Chapter 2: The Lighthouse

The rain had eased to a drizzle by the time Elena reached the cliffs. The lighthouse stood like a sentinel at the edge of the world, its beam cutting through the fog in slow, deliberate sweeps. She clutched the letter in her coat pocket, the paper now damp and fragile from the rain. Her boots slipped on the wet rocks as she climbed the path, the sound of the waves crashing below filling the silence.

She hadn't been here in years. Not since the night Mara disappeared. The memory of that evening was a blur—a shouting match, a slammed door, and then nothing. Just the empty cliffs and the endless sea. Elena had searched for hours, calling her sister's name until her voice broke. But Mara was gone, as if the ocean had swallowed her whole.

The lighthouse door creaked as she pushed it open. The air inside was thick with the smell of salt and mildew. A single bulb flickered overhead, casting long shadows on the spiral staircase that led to the top. Elena hesitated, her hand resting on the cold metal railing. She hadn't expected to feel this—this weight in her chest, this ache that had never fully gone away.

"Hello?" she called, her voice echoing in the hollow space. There was no answer, just the distant hum of the lighthouse machinery.

She climbed the stairs, each step heavier than the last. When she reached the top, the wind hit her like a wall, cold and biting. The beam of light swept past, illuminating the figure standing at the edge of the platform.

Elena froze. It was a man, his back to her, his coat billowing in the wind. He didn't turn as she approached, didn't seem to notice her at all. She stopped a few feet away, her heart pounding.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice barely audible over the wind.

He turned slowly, and for a moment, she thought she recognized him. There was something in his face—a sharpness in his jaw, a shadow in his eyes—that felt familiar. But then it was gone, replaced by a blank, unreadable expression.

"You came," he said simply.

"You said you knew what happened to Mara," Elena replied, her voice trembling. "Tell me."

The man looked out at the sea, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. "It's not that simple," he said. "What happened to her… it's not something you can just hear and walk away from."

Elena stepped closer, her fists clenched at her sides. "I deserve to know. She was my sister."

He turned to her then, his gaze piercing. "Do you really want to know, Elena? Even if it destroys you?"

The question hung in the air between them, heavy and unrelenting. Elena felt the weight of it pressing down on her, threatening to pull her under. But she nodded, her resolve hardening.

"Tell me," she said again.

The man sighed, a sound that seemed to carry the weight of years. "Mara didn't disappear that night," he said. "She left. And she didn't leave alone."