Young Storykeeper Volume III

256 | STORYKEEPERS VOLUME III AGE TWELVE | 257
THE HAUNTED LIGHTHOUSE
A long time ago, there lived an old, evil man. He
had grown up in an orphanage since he was six. His
parents had died in a car crash. While he was there,
surrounded with children without parents, he had his
hopes set on being adopted but no luck. Everyone
wanted babies or toddlers, not a six-year-old with hair
the colour of an orange and eyes as black as night,
This kid went by the name of Samuel Right. No
one wanted him, so therefore he started to not care
for them either. As years went on, Samuel grew to
hate children as the sight of them reminded him of
how he was unwanted. At the age of 18, he was
alone - no friends, no family and soon people started
to think he didn’t have a heart. He would muffle his
words under his breath and kids shivered at his name.
Another miserable day went by as Samuel
scowled around, hating the world. Suddenly a young
girl approached him, terrified.
“What do you want?” he growled in his usual
tone.
“I’m Poppy, I-I was wondering w-why you a-are
s-so unhappy,” she managed.
“Listen kid, Pippy or whatever your name is,
leave me alone. I don’t care for you, you don’t care
for me.”
His words shocked her into silence, as he huffed
off, but Poppy persisted, she pestered him for hours
until dusk, making him go insane. He had to escape,
but where?
The next day Samuel set out
to the beach, with his belongings
in his fishing boat. His plan was
to use the buoys to navigate his
way to the old lighthouse. Now,
you may be wondering, couldn’t
Poppy just follow him? Or, didn’t
someone own the lighthouse?
Starting with the first
question, Poppy and the rest
of the townsfolk were afraid of
the lighthouse and the second
answer explains why, before
anyone could remember,
there had lived another old,
evil man as heartless as
Samuel - all because of
grief. He had lived a happy life in his lighthouse until
one day, his family were out sailing and a storm arose,
killing them all.
Out of anger he cursed the lighthouse, later
standing on the balcony’s edge and ending his life
into the depths of the ocean. No one dared go there
now as rumours arose that his ghost still walked down
the steps of the lighthouse, cursing its very existence.
Therefore, all stayed away but that didn’t stop Samuel.
He couldn’t care less if he was to be dead tomorrow,
as he didn’t have much keeping him alive anyway.
As he arrived at the lighthouse’s entrance,
its gloomy rooms freaked Samuel out. The light of
the lighthouse hadn’t been lit since that fateful day,
Samuel edged towards the switch and as it flickered to
life, he realised that he had made his life a nightmare.
He had shut out the world and he had no one to blame
but himself.
He fell to the floor in tears, then the door creaked
open...
Kristen Cushnie
Northern Ireland
I AM A LIGHTHOUSE
I listen to the calming sway of the waves,
And feel us lighthouses are like slaves,
Slaves of the sea.
I wish we could all just live our lives,
Hassle-free.
Why can’t everything on Earth,
Be happy with families, with husbands or wives
With children, enjoying raising them from birth?
I have spent many a day saving ships,
Through storms, rain, wind and fog,
Why can’t I just live my life, enjoying friendships?!
Maybe I just wanna be a pedagogue,
Or a scientist, a mechanic, artist, vet.
There are so many paths my life could take me
If only I wasn’t trapped by this sea, so dull and wet!
I’m enjoying the sea less day by day
Each ship I save, each night I shine my light,
The thrill of saving shrivels up and dies away.
My light is losing its glow,
And I’m losing hope,
I know I’m still needed though
But I can barely cope
Living in this life
As a lighthouse
Maybe if I could feel more appreciated
I could live with myself
I mightn’t feel so deflated
Feeling wanted and needed should make me elated
So that is my one and only wish
I hear cheering below me
And I realise they’re cheering for me
Celebrating the lives that I’ve saved
Acknowledging how important I am
And now I’m finally at peace
Knowing that fact.
Aoife Harpur
Co Dublin