; ; "Mom, I haven't met any suitable man, young or ; old, where I am. The guys I meet are all married, ; gay, or pedophiles, sometimes all three. Aunt ; Martha has given me a way to start a new life." In ; college, she had had a brief friendship with a ; graduate teaching assistant, but for years she hadn't ; had a date. She'd been propositioned, by truck ; drivers and such, but she had never said yes.
; ; Maud huddled in her bed, her breasts tingling and ; her vagina wet, wondering why she had ever agreed ; to the terms of Aunt Martha's will. The will was ; strange but explicit. Maud could have an annuity ; for life and clear title to the lighthouse if she would ; live in it for 365 consecutive nights. Otherwise, it ; and the money would go to the Seashore ; Preservation Trust. The monthly payments would ; be enough to live on, with no rent to pay, so in June ; Maud quit her job at Jefferson Elementary School ; and she moved to the lighthouse. It was only about ; three miles off shore, an easy run in the little ; outboard runabout, as long as the weather was ; good. Maud used her savings to stock up on food ; and books and CDs and paints and canvasses and a ; whole list of things Aunt Martha had ; recommended, kerosene, lamp wicks, matches, ; plastic garbage bags, a spare can opener, a good ; first aid kit and medicines, the things one might ; need if isolated for months at a time.
; ; There was no electrical service to the island, but ; Aunt Martha had put in solar panels and batteries. ; It wasn't much, but the batteries could power the ; radio/CD player or a weather radio or a tiny TV, ; though reception was very poor. Otherwise, living ; was very rustic, with oil lamps for light and a scrub ; board instead of a washing machine. There was no ; proper running water, but there was a cistern to ; collect rain water and a solar collector to warm it ; for bathing. Drinking water came from the ; mainland in plastic jugs. The light, and the huge ; Fresnel lenses and the clockwork to turn them had ; all been removed to a museum, so the actual light ; room was empty and was a perfect place for Maud ; to paint, with plenty of sunlight and an all around ; view.
; ; The summer months were fun and carefree, and ; Maud had even found a gift shop down the coast ; that took some of her paintings on consignment. ; She was free to travel, as long as she returned to the ; lighthouse by dusk, according to the provisions of ; the will. All that changed with the first storm in ; September. In the morning, she found her boat had ; disappeared, though she had moored it very ; carefully, and she realized that it was, perhaps, a ; false economy to forego a satellite phone as too ; expensive. She did not even have a CB radio! She ; was trapped, imprisoned, on the island. First thing, ; she painted herself a sign: HELP. Then she ; resigned herself to life as a recluse.
; ; That night was her first encounter with It. She was ; sitting in the light room, at the top of the tower, ; staring at the blackness of the night, no stars or ; moon, just flickers of distant lightning. There, ; beyond the glass, she saw an ephemeral light, a ; kind of shimmering something, luminescent with a ; bluish glow, quite faint and formless. Ball ; lightning? No. Some light reflected off spray or ; mist? No. She could think of no explanation. The ; thing, It, circled around the tower, came closer and ; retreated, disappeared from time to time, and ; finally, as Maud stared in confusion, it seemed to ; pass right through the glass and out the other side of ; the chamber.
; ; Maud went down the confined spiral stairs to the ; room below, once housing the clockwork, now her ; bedroom. She grabbed a battery flashlight and went ; down another level to the kitchen, where, ; uncharacteristically, she poured herself a water ; glass of wine and drank half of it in one draft. She ; lighted an oil lamp, topped off the wine glass, and ; went back to her bedroom. She lay there, propped ; on pillows, and sipped her wine and thought about ; what she had seen. Why was she frightened? On ; the other hand, who wouldn't be? She checked the ; weather radio more of the same, winds from the ; northeast at 20 to 30 knots. The regular broadcast ; band was mostly static and inane commercials. She ; turned off the radio and began to undress, sitting on ; her bed and taking off her boots and socks. Then ; she unbuttoned and removed her flannel shirt and ; peeled off her t-shirt, feeling the cool, damp ocean ; air on her skin. She put the big flannel shirt she ; slept in beside her and removed her bra. She felt a ; sudden moment of embarrassment, as if she had ; exposed her breasts to a stranger, but, of course, ; there wasn't another human being for at least three ; miles. She put on the night shirt and then reached ; under it to remove her jeans and panties. Again, ; she felt strangely embarrassed, for no reason at all. ; She wasn't possessed of undue modesty. Just to ; prove to herself, she took off the night shirt and ; stood, stark bark, in front of the full length mirror. ; "Maud," she said out loud, "you are not a bad ; looking woman for a 28-year old spinster." Her ; breasts, B-cups, did not sag excessively, and her ; tummy, while slightly convex, was nothing to be ; ashamed of. Her legs, as a result of hiking and stair ; climbing, were shapely and muscular, with no ; cellulite, yet. Her face was undistinguished, but not ; ugly, and her hair, now that she wasn't teaching, ; might be improved with a bit of color. Blonde or ; red head? She should let it grow out some, also. ; More than once, she thought, people seeing her in ; shirt and jeans and short hair had supposed she was ; a lesbian. Well, she'd have a year to work on her ; hair. She raised her arms, watching how her breasts ; lifted in her reflected image, and that strange ; feeling of being watched returned. Quickly, she put ; on the night shirt again and got into bed.
; ; She was reaching for the oil lamp, a bit out of ; reach, when, unbelievably, it went out on its own, ; leaving her in total darkness. She crawled under ; the covers and closed her eyes, but she couldn't ; seem to sleep. She opened her eyes, now dark ; adapted, and saw, to her amazement, a glow in the ; room, It. It seemed about the size of a door, that is, ; bigger than herself but not monstrous, and its shape ; was indefinite, shifting, like smoke. It seemed to ; move along the curving wall of the tower room, ; until it arrived next to her bed. She reached out a ; hand and tried to touch it, but it was like reaching ; for smoke. She felt nothing. It settled on the quilt ; which covered her legs as she sat up and stared.
; ; Maud felt a subtle sort of touching of her breast, ; almost tickling. Her hand went to the heavy flannel ; over her breast, but the sensation continued. She ; grasped her breast in her fingers, as one might ; squeeze a dinner roll, but the sensation simply ; increased, and now the other breast felt it too. She ; sat bolt upright, holding each breast, but the strange ; sensations continued, tingling, not unpleasant, and, ; she could tell her nipples were erect. She stared at ; the ephemeral glow, down by her knees, and it ; seemed to shimmer and shift. Suddenly, she felt ; something between her legs, something disturbing ; her pubic hair. She slipped one hand under the ; covers and felt for whatever it was, some animal ; perhaps? She found nothing. She began to be ; really fearful. Intellectually, she knew she could ; not afford to be afraid, and there was nothing, ; really, to be afraid of. She closed her eyes, rolled ; over onto her front, and pulled the covers up over ; her head. There, breathing her own exhaled air, in ; total blackness, she tried to relax, but the strange ; sensations continued. It felt like insects crawling ; over her skin, over her buttocks, between her ; thighs, over and between her labia, and, ; simultaneously, over her breasts, which were ; pressed hard against the sheet. She tried rubbing ; them away with her hands, though she knew there ; were no insects. The sensations grew stronger, and ; whatever it was seemed to intrude deeper, touching ; her pink membranes, even though she crossed her ; legs and squeezed her thighs together, which would ; have squashed even ants. She threw off the covers ; and desperately groped for whatever was invading ; her private places. Her heart pounded. She gasped ; for air. And then, for the first time in her life, she ; felt the fluttering, shuddering, insanely intense gut- ; shaking waves of orgasmic release.
; ; Maud huddled in her bed, her breasts tingling and ; her vagina wet, wondering why she had ever agreed ; to the terms of Aunt Martha's will. It, the glow, ; now hovered at the other side of the bedroom, as if ; watching and waiting. "Go away!" she yelled. "Let ; me sleep." The glow disappeared, as if through the ; solid masonry of the tower, and, almost instantly, ; Maud fell asleep.
; ; She awoke refreshed, feeling great, and, first thing, ; she climbed the stairs to the light room, barefoot ; and in her night shirt. The sky had cleared ; overnight, and the sun warmed the glass-enclosed ; space. No boats were in sight, just wisps of cloud, ; whitecaps, and gulls. Impulsively, Maud pulled off ; her nightshirt and stood, gloriously naked, ; absorbing the sun. Then she opened the little glass ; door and stepped out onto the narrow walk which ; encircled the light room, to enable the keeper to ; clean the glass. The fresh winds frisked across her ; untanned skin, and she shivered in delight at the ; unfamiliar but exciting feelings. Down the stairs ; she went, humming a few bars from Beethoven's ; 9th, and, still naked, she cooked up some bacon and ; eggs. Eggs, she had discovered, will stay fresh a ; long time without refrigeration, if you scald the ; shells and paint them with an airtight covering. She ; had used her artists colors, and the eggs, before she ; broke them, looked like Easter eggs. God! Life ; was good on the island. She read, listened to music, ; and, when the sun had warmed the water, she ; bathed, a delicious bath. Taking advantage of the ; opportunity, she shaved her legs, though no one ; would ever see them, and then, impulsively, she ; shaved her pubic hair for the first time in her life. ; She couldn't think why she did that. It was, she ; mused, as if a new personality was invading her ; body. Still naked, but for shoes, she explored her ; little island, hardly bigger than a football field. She ; lay on the rocks and watched the waves breaking in ; the tide pools. She only went inside when she ; realized she was getting too much sun. Her breasts ; and bottom, which had never been exposed to the ; sun, were turning pink and tender. Her dinner, out ; of cans, tasted especially good and, after watching ; the sunset from the light room, she went, still naked ; to her bed.
; ; Perhaps it was the mild sunburn, but, as she lay ; there, she was intensely aware of her sexuality, of ; her newly exposed labia and her pinkened breasts. ; She touched her upstanding nipples and, when she ; ran a finger over her sensitized, hairless outer lips ; she discovered, for the first time, a swelling, ; pushing out between her labia, her clitoris. In the ; darkness, It appeared, ever so faintly glowing, and it ; came to her and ravished her. She writhed and ; moaned and called out, "Don't stop! Oh, please, ; more! Yes, yes," until the juddering jack-hammer- ; like shaking in her pelvis drove her into a dreamlike ; post-orgasmic trance, followed by delicious sleep. ; The weather stayed warm and sunny for two weeks, ; and Maud enjoyed her solitude, talking to the gulls ; and the crabs and the creatures of the tide pools ; and, at night, to It. Each night he came to her, and ; each night she reached levels of ecstacy she could ; not have dreamed of when she lived among ; humankind.
; ; Then, one afternoon, she saw a lobster boat ; approaching. She ran down to the dock, totally ; nude but for her shoes and an all-over tan. She had ; forgotten about normal people. "Maud," screamed ; her mother, "you put some clothes on this instant!" ; Maud ignored that and reached to catch a mooring ; line thrown by the captain of the boat. As she wove ; the line over the cleat on the dock, her mother ; swept up to her and threw her coat over her ; daughter. "What has got into you, behaving like ; that?"
; ; Maud just smiled. It had got into her. Back in the ; lighthouse, properly covered with a robe, Maud was ; introduced to the owner of the boat, Harold ; Carlson. Her mother explained that she hadn't ; heard from Maud for weeks, and she had finally ; hired Captain Carlson to bring her out to check up ; on Maud. "Good thing I did. You've lost your ; mind, girl!"
; ; "No, Mother, I've found the real me. I've never ; been more sane."
; ; "Rubbish, you come with me back to the mainland, ; back to civilization. You need a medical ; evaluation."
; ; Maud just smiled and said, "No, Mother, I'm going ; to stay here until this place is mine." She smiled ; again at her mother and then, unmistakably, at ; Harry Carlson. "Are you married, Mr. Carlson?"
; ; "Not yet."
; ; "Maud," said her mother, oblivious to the ; electricity between the sailor and her daughter, ; "you can't stay here all alone, without a boat or a ; phone or any way of getting help."
; ; "Perhaps, Ma'am, I could help by stopping by from ; time to time, to check on her, and I can give her a ; spare radio, so she can call for help, or just to pass ; the time."
; ; "I'd like that, Mr. Carlson," said Maud, letting her ; robe loosen and display a bit of bosom.
; ; "I could bring you fresh lobsters," he said with a ; foolish grin
; ; "Oh, yes, please. I'll be happy to cook them, for the ; two of us."
; ; Captain Carlson spent a lot of nights at the ; lighthouse, to protect Maud from It, though he ; never saw It. The following summer he and Maud ; were married, and Mother got her grandchild not ; long after.
; ; [End] ; ;