the light flashes bright against the dark, inky blue of the night sky, blinking out the stars for a moment, before it goes dark. i sit in the crow's nest, waiting for the light to flash again. i shiver gently in my coat as the cool breeze slides by, trying to sneak into the warmth in my coat. i see the light again. though i wonder what shore we are near, i need to go tell someone. i hop over the wall and free fall for a moment before my fingers wrap around the knots in the rope. i climb down the ratlines that reach straight for the deck. i climb down fast, the deck raising at the same rate i fall to it. i finally am able to jump to the deck, my feet making a dull thud on the wood. i see the second mate come out of the fo'castle and i run to him to tell him i saw the lightbeam of a lighthouse. he has been warned... i climb back up the ratlines to my post in the crow's nest, only to watch the dark horizons until day breaks, when the sun comes up, staining the clouds and the sea with pink and orange, when i can sleep...

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