Andreas gazed at the grayish-blue sea from the gallery deck of the lighthouse, feeling a familiar sense of calm.  He often spent his mornings like this, letting the chilly ocean air whip through his hair as he watched the undulating waves crest and fall.  At his side was his loyal lundehund Bjorn, a smallish dog with light brown and white fur, upturned ears, and six toes on each paw.

Bjorn started barking incessantly, interrupting Andreas’ meditative state.

“What’s wrong?” Andreas asked.  “Do you see something?”

He looked downward at the shore where he saw a figure lying amongst the jagged rocks.

“Oh!” he exclaimed.  “We need to get down there quickly!”

Andreas ran down the metal spiral staircase and pushed open the door at the ground level.  Bjorn followed closely after him.  The droplets of ocean mist dampened his face as he climbed over the wet rocks.  He stepped carefully, trying to avoid any sudden moves that would cause him to slip and sprain his ankle.  It would be a shame if he injured himself in the process of saving someone else.  When he finally reached the unconscious person, he was so winded that he wanted to sit down.  He crouched instead so that his clothes would not get wet, and inhaled and exhaled deeply.  Once he steadied his breath, he looked at the person that he had come down here to help and his eyes widened.

It was a young man who appeared to be in his twenties, probably close to his own age.  His raven dark hair clung to his pale face and he was curled in a fetal position.  His mouth was slightly open and Andreas felt a faint breath when he moved his hand close to it.

He’s going to get hypothermia if he hasn’t already, Andreas thought.  He took off his coat and wrapped it tightly around the man.  I have to get him inside immediately.  He put his arms around the bundled up stranger and lifted him up.  He’s…surprisingly light.

Andreas looked at the distance and slope between him and the small house where he lived.  Damn these rocks, he thought.  Bjorn wagged his tail and barked.  Okay, one step at a time…

***

The dark-haired stranger awakened with a gasp when he heard the sound of barking.  He sat up in bed and looked around him.  The room was tiny and dimly lit.  One side of the bed was pushed against the wall.  A simple table stood in the corner, flanked by two wooden chairs.  A rectangular piece of wood protruding from the whitewashed wall served as a shelf, and held a few worn-out books with yellowed pages.  A tiny flower pot with a dried up plant sat on the windowsill.

Bjorn jumped up from below and put his paws on the mattress.  The man screamed and curled up against the wall.

“Bjorn, what happened?” a voice from outside the room called out.  Andreas poked his head through the doorframe and saw the stranger cowering against the wall.  “Oh, you’re awake!  Bjorn, sit!”  

Bjorn took his paws off the bed and obediently sat on the wooden floor.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” said Andreas as he walked towards the man.  “Bjorn’s harmless.  He just got excited, that’s all.”

“Kie mi estas?” the man said through panicked breaths.

“Huh?” Andreas paused.  What language is that?  “Hey, um…can you understand what I’m saying?”

The man stared at him blankly as his chest anxiously rose and fell.

Er…how am I going to do this? Andreas stared upwards for a second and then met the man’s gaze again.  “I…” He pointed to himself. “...found you…” He pointed to the man.  “...by the shore…”  He frowned.  He probably wouldn’t understand the word ‘shore.’  He began again.  “I found you by the water.”  He made a wavy motion with his hands.

The man stared at him in utter confusion.

Andreas sighed.  This is going to be hard.  How can I help him if we can’t communicate?  He took a closer look at the man’s face.  Are his eyes…silver?  His mind snapped back to attention.  Why am I thinking about that right now?  Focus!

The man looked down and he picked at the sleeve of the large pajama shirt he was wearing.  He looked at Andreas.

“Oh!  That’s actually mine.” Andreas explained.  “I just put it on you because you weren’t wearing…anything…when I found you.”  He felt his face flush.  “Do you…are you hungry?  You’ve been sleeping for hours and I didn’t know when you’d wake up, so I didn’t prepare anything.”  Andreas started walking towards the door.  “There should be some bread rolls in the pantry.  I’ll go get them.”  He stepped through the door frame.  “I’ll be back.”

The man stared blankly as Andreas disappeared into the hallway.  He returned his gaze to the pajama shirt and pants that hung loosely over him and pinched the fabric between his fingers.  The texture felt interesting.  It was neither too soft nor too coarse.  His mind was still engrossed with the fabric when Andreas returned carrying a metal tray.

“I got you some bread and water,” said Andreas.  “I’ll prepare some food later so you can have a hot meal.”

The man stared up at him and Andreas swore that his eyes definitely had a metallic shine to them.  Andreas pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat down.  He placed the tray on the bed.  The man stared at the rolls and cup of water and looked back at Andreas.

“Um…” Andreas paused.  Does he not know what this is?  Did he get amnesia too?  Andreas carefully picked up a roll.  “This is bread…you eat it…” He broke the roll in half.  “Here, we can share it.  You just put it in your mouth and chew.” He bit down on his half of the roll.  The man stared with fascination.  “Here, you try.”  He handed the other half of the roll over.  The man slowly clasped his fingers around the half roll and moved it towards his mouth.  He bit down and paused in surprise when it made a crunch.

“There you go,” Andreas said.  The man began to chew slowly.  He looked up at Andreas periodically, as if he was seeking approval on whether he was eating correctly.  Andreas smiled while trying to conceal a sigh.  This is going to be a long process…

***

Andreas lost track of how much time had passed, but the stranger eventually finished his bread and managed to take a few gulps of water after Andreas made multiple demonstrative gestures.  After everything was done, Andreas moved the tray to the small table in the corner and returned to the chair next to the bed.  Bjorn paced in circles around the room.

“I guess I should introduce myself,” Andreas said.  The man looked up at him.  Andreas pointed to himself.  “I’m Andreas.”  The man blinked in response.  Andreas pointed to Bjorn.  “That’s Bjorn.”  Andreas pointed to the man.  “What’s your name?”  The man looked at him and his mouth opened slightly, but he said nothing.  Andreas tried not to frown.  He pointed to himself again.  “Andreas.”  He pointed to his dog.  “Bjorn.”  He pointed to the man and waited.

The man alternated between staring at Andreas and Bjorn.  He pointed forward.  “An…dre…as…” Andreas nodded.  The man pointed downward.  “Be…on…”

Andreas smiled.  “Bjorn.  It’s okay, it might be a little hard to pronounce.”  Andreas pointed toward the man and waited.  The man blinked again, but had a look of realization.  He pointed to himself.

“Vi…ro…” he said hesitantly.

Andreas’ eyes widened.  “Viro?  Is that your name?”  The man stared back at him.  “That’s great, at least now I know what to call you.  Viro…hmm, someday when we can communicate better, you can tell me what language you’re speaking.”  Andreas stood up and went to the table to pick up the tray.  “I’m going to clean these up now.”  He left the room.

***

As Andreas washed the plate and cup in the kitchen sink, his mind began to drift.  It’s been three years since I moved back here and the first guest I have is a shipwrecked stranger.  He placed the items on the drying rack and frowned.

He had been in the middle of his second year of university abroad when the news arrived that his parents had unexpectedly died in a car crash.  Because of that, he dropped out of school and returned to the island to take over the lighthouse.  It had been maintained by his family for generations, and he knew that he would eventually oversee its operations.  He just didn’t expect it to be so soon.

He had spent most of his life on the sparsely populated island.  The nearest town was a half hour drive from where he lived.  Most of the people on the island knew each other, and many of them offered their condolences at the funeral and offered to help in any way they could. 

For the first couple of weeks after the funeral, he received free food alongside the purchases that he made at the town’s stores.  This dwindled after a while, but it didn’t bother him since he did not want to live off of other people’s charity.  Also, he felt self-conscious when he overheard some of the things the townspeople were saying.

“Ah, poor thing, he just turned twenty.  Too young to have to take on all that responsibility.  And he lives completely by himself.”

“Doesn’t he have a dog?”

“Yes, but a dog is not a person.”

“We should find him a nice girl his age so he can settle down.”

“Hush!  He’s still in mourning!”

He hurried away shortly after hearing all this and drove back home.

One of the things he had enjoyed during his short stint at university was the anonymity that a large city offered.  The strangers on the street did not know or care about your entire life history.  You could be whoever you wanted to be.  It was overwhelming when he first arrived and he often felt homesick in the beginning, but after a while, anxiety gave way to excitement.  There were endless things to see and explore.  Museums, cafes, stores, parks.  And if that weren’t enough, you could hop on the train.  He sometimes tagged along when his classmates went on excursions and they occasionally ended up in a completely different country.

At least I still have those memories, he thought as he sighed.  Now it’s back to the quiet life.  Although maybe it won’t be as quiet anymore, with our new guest.

***

Far away from the island, a group of shadowy figures gathered around a long table in a dimly lit room.  A cone of light shone down from the ceiling, illuminating the dark wood surface.  Scented smoke wafted through the air.

“We last detected the energy signature over the northern seas,” one of them said.

“Dispatch some of our hunters to that area,” said another.  “We cannot let that creature get away.”