Prelude

O’RODEÑAV DIDN’T KNOW HOW LONG HE MUST’VE LAID THERE FOR. For a while he only felt numb, and almost believed for a moment that he had died in the crash. All of it felt like a hazy blur to him now. Perhaps he could remember it very well, but he didn’t want to. 

Slowly but surely, however, his senses began to return to him. He heard the gentle crashing of the waves, contrasting with the noises he had heard right before he got knocked out. He smelled the salty tang of the water and tasted the air coming through his lungs.

And then he felt the pain.

His battered and bruised body felt sore all over, from his head to his back to his limbs. A chill passed over him where parts of his clothes had been ripped, as well. He recalled the amount of rocks he must’ve hit along the way. It only made the pain feel much worse.

Soon, though, he opened his eyes and forced himself to sit up. He was on a new beach now. It was still dark, but he saw the bank a few yards away. He was on the immediate search for somebody else, however, his heart beating fast. 

He had to go back to his memories. Through the horror and shock that clouded his mind like a fog, he remembered one thing. 

His parents. Did they make it out alive?

O’rodeñav stumbled weakly to his feet, his beaten legs trembling as he began to walk. He gripped one shoulder tightly, trying to ease the pain.

“Mom! Dad!” He called out with as much strength as he could muster, “Mom! Where are you?” 

Eventually he crumbled to his knees, trying to catch his breath. In front of him laid a few broken pieces of wood- the smashed-up remains of their boat. Without waiting for his energy to return, he desperately began to search through them, pushing away the boards, only to find nothing. Only wood.

Continuing to stagger across the beach, he continued to hopelessly call for his parents, searching through every pile of remains he came across. But still- nothing. Nobody answered his cries, and there wasn’t a single trace of his mother or father. 

He was completely, utterly alone.

Finally, he just sat on the sand, staring off towards the water. The exact place where his old, happy life had been abruptly snatched away from him. What would he do without his father, his model, always ready to protect him? Or his mother, his sweet mother, who was always there to give him love? He couldn’t imagine a life without either of them. He never had to. But now- he was suddenly having to live that life. 

And what hurt the most is that he never got to say goodbye.

Eventually, O’rodeñav pulled his legs closer, burying his face in his knees as he started to whimper. The world around him had become so cold, so harsh… and never before had he felt such sorrow. It cut so deep in his chest that he thought he was going to be sick. He just wanted to keep lying there forever and ever until the sand eventually swallowed him up and he’d be no more.

But after a while, he thought back to his parents again, specifically his father. What would he do in this situation? O’rodeñav would probably never truly know. He suddenly felt like he’d never be that strong, that brave. 

But he could certainly try. 

Wiping his face, O’rodeñav slowly got back to his feet again. His legs trembled a little less now that he was used to standing, but his body still hurt. He’d need to find somewhere comfortable to lie down soon and get away from the cold, and he could only think of one place.

Turning around, he finally got a good look at the cliff centered on the islet. When he looked at it from the boat, it definitely looked tall. Now that he was in front of it, however, it towered impossibly huge above him, its steep, rocky walls seeming to go up for miles. Nowhere was a path to make things easier. The only chance he had of getting to the top was to climb, which in his state, seemed unfeasible.

Before he would’ve counted on his dad to figure out a way to get safely to the top, but now he was alone. He had nobody to depend on but himself. All instincts told him to stay where he was on the beach; to avoid the cliff and forget about that lighthouse altogether. But he knew better now than to let those get the best of him. 

It was now or never, he reasoned with himself.

There was no way to go but up.