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June
2006
Winner
Illumination
by Barbara Schnell
The sun had set and the moon was rising when the elderly woman shepherded
the last earnest tourist and yawning schoolchild out of the lighthouse
and locked the door. She wearily climbed to the top of the lighthouse
to join her husband who was polishing the giant elliptical lens with
a rag.
“They’re all gone,” the woman sighed.
“Make any money off ‘em?” the husband asked.
“Enough to convince them they’re saving history,”
returned the woman.
“It’s a good excuse for the lighthouse
but I miss the old days when people thought we were protecting ships
from rocks,” said the old man meditatively. “I loved those
sailing ships. The tankers just aren’t the same.”
“No, they’re not,” agreed the woman. “Time
to turn on the light?”
“Yup, might as well get comfortable.”
The couple pulled off their latex masks to reveal bald, gray heads
with enormous eyes. The man flipped the switch of the massive lantern
and the couple shielded their faces as it turned.
“The ship
was parked behind Jupiter,” the old man finally said. “Shouldn’t
take more than half an hour to land. We can leave after we brief the
new team.”
“After two hundred years I thought I’d
be glad to leave,” the woman said. “But I think I’m
going to miss these specimens.”
“That’s why
they transfer us to new labs,” her partner said. “We get
attached.”
The woman nodded and sadly watched as the light guided the starship
to Earth.
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