The lamp in the fog

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

The fog had swallowed the harbour before the keeper reached the lighthouse. From the hill, its lamp should have been visible to the fishing boats; instead, the glass room above the steps was dark. Mr Bell had promised the village that the light would never be left unattended. His daughter, Anne, had heard him make the promise at the meeting in the schoolhouse.

At the foot of the tower, Mr Bell stopped. A crack in the stone steps had widened since the previous evening, and the wind drove rain through the open doorway. He gripped the rail, but his hand trembled. Anne saw him look towards the boats, their lanterns barely glimmering through the mist.

“The steps are sound enough,” he said, though he did not move.

Anne took the oil can from his bag. She climbed slowly, keeping one hand on the wall, and called back each time she reached a landing. At the top, she filled the lamp and turned the handle. A yellow beam travelled across the harbour. Mr Bell remained below until the light settled into its steady sweep.

In the morning, he told the villagers that the lamp had shone through the night. He did not say who had climbed the tower. Anne listened from the doorway as the fishermen thanked him, then went down to wash the oil from her hands.

In this passage, the writer contrasts a duty promised in public with the private fear of carrying it out.