“This place is pretty small, but it’s home,” said Andreas as he led Viro around the narrow hallways the next morning.  “I grew up here, and generations before me all lived under this roof.”  Bjorn pranced alongside them, tongue out and tail wagging.  Andreas turned his head around to see if Viro was keeping up with them and took the opportunity to get a better look at him.

Viro was dressed in Andreas’ work shirt and dark pants.  Andreas had assisted him with changing clothes earlier in the morning, all while trying to keep his gaze on the walls or the wooden floor.  He wondered whether Viro had hurt his head when he was swept ashore since he needed help with something so basic, but there were no external signs of injury.  Perhaps he needed medical attention, but the nearest doctor was far away, and the language barrier would be an issue.  Also, there would be questions about where Viro had come from, and Andreas did not want to deal with the nosy townspeople quite yet.

The clothes were loose on Viro’s slender frame and now that Viro was standing upright, Andreas could better see the differences between them.  Viro was a bit shorter than him - the top of his head only went up to the level of Andreas’ chin.  He had thick, disheveled black hair, high cheekbones, a soft nose, and a smallish mouth, which contrasted with Andreas’ fine light brown hair and broader, angular features.  Andreas was still intrigued by Viro’s eyes.  Their bright, metallic hue differed from his own grayish-blue ones.  Like quicksilver and seawater.

“And here’s the kitchen,” Andreas said as they stopped in front of an open door.  “You can take a seat right there,” he motioned to the worn-out table and chair set located near one corner of the room.  Viro glanced at him.  Andreas flashed a smile and went over to pull out a chair.  Viro walked over and sat down.  Bjorn sauntered over to the metal dog bowl on the floor.  Andreas reached for the large bag lying against the wall and poured some kibbles into the bowl.  Bjorn began to devour his chow.

Andreas pulled open the curtains covering the window near the stove and sunlight filtered in, casting a rectangle of brightness onto the wooden floor.  He cracked the window open to let in some air.  “Do you want eggs?” he asked Viro.  Viro stared back blankly.  “I’ll fry up some eggs,” Andreas continued.  He knew at this point that making conversation with Viro was futile and akin to chatting with a wall, or at least a finely painted mural, but he carried on anyway just to maintain some semblance of normalcy.  “How would you like them?”  More blank staring from Viro.  Andreas smiled to hide another sigh.  “I’ll make them over hard today, since you might not like them runny.”

The kitchen had an old-fashioned gas stove.  He lifted the cooktop and ignited the pilot light with a match.  After lowering the cooktop, he turned the gas control knob and a blue flame formed a ring around one of the burners.  He placed a cast iron frying pan on the burner grate and let it heat up for several minutes before throwing in a few thick slabs of butter.  The butter slabs danced around each other in the pan and melted into a bubbling, greasy puddle.  The kitchen was filled with a rich, pleasant aroma.

Andreas cracked two eggs into the pan and sprinkled them with salt.  As the egg whites began to congeal and form crispy edges, he sliced through the yolks with a spatula and let the yellow liquid run and solidify.  After a minute or so, he flipped them over and pressed down with the spatula to make sure the yolks cooked completely.  When all was done, he turned off the burner and transferred the eggs to two plates that he had laid out on the counter.  It did not seem like enough, so he added a slice of rye bread to each plate.

“Breakfast is served,” he said as he brought the food over to the table.  He went back to fetch utensils from the kitchen drawers.  Viro stared at the eggs and rye bread and looked up at Andreas.  Andreas sat down on the other chair opposite of him.  

“These are eggs and this is rye bread,” Andreas said, pointing to each item.  “Pretty standard breakfast.  You can either eat the egg with a fork and knife,” he motioned to the utensils he had placed on the table, “or you could just do what I do, and put the egg on the bread and eat it like an open-faced sandwich.”  Andreas demonstrated, scooping up the eggs with a fork and plopping them onto the bread’s surface.  He held it up to his mouth and took a bite.  Viro watched with fascination and tried to copy him.

Andreas continued chewing his open-faced egg sandwich while stealing quick glances at Viro.  For the last three years, he had eaten alone at the table while Bjorn munched on his kibbles, so he usually read a book with his meal.  It seemed rude to do that now that he had company, but having a conversation would be difficult as well.

Where is he from anyway?  Andreas thought.  He thought about his classmates at university, who hailed from various countries, but could not match Viro’s features to any particular location.  He’s probably from one of the countries to the south, with that dark hair, but that’s not saying much, since most countries are south of here.

Viro finished the last bite of his egg sandwich and glanced up.  His silver eyes seemed to shine.  “Dankon,” he murmured.

“Huh?” Andreas was startled.  It was the first word Viro had uttered since he woke up this morning.

“Dankegon,” Viro said.

“Oh…are you…trying to thank me?” Andreas asked.  Viro looked at him warmly and smiled.  Andreas felt an internal fluttering and his cheeks began to flush.  He looked down at the table.  “Um…you’re welcome…”  He looked back up, wondering where this sudden feeling of shyness was coming from.  Trying to put on a confident face, he smiled and said, “I can make more for you tomorrow, if you want.  Or I could make something else.  I’m not a super talented cook or anything, not like my mother…”  He paused, wishing he hadn’t brought up his parents.  “But I’ve been living on my own for a while now, so I can manage a variety of meals.”

Viro stared at him wide-eyed, lost in the run-on block of words.

Andreas smiled again.  “Hey, um…do you want to go outside?  I could show you the lighthouse.”

***

The lighthouse towered over them like a grand monument.  Viro craned his neck back so he could take in the sight of the entire structure.  Bjorn wagged his tail and Andreas patted him on the head.

“Yeah, it’s pretty tall,” Andreas remarked.  “I hope you’re good with walking.  There’s a staircase inside that’ll take us to the top.”  He pried open the door and gestured for the others to enter.  Once they were inside, Viro gasped as he saw the metal stairs spiraling upward.  The interior of the lighthouse was cool and dim with squares of light coming from the small windows that dotted the walls.

“I ran down those stairs yesterday, after I saw you lying on the shore,” said Andreas.  “Bjorn actually spotted you first and he was barking like crazy.”  Viro glanced at Andreas and Bjorn.

 “I’m glad you’re okay,” Andreas continued.  Even though you have amnesia…at least you survived.  I don’t know if I can handle any more deaths right now.  “Do you want to go up?  I can show you the lantern room.  That’s where the lights are beamed from, to keep the ships safe out there.”  Andreas began to ascend the stairs and Viro and Bjorn followed.  “Um…let me know if you get tired, since it’s a long walk.  Or...if you can’t tell me, I’ll just stop every once in a while.”

They made their way up the spiral staircase, gripping the cold metal handrail as their footsteps echoed down the tower.  Andreas paused periodically and looked behind him, but Viro seemed to be doing fine and Bjorn was the same as usual.  When they reached the top, Andreas took out a key and unlocked the door to the lantern room. 

The sudden influx of sunlight momentarily blinded them.  Once their eyes adjusted to the brightness, Viro took a closer look at his surroundings.  The lantern room was a large cylindrical chamber lined with tall glass windows.  Beyond the windows was a breathtaking view of the sea.   There was a door on the side that led outside to the gallery deck.  Something glowed at the center of the room.

“This is the lamp at the center,” Andreas explained.  “This lighthouse is very old, so the lamp runs on oil.  I get up early every morning to check on the light to make sure it hasn’t burned out, and then I replenish the oil.  I was actually here earlier, before you woke up.  This,”  he motioned to the concentric prisms surrounding the lamp, “is called a Fresnel lens.  It focuses the light into a beam that can be seen by ships far away.”  He looked towards the door on the side of the lantern room.  “Do you want to go out to the gallery deck?”  He walked over and paused as he put his hand on the knob.  “You’re not afraid of heights, are you?”  Viro blinked at him.  “All right, then.”  Andreas opened the door.

They were met with a blast of cool air and Viro shivered a bit and shut his eyes.  Bjorn wagged his tail and opened his mouth, letting his tongue hang out.

“Yeah, it’s pretty windy up here,” said Andreas.  “You get used to it though.  I stand here for hours sometimes, just scanning the horizon.”

Viro opened his eyes and slowly walked over to the railing.  He stared at the sea for a few minutes.  “Bela,” he finally breathed.

“Hm?” Andreas turned to him.  “What did you say?”

“La oceano estas bela,” said Viro, waving his hands outward.

“The ocean is beautiful?” asked Andreas.  “Is that what you said?”  It sounds like a mixture of different languages.

Viro draped his arms on the railing and rested his head over them.  His mouth widened into a smile as he looked directly at Andreas.  Andreas glanced back at him.  Such a nice smile.  A pleasant tingling sensation surged through his limbs and he gasped.  He immediately turned to face the sea.

“Andreas?”

“Huh?” Andreas turned back to Viro.  “Did you just call me?”

Viro said nothing but there was concern in his silver eyes.

“Oh…I just…thought I saw something out there,” Andreas said.  Haha, who am I fooling?  “Do you want to go back down?  I have to do my daily checks anyway.  Need to make sure nothing is out of place in the lighthouse.”  He walked towards the door to the lantern room.  Viro and Bjorn followed close behind.  Once back inside, Andreas made his way around the room, checking for any loose screws and bolts.  After he was satisfied, he opened the door to the spiral staircase.

The trip back down was not as hard, since they were not fighting against gravity.  Still, Andreas felt a heaviness within him as he periodically glanced behind him to make sure the others were keeping up.

No, I can’t…Andreas thought as he tried to keep a steady breath.  Can’t start feeling things.  He’s just a temporary guest, nothing more.  I’ve only known him for a day anyways.  This is only happening because there’s been no other person here for so long.  Once he recovers and remembers where he’s from, he’ll be on his way.  Don’t think too much about this…just don’t…