My name is Jack Finnegan, and I am the lighthouse keeper for the Cape Point Lighthouse. My only companion is Scout, my terrier, otherwise I am alone.
The Cape Point Lighthouse helps to safely guide ships around the rocks and into Dewberry Harbor. Dewberry Island is a small village located conveniently along the trade routes, making it a popular destination for merchant ships.
Ten years ago, the men of Dewberry Island raided nearby Ford Island, and burned it to the ground after pillaging it for goods and gold. The burned-out skeletons of the buildings along the shore still stand as a stark reminder.
But there is more to the tale.
Something rose from the ashes. A black ship was soon sighted on the high seas, and an unearthly green glow emanated from its cannon ports and galley. No sails decorated its masts, and it moved under some unseen power.
On the thirteenth day of each month, the black ship makes its way past Cape Point and silently into Dewberry Harbor. From there, creatures that were formerly men, shamble into town and return carrying a single villager. The creatures remain deathly silent as they load their kicking and screaming human cargo into the hold.
Villagers watch from shuttered windows as the black ship departs before unbolting their doors. The day after, life returns to normal in the village. Nobody talks about the black ship, or who might be next.
The town had earned its curse, and everybody knew it.
I suppose I am also cursed. The villagers treat me like a leper. They leave my groceries by my door every week. I am viewed as the black ship’s accomplice, ensuring the light is bright for the ship’s horrible journey.
I awoke one morning in mid-May, a beautiful time of year on the cape, when the breezes off the water are still cool and summer’s relentless heat had not arrived.
As I boiled water for my morning tea, I looked out of the lighthouse window.
All of the fish stands in the market were bare. All of the ships had sailed.
With horror I raced over to the calendar. It was May 13th.
I knew what had to be done. I picked up Scout and I rowed the two of us over to the town. I lifted him up onto the dock. He would be safe in the town and have ample food to eat.
He raced back and forth from the small beach back to the docks, loving the new freedom.
But as I began to back away from the dock, he started barking madly. As the distance grew greater between us, he just sat down and whimpered. A tear ran down my cheek.
Back at the lighthouse, I brought out a chair and bottle of rum to my small dock, basking in the warm sunlight as I waited.
I was ready for the black ship. I was ready to pay for my father’s sins.
INSTANT NOODLES 