The sky was clear, few white clouds littering the blue expanse. Simon scanned the sky and the waves through the lens of his monocular, until he saw a familiar boat approaching from the coast. He found himself smiling. Against his better judgement, he’d started to long for your weekly visit.

Since Charles had passed away, you had taken his business into his hands. The small coastal town had only one library, belonging to your family, and when your grandfather wasn’t able to deliver Simon’s books anymore, you had to step up to do the job.

So once a week, you took your little boat and rowed all the way to the lighthouse to bring him new reads. You wondered how he hadn’t gone through every single book in your inventory already, since the lighthouse keeper had to be one hell of a lonely job. Simon seemed to like it, though.

Lately, he didn’t seem to mind the company– only if it was from you. He didn’t know how it started, really, but simple deliveries had turned into small conversations about books, and then tea, to the point you would take the whole day off from your library duties just to spend some time with him. You would give him book recommendations, and in return, Simon would tell you stories about the sea and the stars. Never about himself, though, but you didn’t really mind.

When you tied the rope around the pole, he had already come down to open the door from you. He had invited you inside for tea, as always, and before you even knew it, the sun was already starting to set over the horizon.

However, as the night approached, so did a storm. “I should go.” You said, going to grab your coat. “You risk getting caught in the tempest not even halfway back,” Simon argued, eyeing the waves outside of the window. “It’s getting close fast, I don’t want to risk you getting injured.” He turned around, an almost sheepish expression on his usually stoic face. “You…don’t mind staying, do you? I’m saying this for your safety.”