Sea Salt (2Doc)

CHAPTER 6: Shaken

Stuart's bare feet padded down the stairwell until they reached the doorway of the kitchen quarters. They paused and tilted their head upwards. Steam was escaping from Murdoc's room. They watched as the steam began to conglomerate into a cloudy mass until they could no longer see the top of the lighthouse. It was as if the lighthouse itself had peeked above the heavens.

Biting their bottom lip, Stuart proceeded to enter the room and sat down on one of the stools. Then, they waited.

Five minutes turned into ten, which turned into thirty, then into an hour. Time slipped past at an excruciating rate. Stuart began fidgeting, unable to stay still. When is Murdoc coming down? When is he going to see them? Speak to them?

They waited an hour more. Still no Murdoc.

The siren turned the radio on. A classic was playing. Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. Song after song played. Radio hosts prattled on about celebrity gossip and answered callers who were desperate for free holidays to Tahiti. Stuart understood close to nothing about what they were talking about and even little about who they were or where 'Tahiti' is.

They closed their eyes and buried their face in their folded arms. Any sounds coming from the radio soon became white noise, lulling them to sleep.

Soon, it began to get late. The evening began rolling in, darkening the skies and hushing the air. The tides once again rose above the sandbank and licked the rocks with foamy tongues.

Slowly, Stuart's eyes fluttered open. They lifted their head, black eyes re-adjusting to their surroundings. The lights were on. The half-empty mug of coffee was cleaned up. Stuart eyed a plate of mackerel in front of their nose. Raising an eyebrow, they straightened up and squinted at the plate.

That wasn't there before. Stuart looked out the window. It was evening. Were they out cold for that long? Were they so hungry in their sleep that they sleepwalked for food? And turned on the lights? Stuart shook their head. Very unlikely. Then, how...

The realisation crept up on them. Their mind was still a bit disoriented from being asleep for so long. Suddenly, the siren remembered the episode that occurred earlier that day. Stuart's eyes widened.

They stood up with a jerk, pushing the stool backwards. Their eyes scanned the room.

No Murdoc.

Stuart let a sigh escape their lips. When they were told to wait downstairs, they didn't know that Murdoc had no intention of talking to them afterwards.

Then, where? Where could he be? The siren directed their attention back to the plate of fish. They stared at their dinner.

Dinner.

A smile graced their lips. How thoughtful of him. Murdoc; the person who was furiously yelling at them not long before, would be bothered to feed him. So, he wasn't as mad as they thought he would be. The siren was relieved, but at the same time, they were a bit sad that Murdoc wasn't present.

Stuart recalled the previous night where the two of them sat around this table, both eating their separate dishes, enjoying each other's company. They watched Murdoc cook in his small mess of a kitchen, skillfully preparing the ingredients and creating something that looked and smelled delicious.

Now, they were sitting at the same table as last night. All by their lonesome. They weren't used to eating by themself. It felt out of place.

Stuart wanted to find Murdoc.

The siren began wondering if the man had even eaten anything yet. Coffee was the last thing they remembered him having. He must have eaten something by now, right? Worriedly, Stuart switched off the radio and exited the room. They began climbing the metal stairwell, yet again in search of the lighthouse keeper.