Shannon shivered against the cold as the ocean spray pelted her bare face. She looked out over the vast empty void, the ocean stretched before her lit only by the moon and the bright fire in the tower behind her; searching for meaning in something, anything.

Three days had passed since she had found him in the surf, three days since she had found any meaning in life. She busied herself with keeping the fire burning and warning ships away from the rocks below, but she felt empty now that he was gone. The light was theirs, together, and they had grown only closer as they labored, side by side for years. Though she had remained barren, their love did not dwindle, flickered not once over the time they had together.

Though she had not eaten since she had committed his body to the ocean, Shannon did not feel hunger. She did not feel anything.

The freezing water licked her toes, she did not notice it. She stepped across the rocky shore as she moved toward deeper water. Shannon felt closer to him than ever as she walked out into the waves and eventually disappeared beneath the foam.

The fire slowly burned out.