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Back Featherlight Save as PDF
Chapters (20)
  1. Dedication
  2. Chapter 1
  3. Chapter 2
  4. Chapter 3
  5. Chapter 4
  6. Chapter 5
  7. Chapter 6
  8. Chapter 7
  9. Chapter 8
  10. Chapter 9
  11. Chapter 10
  12. Chapter 11
  13. Chapter 12
  14. Chapter 13
  15. Chapter 14
  16. Chapter 15
  17. Chapter 16
  18. Firebird Lighthouse
  19. Author's Note
  20. Lighting the Way

The stone is actually an egg. Cracks appear in the egg’s surface, and red light spills out, brighter than the light beam. So bright it almost blinds me. The egg breaks open and inside is a golden feather that burns me like the sun.

Chapter 4

4

THE LIGHTHOUSE

I wake and look around me, feeling cold and tired. It is morning and I am in the keeper’s office. For a moment I wonder what I am doing here, sitting in Dad’s armchair. Then I notice that the fire in the stove has gone out.

A jolt of guilt zips through me. I must have fallen asleep on watch. Dad told me never to do that!

I jump to my feet and rush upstairs to the lantern room to check everything is all right. Daylight floods the glass windows, but the lenses still turn and the lamplight still flickers. The light has been working for the whole night. Relieved, I put out the flame and stop the clockwork.

Outside the day is calm. The sea is quiet with only a few ships passing. There’s no sign of trouble. No water-babies, or eggs, or burning feathers … Did I really dream all that? Then I remember what really happened – the shooting star and how I vowed to find it. Mum and Dad setting off for the mainland because their real baby was about to be born.

That’s why I’m up here alone. I promised Mum and Dad I’d look after the lighthouse. That means I’m no longer the lighthouse keeper’s daughter. I’m the lighthouse keeper!

At least until they get back. I wonder when that will be. Has Mum had the baby yet? Do I have a little brother or sister? If so, I hope he or she is all right.

When Dad and Mum get back, they’ll expect to find the chores done. That’s a lot of work for one person to do on their own. Especially someone as young as me. I should probably get started on the chores before I look for my shooting star. Dad and Mum will be cross if they come back this afternoon and find that nothing has been done.

I wipe the lantern lenses with a cloth. This is the first job Dad does every day. It cleans the soot off the lenses and stops the lamp from clouding up and weakening the light. When I have finished that, I head downstairs to the empty keeper’s cottage to make a start on the rest of the chores.

Chapter 5

5

COMPLETING THE CHORES