I am a dog in the shape of a person and I live in a lighthouse and fetch. Fetching is how I think of taking orders from Marvelie even though it is not always fetching it is sometimes flipping switches or sweeping floors. Sometimes I am in charge of chasing crabs out of the pantry which I like more than the other tasks but really I like most when Marvelie says I did a good job. Marvelie is the keeper of the lighthouse and woke me up when I washed up here dead.

When I washed up I was a dead dog which I know because I remember being an alive dog. I do not remember where I lived but I remember I had black and white fur and chased rabbits. Marvelie says they do not have my old body because it burned up when they woke me up. They say they made me a human because they wanted to talk to me. They do not have anyone else to talk to so I take this very seriously. We are the only two who live at the lighthouse there may be others on the mainland but I have not been there. The job of the lighthouse is to send out a great light to show the way to sailors on boats and we do this very carefully every night even though Marvelie says they have not seen any ships in a long time.

The most important thing is to clean the lantern room so in the afternoons I am in charge of washing the windows which are dirty because of the seagulls which I am not allowed to chase anymore because I am not a dog I am a person. Or at least Marvelie says I am not a dog I am a person but I think I am still a dog on the inside but Marvelie was clear no seagull chasing. So I go up all the stairs and the ladder with the bucket which slops water and I clean off the windows but not the lens. Marvelie does not let me wash the lens because I am very clumsy and I am not used to hands which is why I slop water. So they do it and I watch because the lens is very pretty. It is green and shiny like a beetle or the sea glass I find in the sand and many colors are new to me so this is very exciting. When I finish all my tasks I am allowed to go walk in the sand. I can walk around the island six times in an afternoon if I finish my tasks fast but not too fast I want to do a good job. The water is always cold and I like to run through it barefoot which is not the same as when I was a dog because my new body is tall and it scares me but the water feels good.

Marvelie showed me where I washed up when I was a dead dog. “Right here,” they said, “caught between two rocks. Dead as a doornail. I would have buried a person, but I figured a dog deserved a second chance.” I wanted to ask what a doornail was but they kept going saying, “You’re lucky I was there. No one else could have done that resurrection magic.” Sometimes I stop by that spot and try to sniff my old self but my new nose is very bad. I wonder often if someone else will wash up and live with us but it does not happen. Most of what washes up is driftwood and seaweed which I examine very carefully because I think this counts as my job too. Sometimes glass and pottery wash up in pieces and I like to collect these and bring them to Marvelie to show off. Marvelie is very busy doing important work and usually does not care. But sometimes they look and sometimes they like what I show them and take it from me and shine it and put it on the wall. I am always very excited when this happens especially because I never know what they will like since it is usually not the things I like which are sticks and rocks and crab shells. Once I brought them what looked like small sticks stuck together or bones and they said it was coral and they liked it very much. They bound the coral together and now they wear it on their head like tall ears and it makes me very happy to think I gave them something they enjoy.

I am looking for coral today because Marvelie is upset and when they are upset I mostly make them mad. They are upset because the lighthouse beam is not bright enough. “I swear, little one,” they say stomping around, “last night we were positively cloudy.” I cannot fix this so I am looking for something to fetch to make them feel better. But today on the beach there is no coral and no sea glass and no person washed up but there is something black poking out of the sand. At first I think it is a big rock but then I realize it is a small radio packed full of sand with one antenna. I know it is a radio because Marvelie has shown me the husk of their old radio which did not work no matter where on the island they took it even when they went to the very top of the lighthouse. They explained this to me and told me not to touch it because they still hoped to fix it someday but I have not seen them work on it very much. This one is not theirs it is a different color so I pick it up out of the sand and it is heavier than I thought it would be and hot because the sand is hot. When I lift it something rattles.

This might be better than the coral since it means Marvelie will not have to fix the old radio. But then I realize I do not know how it works and most things wash up broken I did. So I will have to test the radio before I fetch it back. I put it in the pocket of the clothes Marvelie gave me. It is warm against my new body’s leg.

In the mornings Marvelie looks at my new body to make sure it works which they always say it does so I think the problems I have are dog problems not person problems. I take off the clothes Marvelie gave me but the pants are long so I always get stuck so they have to pull the flopping off my legs. Sometimes they cluck about this and I feel very bad and a little bothered because I cannot help it I used to have dog legs. I am always forgetting how tall I am and running into ceilings and sometimes I get dizzy looking down.

I want to explain this to Marvelie in case they can make a new body or make my legs shorter but they are angry about the light so I stay quiet. Most days they say I am lucky to have a new body all fresh and no awful memories but today they say things like “don’t know how anyone’s supposed to see their way by flashlight beam” and “Fresnel lenses don’t come cheap” and while they say this they are looking at how tall I am and how hard I can grip their hand and how it looks in my eyes and how it looks between my legs. Then they say, “Dog. You didn’t touch the Fresnel, did you?”

They say this like a rock jabbing up from the sand. I look at the floor I am not a threat. I do not know what Fresnel means I tell them this.

“The lens, Dog,” Marvelie says.

“I did not touch the lens I am not supposed to,” I say.

“I didn’t think so,” Marvelie says. “Good dog.” They scratch my hair the way they do during storms. Storms scare me very much so every time it thunders Marvelie holds me in their lap and says kind soft things and tells me they will never leave me they will always keep me safe. “I’m going to the north side. Finish your chores while I’m gone, yes?”

I tell them I will and I will but I wait for them to leave then I go to the stairs. I will still do my chores I will be fast. The radio bumps against my leg as I climb and it bothers me. Climbing the stairs always bothers me it would be easier if I were not tall. To get from the stairs to the lens room I have to climb the ladder which is very hard since my hands are not paws and paws are not good for climbing and I do not understand hands. The lens room is small and the lens is big and looking out the window I am even taller and being up here makes me want to put my tail between my legs. But Marvelie said they tested the first radio as high as they could get and I do not have a tail now so I try to be brave.

The radio has many knobs. I do not know how to test it so I try to make them move. Marvelie says fingers can do a lot but mine confuse me. I spend a lot of time prodding the radio I have to take a few walks around the lens room to calm down but the lens room is small so it does not help much. Then I hit a knob and the radio makes a sound like waves on sand or flies on meat but worse. I hate the sound. I hate the sound. I hate the sound so much I drop the radio which makes another sound. Then the sound stops and the radio is quiet.

Did I kill it? I did not mean to kill it. I go low to the ground to sniff at it. I touch another knob. The sound is not so bad this time and then there is a voice.

“CQ,” says the voice. “CQ. CQ. This is D-R-4-C-A-L.”

“Marvelie?” I say. It does not sound like Marvelie but I do not know anyone else.

“Oh my God, hi,” says the voice. “I mean—to whom am I speaking?”

It is not Marvelie it is too yippy and Marvelie knows me. Which means the radio works which means I can show them. I bounce a little and lean to show the radio I am friendly but it cannot see me so I lie down on my belly to put my face close. I tell it, “I am a dog in the shape of a person and I live in a lighthouse.”

Quiet. I wonder if the voice has gone away and this worries me.

“Well, I’m Callahan,” says the voice, who is Callahan. “Do you … have a name?”

“I am just the dog.” There are no other dogs here so Marvelie does not have to guess.

“Nice to meet you, The Dog,” says Callahan. “Did you say you live in a lighthouse?”

“Yes. I am in charge of taking orders and fetching for Marvelie and cleaning the windows but not the lens.”

“Awesome,” says Callahan. “I’m a TA. Are you out in the Sound, then?”

Callahan speaks very fast I have to pause to put the words together. Words are not easy for me especially when I cannot see how the other person moves their ears or tail. Also I do not know what some words mean. “There are many sounds,” I say which feels wrong.

“Hmm,” says Callahan. “I mean—can you see land from your lighthouse?”

I turn in a circle to check. “No just the island.”

“Probably out in the sea, then,” Callahan says. “I figure you’re pretty close to shore or the radio wouldn’t pick up; we’re on ham rules. Pretty good ham rules, but still.” I do not know what this means. “Are you new there? At the lighthouse? Nobody ever picked up before.”

Putting this together makes my head hurt but I try. “I found a radio. But we are not new. Marvelie has been here very long they say.”

“Marjorie?” Callahan says. “Like Marjorie Prospect?”

This is sounds. “Marvelie,” I repeat how Marvelie repeats when I am bad at words. “Mar-vell-ee.”

“Oh. Gotcha. Thought I solved a mystery there for a second.”

“Do you live on the mainland?” I say because I think that is true.

“I do! I mean, near the Sound, but on land, yeah. I didn’t know we had a lighthouse. How’d you get the job?”

“I did not get the job I washed up dead and I was put here. Marvelie woke me up. I will need to do my chores soon.”

Quiet.

“Huh!” says Callahan. “Well. If you ever want to chat, I’m a free woman. Assignments notwithstanding.”

Callahan says this like we are friends. I want to wag my tail very badly but I have no tail so I wiggle all my body. “Marvelie will be very happy that the radio is not broken,” I tell Callahan. “They will want to talk to you too they will like you.”

“Awesome,” Callahan says. “Nice to meet you, The Dog.”

I like that Callahan calls me the dog like there could be more than one like I am worth the the.

I do my chores then I run through shallow water until I do not need to wiggle all my body at once. When I come back to the lighthouse Marvelie is there and making water hot. They say they used to do this with the fireplace but now they are powerful and they only need their hands. I have seen them wave their hands to make water follow them like a sniffing nose.

“I’m sorry if I was short with you earlier,” they say. “I don’t think you’re a troublemaker, for the record. You’re very helpful.” Their smile has teeth which used to scare me but they say it is how humans smile not growl. “I do get proud of you, little one. You’ve learned so fast.”

I try to pull my lips back to smile not growl at them even though it feels wrong. I am stuck on short with you I wish I could be short again. But I think saying that will make them huff so I say, “Marvelie I found a radio with a voice in it named Callahan who lives on the mainland. Callahan is very nice and a free woman assignments notwithstanding and I think you will get along and we have a new friend and you will not have to fix the radio.” By the time I finish I am bouncing but I try to stop Marvelie does not like when I bounce it distracts them.

Marvelie does not smile even with teeth. “A radio,” they say so I give it to them. Marvelie touches it so the radio hisses and makes the sound so I whine until Marvelie makes it stop. Their lips press together like when they are writing or polishing sea glass or heating water with their hands. I wait for a smile. “When did you find this?”

“Yesterday morning on the beach it was in the sand and hot.”

Marvelie looks at me with very big eyes. “But you didn’t tell me about it then,” they say. “You waited. Dog, that hurts me very deeply.”

This feels like when I stand in the water and a wave knocks my legs away. When this happens I am always confused. It takes me too long to understand salt in my mouth and sting in my eyes. I hunch down I am not a threat I try to tuck my tail I have no tail. “Sorry. I am sorry.”

“I was under the impression that we always told each other when something happened on the island,” Marvelie says looking very very sad. “Seeing as we’re the only ones here.”

I feel awful this did not occur to me. When they say it it is clear to me so who was I yesterday? “I wanted to make sure it worked before I showed you I know you do not like when things do not work. And I show you silly things but now you do not have to fix your radio.”

Marvelie goes to their desk and puts the radio down hard it plunks. “I didn’t fix my radio on purpose, dog,” they say. “I don’t want to speak to anybody off this island. Particularly not the mainland. The last time I was on the mainland, I was very hurt by my closest friends.”

I do not like this body I can hear my heart in my ears. “I did not know that,” I say.

“Why do you think we light the beam? We keep ships safe by warning them away from land, and we keep us safe by warning them away from here.”

I did not know this. I did not know this I did not know this. “You did not tell me that.”

Marvelie sighs like waves crashing. “I think you might have assumed,” they say, “that I had a good reason to never speak about the mainland. Seeing as I’ve taught you everything. I think you might have interpreted a sore spot in the one place I left blank. You know, I always thought at least you’d never hurt me.”

I do not like this body I do not like the feeling in its stomach when I am afraid. Afraid is not the right word I am something else. When they say this it makes sense like when they say the right word that I cannot remember and then I feel silly because it is so easy except I do not feel silly I feel wicked. “Sorry I am sorry I am sorry. I wanted to be nice.”

“Was that what you wanted when you lied?” Marvelie says. They sigh. “Well. Thank you for apologizing, nevertheless. Don’t touch this.” They take the radio they go into their room they do not speak to me all night.

In the morning Marvelie does not speak to me at all. In the afternoon Marvelie does not speak to me at all. In the evening Marvelie does not speak to me at all and I finished all my chores so I sit in the kitchen and chew my hands because I do not have a tail to thrash against the floor. Often when I feel bad I pace and whine but pacing and whining distract Marvelie and I cannot do that more. I made them feel very bad it feels like fleas in my rib cage gnawing my heart.

Marvelie goes to bed I fall asleep in the kitchen. In the morning Marvelie does not speak to me at all until they see me chewing my hands which bleed. “Dog,” they say I look up fast. “Don’t do that. You’ll get it on the floor.”

They leave so I whine because I cannot chew my hands because I will get it on the floor. I do not know where they are going. I whine and whine but the fleas are still there in my rib cage and pacing in circles does not help and I do not like this body the way its heart beats the way I shake. I do not know what to do and my hands hurt. I go on my toes into Marvelie’s bedroom and find the radio where it lies on their bed and I am bad for this but I feel like I am drowning again. Did I drown the first time? I do not remember. I take the radio up the stairs up the ladder to the lens room.

Poking the radio takes time but then I hear Callahan. “CQ. CQ—”

“Callahan?” I say and Callahan says, “Well, if it isn’t the dog. Perfect timing; I almost had to grade something.”

“Callahan.” My hands are in my teeth I chew and chew. “Callahan I hurt Marvelie I feel like there are fleas in my heart. I feel wicked I hurt Marvelie they will not speak to me. Callahan I do not know what to do.” Callahan is a person Callahan will know how hurt feels and what I should do.

“Hang on,” Callahan says. “Hang on.” I am not hanging I sit I chew. My hands ache bad I almost whimper. “Is everything okay?”

“No I hurt Marvelie I feel like there are—”

“Sorry,” Callahan says. “I know. I mean—is everybody safe? Is anyone hurt? Physically hurt?”

“No.” Except I have got blood on the floor I crouch I lick it up. Standing up I see the sky is getting dark even though it is not night yet. “No but I hurt Marvelie I made them upset.”

“What happened?” Callahan says like a soothing licking tongue I do not deserve this. I explain the lie I hate this body I hate the way its face heats.

Callahan hums. “Why didn’t you tell them?”

“I thought the radio might be broken they would not want it if it is broken. But I lied to them I found it and I did not tell them.”

“Right,” Callahan says, “but it sounds like it was just a misunderstanding, yeah?”

“But it is not,” I say. “I lied to them I did not tell them I did not know—they—” I hate this body I hate the way its eyes sting and its throat closes. “When Marvelie was on the mainland they got hurt their friends hurt them they do not want to go back. Marvelie never told me about the mainland. I did not think it mattered. I do not know why I did not think. I feel wicked. I hurt them I bit their hurt paw.”

“Right, okay,” Callahan says. “Sore spot. Jeez. What happened to them on the mainland?”

“I do not know they did not tell me. They got hurt.”

Outside the waves shush. The sky is blacker and blacker. The wind rattles the lens room windows.

“You know, The Dog,” Callahan says, “I couldn’t find a lighthouse within range on my map. Or an island I didn’t already know. Which is silly, ’cause I have a boat; I’ve been around the block.”

I do not know what this means or why it matters. “I am not lying,” I tell Callahan. “I am not lying I live in a lighthouse on an island I can walk around the island six times in an afternoon.”

“I don’t think you’re lying,” Callahan says. “I think—You know, some weird stuff happened at my university. Ten, twelve years back. Can I—do you mind if I tell you that story?”

I do mind I need help with Marvelie but if I say no Callahan might not talk to me also. “Okay,” I say which is a lie so now I have lied twice. The fleas gnaw tighter.

“There was this … this was before I got here, we had this professor. Neuroscientist. Brain surgeon. Well, she was a brain surgeon, and then she was a professor, she published a bunch of papers about, like, growing cells out of dead brain tissue. Which you shouldn’t be able to do, but you can revive a little tissue in a lab and—this doesn’t mean anything to you, does it.”

“It does,” I say.

“Does it really? Are you lying?”

I am wicked on wicked. “I am lying,” I confess.

“I figured,” Callahan says. “S’okay. The point is she was smart and everybody loved her, and then she got in some really hot water with the anatomy department and admin asked her to step down, which is the polite way to get fired. And so she took a boat out on the Sound and never came back. People assumed, you know, disgraced academic, nothing left to live for—probably drowned.”

This is many sounds at once. “Drowned,” I repeat. “In the … hot water?”

Callahan’s laugh crackles I flinch. “Sorry. Sorry, I should—she got in trouble. That’s what I meant. It was a huge upset and she got in trouble and didn’t get to do the job anymore.” Another laugh. “Funny, right, you steal just a couple of corpses and everyone’s mad!”

I do not really understand what this means or who was upset. I am too scared to say so I just say, “Okay.”

“So, um,” Callahan says, “her name was Marjorie. Dr. Marjorie Prospect. Which—which sounds kinda like your Marvelie. So I wonder if, you know. Do you know … how long Marvelie’s been on your island?”

I do not. I think very hard. “A long time they have not seen ships for a long time. Do you think Marvelie met Dr. Marjorie Prospect? Or Marvelie was Dr. Marjorie Prospect and is not Dr. Marjorie Prospect now?”

“I don’t know,” Callahan says, “I wasn’t there, I never met her. Them. But—the second one. I mean, it sounds crazy, but it could explain some stuff, right? Like, your Marvelie said they got hurt on the mainland. I think getting knocked off your academic pedestal would hurt.” As I am wondering how tall the pedestal was Callahan says, “Sorry. Figure of speech. Hurt them emotionally. There wasn’t a pedestal.”

Here a terrible thing occurs to me. “But if I tell them I know how they got hurt they will know I used the radio again,” I say. “I am not allowed to touch the radio they put it in their room.”

“Not allowed?” Callahan says.

“I am not supposed to touch it or the lighthouse lens I am clumsy.”

Quiet so long I wonder if Callahan is gone. I try not to whine. The sky is black on black the clouds are huge.

“Look, The Dog,” Callahan says like they are stepping careful on hot sand, “how’s about this. I don’t know where your island is, but it would be great if I could jot down the coordinates in case you two ever need supplies. And it would be nice to know if Marjorie Prospect’s alive, even if they don’t want to come back. How’s about I boat on over and try and figure out where you’re at? And maybe Marvelie and I can talk stuff out. Figure out the whole mainland issue.”

I jitter. “I do not know if that is a good idea I hurt Marvelie they are angry they are very upset.”

“I know,” Callahan says, “I’m just—I’m a little worried, Captain The Dog. I think you should be able to talk to the mainland if you want. If Marvelie wants to stay out there, sure, but you’re your own person.”

“I am not a person,” I say. “I am a dog in the shape of a person. I do not like this body.” I have told this to Marvelie before but telling it to Callahan feels different. I shake.

“Well,” Callahan says quiet. “Dog, person, whatever, you get to make your own choices. And I like you. If you don’t want me to boat over, I won’t. But I think I could help.”

I should say no I should say no. I should say no. Callahan likes me. If Marvelie never talks to me again maybe Callahan will. “Okay,” I say. The fleas gnaw and gnaw and gnaw. “The water is angry be careful please.”

“Aye aye,” Callahan says. “See you soon.” The radio goes quiet.

When I stand up the sky is dark and the sea is darker the clouds are big and the waves are bigger they crash against the black rocks and turn scar-white with froth. The wind howls all around the lighthouse and my whine grows in my throat. I do not know how big Callahan’s boat is it worries me. I turn in a circle to look out all the windows and down below is Marvelie.

I do not like storms but Marvelie does. They are walking along the edge of the shore and the wind grabs their hair and the cloak they sewed out of a blanket and they hold their arms up high. They are very close to the sea which makes me shiver-shake. They pace back and forth like they are guarding food. They look like they are laughing.

I need to put the radio back. I do not like the ladder and I want to crouch on the floor. But I am brave I can be brave. I am brave I go down the ladder I slip on the last rung but I only scrape my knee. I go down the stairs I return the radio to Marvelie’s room I run back to the stairs I crouch on the floor and whine.

Soon the door slams open downstairs the wind screams in. “Dooooooooooog!” they call out like a howl. Not a growling howl they sound happy. Where my hackles should be the hair rises. “My dear dog!”

They are speaking to me again I should be happy but they are angry at me so why do they sound sweet? I tremble down from the stairs. I find them wet and bright they smell like rain their eyes gleam like sea glass. They sweep past me to their room they come out with the radio in their hand. They go to the stairs. “Come on, little one,” they say laughing, “we’ve got to turn the light on, it’s a tempest out there!”

I creep after I try to be brave. Marvelie’s cloak flops behind them wet with salt water.

“I’m stronger than I thought, dog,” they say as they take the ladder. “I’ve saved us both,” as they disappear into the lens room. I scramble after I pull myself up as they raise their arms like they want to be big. The storm cracks the sky into pieces the water rages. Marvelie laughs.

“My high charms work,” they whisper like I am not there. Then they look at me and say, “I told you I’d always keep you safe. Nobody is landing on this island. We’re free.”

I think of Callahan’s boat I think of the black sky. I think I drowned. “Marvelie,” I say and Marvelie drops the radio to the floor and stamps and stamps and stamps until I hear it click snap break.

“There,” they say panting. “I’ve fixed it. You’re welcome.”

I hate this body I hate that it cannot crouch so low I vanish. Very small I say, “Marvelie Callahan is coming so we can have supplies and Callahan can talk to you and figure out the mainland problems. Sorry I am sorry I am sorry.”

“Well!” Marvelie says. “I suppose your friend will need the light to guide her, won’t she!” They are flipping switches now leaping about like a bird in the sand the lens is lighting up like every night. The beam is weak it cannot cut through the clouds.

“The storm,” I say. I feel very very sick.

“Ah, the storm,” Marvelie says. “Perhaps your friend should have thought of that before she reached bare-handed into a foxhole.” They spin and their cloak flies out I try to tuck my tail I am not a threat I am not a threat I am not a threat. “Nobody can reach us, little one. That’s how it ought to be.”

“I do not understand,” I say and my voice is very little.

“If the mainland can reach us, they’ll hurt us,” Marvelie says. “They’ll hurt me, they want to, and where will you be then? And if I let you keep the radio, you’ll hurt me again.” Lightning crashes behind them. “Do you understand, dog? I’m doing this for the both of us. I’m doing this so I don’t have to lose you.”

The thunder hits and it is so loud and I hate the sound and I cannot think. “Marvelie please make it stop please make it stop please I am scared I am scared I am scared—”

“Of course you’re scared!” Marvelie says and their teeth are out but this is not a smile. “You’re always scared! I understand the world is very frightening to you, dog, but that isn’t my fault, and I’m a little busy graciously fixing the problems you caused—will you get off the floor?”

I cower I shiver-shake. “Why are you doing this?” I ask and I mean it I am so confused I am so so afraid.

“Get up,” Marvelie says and they grab for me. Their fingers find the place my scruff should be and they yank and I almost stand but the next lightning flash is so big and I sink to the floor I want it to stop I want it to stop I want it to stop—

Marvelie yanks again their nails scrape my shoulder I yelp, “Why are you hurting me?”

“I’m not hurting you!” They screw their fingers tighter in my neck. “Stand up, goddamnit, why do I treat you like a person when you won’t stop acting like a fucking animal—” They pull and the hurt is lightning bright I twist I sink my teeth into their hand and hold on.

Marvelie shrieks. I feel them writhe I feel a grip on my hair my head hits the glass wall so hard I

white roar wave wall salt taste

brilliant bright pain rattle glass

thunder crack skull click blood mouth

there is blood in my mouth their hand slips from my teeth and this time when Marvelie slams me against the glass I thrash and twist and kick and feel them stumble then the great twinkling thunder crash as Marvelie staggers back through the shatterbursting window—

I reach with clumsy hands not paws my fingers brush their wrist I hear them scream.

I hear them scream a long way down.

I hear it stop.

I cannot think I cannot move. I cannot rise I crouch on the floor blood in my mouth glass in my hair I cannot think I cannot breathe I think the sea rose up to fill my lungs I think I drowned again. I crouch I shake I shake I shake I watch the waves’ crash weaken I watch the black clouds wisp and break I watch the storm come very slow to calm.

I bury Marvelie behind the lighthouse where the sand starts becoming dirt. After I bury them I sit on the shore and look at the high full moon and wait. My hands bleed because they are not paws and do not dig very well anymore but I had to do it I could not leave them like that I love them too much. They were cruel to me there is blood in my hair but I love them very much. It is funny this body it is funny that even when my eyes sting and leak I can feel nothing at all on the inside like an empty crab shell left over.

Soon Callahan’s boat will be here and I will see her. I cannot go with her now that Marvelie is dead because there is no one else to take care of the lighthouse. And I think maybe it is for the better since I am a dog in the shape of a person and the person world is not really mine. Marvelie was right everything is very frightening to me and I am still not very brave. But I am happy that I will see Callahan because she is my friend. I am glad that if she finds the island she will get here safe. The sea is calm. The wind is small. Through the broken window the lighthouse beam is sheer and bright.

Editor: Hebe Stanton

First Reader: K.T. Elms

Copy Editors: Copy Editing Department

Accessibility: Accessibility Editors