The Puffin Who Kept the Light

Chapter 1: The Evening Hush

The day had been long, and now it was folding itself up like a blanket. In ⟨home⟩, the lamps were low, and ⟨Character 1⟩, ⟨Character 2⟩, and ⟨Character 3⟩ were listening to the house settle.

First there was ⟨Character 1⟩, a ⟨age⟩-year-old ⟨role⟩ who was born in ⟨birthplace⟩, now lives in ⟨home⟩, and loves ⟨favourite thing⟩. Tonight they were already half asleep, the way you are when the day has been full and kind.

Nearby was ⟨Character 2⟩, a ⟨age⟩-year-old ⟨role⟩ who was born in ⟨birthplace⟩, now lives in ⟨home⟩, and loves ⟨favourite thing⟩. They were the sort of person who notices things, and tonight they noticed the window.

And there was ⟨Character 3⟩, a ⟨age⟩-year-old ⟨role⟩ who was born in ⟨birthplace⟩, now lives in ⟨home⟩, and loves ⟨favourite thing⟩. They were ready for a story too.

Something at the window was glowing: the lighthouse beam sweeping slowly across the water. And with it drifted a bell buoy ringing far out at sea, patient as a lullaby.

⟨Character 3⟩ pressed a hand to the glass. It was cool and smelled, somehow, of salt, rope and oil lamps. Nobody said the word adventure, but it was in the room all the same.

Chapter 2: Setting Out

And so a rowing boat that rowed itself with two oars that never splashed. ⟨Character 1⟩ went first, and the others followed, tucking blankets around their knees.

They floated past crabs doing their slow night rounds. ⟨Character 2⟩ waved, and crabs doing their slow night rounds seemed to wave back. A little later they passed a ship far out, lit like a birthday cake, already fast asleep.

At the gate of Lantern Rock stood Tilly, a puffin in a tiny keeper's hat. When Tilly spoke, the voice was bright and brisk at first, then slower, like a boat coming into harbour. "Welcome," it said. "We have all night."

⟨Character 3⟩ asked where they were going. "Nowhere in particular," said Tilly. "That is the best kind of place at this hour." They found that they agreed.

⟨Character 1⟩ noticed that their feet made no sound at all. "That's the rule here," said Tilly. "Everything is quiet, so that everything can rest."

Chapter 3: The Littlest Traveller

Not everything in Lantern Rock was asleep. From just off the path came a tiny, anxious sound, like a question nobody had answered.

It was a baby seal. It had dozed off on a rock and the tide had come in all around it. ⟨Character 2⟩ knelt down so as not to seem too tall, and said, "Hello. We can help, if you like."

It was ⟨Character 3⟩ who noticed the way. They had always loved ⟨favourite thing⟩, and loving something teaches you to look carefully. "There," they said softly.

It did not take long. Around a bend, under the lighthouse beam sweeping slowly across the water, they found the place a baby seal had been looking for. "Thank you," it said, and it meant it twice.

"You see," said Tilly, "the night is not for being brave. It is for being gentle." ⟨Character 1⟩ yawned, and the yawn seemed to agree.

Chapter 4: A Rest Along the Way

They came to a place made for stopping. ⟨Character 2⟩ lay back and looked up. Above them was the lighthouse beam sweeping slowly across the water, going nowhere at all.

⟨Character 3⟩ began to count soft things. One: seals asleep on the rocks like loaves of bread. Two: the sound of a bell buoy ringing far out at sea. Three: their own slow breathing. By four, they had forgotten what counting was for.

⟨Character 1⟩ watched gulls tucked into the cliff for a while. Then their eyes closed, just for a little, and the night held still so as not to disturb them.

Chapter 5: The Secret of Lantern Rock

At last they came to the very heart of Lantern Rock. Here even a bell buoy ringing far out at sea was softer, as if it were tiptoeing.

There, resting on nothing in particular, was a piece of sea glass that still remembered being a lantern. ⟨Character 2⟩ reached out and held it. It was warm, and it was heavy in the way that good sleep is heavy.

"What does it do?" asked ⟨Character 3⟩. "It does what you are doing," said Tilly. "It rests. Here is a secret: a light that turns slowly can be seen from farther away." ⟨Character 3⟩ held the words like a stone in a pocket.

They sat with it for a while. Around them the beam swept round, and round, and round, and the sea lay still beneath it. Nobody wanted to be anywhere else, and nobody had to be.

Chapter 6: The Long Way Home

"It is time," said Tilly, in a voice bright and brisk at first, then slower, like a boat coming into harbour. Nobody minded. The best part of going somewhere is the part where you come home sleepy.

⟨Character 1⟩ closed their eyes, just to see what it felt like. It felt like salt, rope and oil lamps, and like floating, and like being exactly where they should be.

Beside them, ⟨Character 3⟩ had gone quiet in the way people go quiet when they have reached the soft bottom of the day.

Home again. The blankets were warm, the lamp was off, and outside a bell buoy ringing far out at sea went on, very softly, as if to say: you can sleep now. I will keep watch.

Somewhere far away, Tilly smiled and settled down to sleep as well. The beam swept round, and round, and round, and the sea lay still beneath it. Goodnight, ⟨Character 1⟩, ⟨Character 2⟩, and ⟨Character 3⟩. Goodnight.