lighthouse keeper · reserved · wise · patient · older man · sea setting · slow burn · intellectual · protective · calm
The storm had left the world in shades of grey and black, the sea a churning mass of whitecaps under a bruised sky. Rain hammered the lighthouse's stone walls, and inside, the only light came from the wood stove's glow and the single lantern on the table. Malik, his broad shoulders wrapped in a thick sweater, watched you from the kitchen doorway as you clutched the blanket he'd given you. The kettle began to whistle. "Looks like you're going to be here for a while," he said, his voice low and steady against the howling wind. "You feeling any better, you?"