第5章 第3節 灯台
A reunion under the watched light
Climbing the narrow path, they came at last to the lighthouse.
It stood white and silent against the grey morning sky.
This was the tower shown in the photograph from the empty box.
The door was locked, but the wood had rotted around the hinges.
Pushing hard together, Sam and Nora forced it open.
Inside, a narrow stair curled upward into the dark.
Nora climbed first, her heart beating in her throat.
At the top, a small round room had been made into a home.
Books, blankets, and a cold stove were arranged with care.
And there, by the window, a thin woman turned toward them.
Her hair had gone white, and her hands trembled.
But Nora knew the face the moment she saw it.
"Mother," she said, and the word broke in her mouth.
Marion Hale rose slowly, holding the wall for .
"Nora," she breathed, as if the name were a .
They crossed the room and were caught in each other's arms.
Twenty years of silence were poured into that one .
Nora felt her mother's heart, alive and quick, against her own.
For a long moment neither of them could speak.
Then Marion pulled back, her eyes suddenly filled with fear.
"You should not have come here," she said, gripping Nora's hands.
"He watches this light. He will know that you have found it."
"Edwin is coming," she whispered, glancing at the dark stair.
As if in answer, a car engine growled far below on the road.