hand me the screwdriver, the flat one."
Mattie scrambled through the box, dropping two tools before finding the right one. "Here!"
Saranda took it, adjusted a few wires, then pressed the reset switch. For a moment there was only silence. Then the generator coughed to life. Chugging unevenly at first before settling into a steady hum.
A low vibration spread through the floorboards. The faint glow of the lantern flickered as the overhead bulbs crackled back on.
Mattie let out a shaky laugh. "Oh thank God. I thought we'd have to sleep in the dark!"
Saranda smirked and began packing up her tools. "Weren't you sleeping in the dark last night?"
Levi glanced at the machine. "It's humming strangely," he said quietly.
"Normal for old equipment," Saranda replied, but even she frowned for a moment, the hum sounded almost… rhythmic, like a heartbeat echoing through the walls.
Levi turned off the lights. He could not mistake the sound of a heartbeat, he had heard it a lot during university, the machine was producing sounds close to that.
However his concentration was broken when he heard a silent scream coming from Saranda.
"A cockroach!"
Indeed a cockroach was standing on their way back to the stairs.
"Levi kill it!" Mattie hid behind Levi and then pushed him forward.
'What do you mean kill it?? Woman I am scared too!'
***
A few days later, Mattie and Levi sat across each other. In between them, a chess board.
Mattie had a very annoyed expression on her face. No matter how hard she tried she had been beaten for ten rounds! And not even in one she had come close to winning!
And when the her queen went down again she suddenly got up from the chair and groaned. "You are cheating! How are you so good at this game?!"
And all she received was a shrug from Levi.
"Are you trying to ragebait me?? Give me a proper response for once! Ugh!"
"Smartest art student." Levi mumbled under his breath.
"What did you just say??"
At that moment, Saranda came down from upstairs. Caught in Mattie's radar, she was suddenly confronted with a pout.
"Saranda! Levi keeps bullying me!"
"What..?" Saranda was about to question Levi, but when she was the chess board in front of him, she immediately understood what was going on. "What do you want me to do?"
Mattie immediately dragged Saranda by the shoulder and sat her down where she was sitting before. Levi had started placing the figures in place once again.
A few long matches went by, each taking longer than the one before. As if they were reading their opponents and adapting to their tactics.
Levi won three rounds, while Saranda won four of them.
"Hah! Not so smug now are you??" Mattie said smugly, as if she had won herself. Saranda on the other hand, did not look as entertained, she looked like she used too much of her brain today.
Mattie continued trying to ragebait Levi, who never gave any responses to her baits. This continued, until the radio shimmered into life.
A burst of static crackled through the radio speaker, making Mattie flinch. Then a calm, almost monotone voice broke through the noise:
"-This is the North Atlantic Coastal Weather Service with the weekly maritime forecast.
Current date: May 12th. Time: 18:47.
A low-pressure system is developing west of your position and is expected to move eastward over the next five hours.
Mariners and stationed personnel are advised to exercise caution as conditions are projected to deteriorate rapidly by late evening.
Wind speeds are estimated to reach forty to fifty knots with potential gusts exceeding sixty. Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are expected throughout the coastal sectors.
Sea state: rough to very rough. Wave heights averaging five to seven meters, with isolated swells up to nine.
Visibility will be significantly reduced during the storm period.
Lighthouse stations are requested to ensure all generators and beacons are operational, and to refrain from outside maintenance until the system passes.
That concludes the coastal bulletin. Next update in twelve hours."
The broadcast ended with another hiss of static before falling silent.
Mattie stared at the radio, her earlier cheer fading. "A storm, huh…" she murmured.
Saranda leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. "Good thing we fixed that generator."
Levi didn't reply. His eyes had drifted toward the narrow window. Outside, the horizon had already begun to blur under a thick sheet of grey.
***
By the time night fell, the storm had arrived.
Rain lashed against the glass panes, running in winding trails down the windows. The old structure groaned softly with each gust of wind. Inside, the three had dragged the couch in front of the fireplace and sat with Mattie in between and the others to her left and right.
Dinner was simple, even though it did not count as a dinner. Because the only thing they had chosen to have were teas.
"Finally it is 00:00!! Our first week here!"
Mattie had placed an old blanket over her shoulders, and though she'd offered to share it, neither of the others accepted. So, she threw it over both of them anyway.
"See?" she said with a grin. "Now it feels like a family dinner."
Saranda sighed but didn't remove it. "You're impossible."
Levi did not comment, sipping his tea as he watched the fire.
For a while, the room was quiet except for the tapping of rain. Then Mattie broke the silence. "Do you ever wonder what he's doing? The man who owns this place?"
"Probably sitting somewhere warm counting his money," Saranda muttered. "I seriously don't get why he would buy a lighthouse and live in it. And then give it away once again."
Levi's voice came low. "Maybe he just wanted silence. But could not bear it afterwards."
That answer lingered in the air longer than anyone expected.
Mattie looked at him through the dim firelight, his eyes reflected the orange glow, but there was no warmth in them.
After a while, Mattie smiled faintly and poured more tea into his cup. "Well, you're not getting silence here. Not with me around."
Saranda let out a quiet laugh, and even Levi's lips twitched upward, if only slightly.
The wind howled once more outside, but inside the lighthouse, it was strangely calm.
The storm had grown stronger again. The wind howled against the glass panes, and the beacon's red light swept across the water in slow, ghostly arcs that cut through the mist.
Rain tapped a restless rhythm on the windows, louder than before, but inside, the fire kept the chill at bay.
Mattie pulled the thick blanket tighter around her shoulders, glancing toward the window. "It's louder now… but it's kind of nice, isn't it?"
"Nice? Maybe. It sounds like the sea's trying to crawl in." Saranda said as she poked Mattie's side.
"Don't say that," Mattie muttered, curling up tighter. "You'll give me nightmares."
Levi, who was looking down at the fire, looked up. "Then stop thinking about it. It's just a storm. It'll pass."
Mattie huffed softly, but she smiled. "You make it sound so simple."
The fire cracked softly, filling the silence that followed. Outside, thunder rumbled in the distance.
They stayed like that for a while, listening to the rain, watching the glow of the fire dance across the walls.
Gradually, Saranda's head tilted until it rested lightly on Mattie's shoulder. Mattie smiled faintly, adjusting the blanket so it covered all three of them. She rested her own head gently against Saranda's, their warmth blending together.
Levi leaned back, his shoulder brushing Mattie's side. He didn't speak, didn't move, just listened. The storm outside was chaos, but here, for once, there was quiet.
Thunder rolled closer, deep and slow. The beacon's light flickered faintly through the window, red and distant like a heartbeat.
Mattie's eyes began to close. Saranda's breathing steadied. Even Levi's body seemed to relax, tension slowly leaving him as the warmth of the blanket and the sound of rain dulled his thoughts.
The world beyond the lighthouse roared and flashed, but inside, the three drifted to sleep together,
Something roared in the skies, it crackled and made strange noises, until it loosened and exploded against the lighthouse.
A flash emanated so bright that it lit up the whole inside of the lighthouse in white.
Then, that light swallowed everything.
***
Levi's eyes snapped open.
The air felt different, cleaner, warmer, carrying a faint scent of grass instead of salt.
He blinked, his vision adjusting to soft, filtered light above him. The ceiling was pale wood, smooth and unfamiliar. No cracks, no flickering shadows from a fire.
He sat up slowly. The old blanket was gone. The couch was gone. Mattie and Saranda were nowhere to be seen.
His clothes were the same, but his body… it felt off. Lighter somehow.
Confusion settled in like fog. He swung his legs off the bed, because it was a bed now, not a couch, and his feet met polished wood instead of cold stone.
Then his gaze caught on the window.
Outside, the horizon shimmered. The ocean was gone. In its place stretched rolling green fields filled with big trees beneath a strange, golden haze.
And above it all, two suns.
One red, one blue. Overlapping, pulsing together like twin hearts in the sky.
Levi stared, unmoving. The silence pressed against his ears, heavy and unreal.
"What the hell..?" he whispered.