Created by AI The Keeper’s Vigil By R. L. Whitmire This story was refined with the help of AI language models ~ The wind howled, a banshee’s wail that rattled the timeworn windows of the lighthouse. Salt-laden spray lashed against the granite walls, leaving streaks like tears on weathered cheeks. Keeper Samuel Hawkthorn stood at the lantern room, his gnarled hands gripping the brass railing. His eyes, pale and unyielding, scanned the horizon. He was a man of quiet resolve, carved from the same granite as the lighthouse he tended. His life had been etched by salt and wind, by the ceaseless rhythm of the sea. Born to a family of fishermen, he’d known the taste of brine before he could walk. His father, a grizzled sailor, had taught him the ancient songs—the ones that spoke of sirens and lost ships, of the lighthouse’s sacred duty. As a boy, Samuel had clung to the cliffs, watching the beacon’s light slice through the night. His mother, long gone, had whispered stories of ghostly ve...
