The little boat went bump against the side of the island. Maya looked up at the lighthouse. It was old and grey. The paint was coming off.
“Are you ready?” asked Ben. He was Maya’s brother. He was strong and brave. Maya was a little scared.
“I think so,” she said. She didn’t sound brave.
They climbed out of the boat. The sand was wet. Seagulls cried above them. The island was small, just the lighthouse and some rocks.
“Let’s go,” said Ben. He carried a big bag. It had food, water, and a light.
They walked to the lighthouse door. It was big and made of wood. It was closed. Ben pushed it. It opened with a creak.
Inside, it was dark and cold. Maya shivered. “Hello?” she called. Her voice sounded small.
“Hello!” came a voice back. But it wasn’t Maya’s voice. It was deep and strange.
Maya jumped. “What was that?” she asked.
Ben looked around. “I don’t know. Maybe it was the wind.”
They walked further into the lighthouse. The floor was stone. There were stairs going up and up.
“We need to go to the top,” said Ben. “That’s where the light is.”
They started to climb the stairs. The stairs were old and round and went round and round. Maya felt dizzy.
“Wait,” she said. “I need a rest.”
They stopped on a small landing. There was a window. Maya looked out. She could see the sea. It was grey and cold. She could see their little boat. It looked very small.
“Let’s go,” said Ben.
They climbed more stairs. The air was getting thin. Maya’s legs hurt.
Then they heard it again. The voice.
“Go away,” it said. “Go away and never come back.”
Maya was very scared now. “Ben,” she whispered. “Did you hear that?”
Ben nodded. He looked worried. “Yes. I heard it.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know, Maya. But we need to be careful.”
They kept climbing. The stairs seemed to go on forever. Then, at last, they reached the top.
The light room was big and round. The light in the middle was very big. It wasn’t on.
“Look,” said Ben. He pointed to a corner of the room.
In the corner, there was a person. He was old and thin. He wore a grey coat. His face was white.
“Who are you?” asked Ben.
The old man looked at them. His eyes were dark. “I am the keeper of the light,” he said. His voice was the strange voice they heard before.
“But the light is off,” said Maya.
“Yes,” said the old man. “The light is off. And it must stay off.”
“Why?” asked Ben.
“Because…” The old man moved closer. “…because if the light is on, they will come.”
“Who will come?” asked Maya.
The old man smiled. It was not a nice smile. “The others,” he said. “The ones who live in the sea.”
Maya and Ben looked at each other. They didn’t understand.
“You must leave,” said the old man. “Before they come.”
He started to move towards them. He moved very fast.
“Run!” shouted Ben.
They turned and ran. They ran down the stairs as fast as they could. The old man was behind them.
They ran out of the lighthouse. They ran to the boat. They jumped in. Ben started the engine.
The boat moved away from the island. Maya looked back. The old man was standing at the top of the lighthouse. He was watching them.
Then, Maya saw something else. In the sea. Shapes. Dark shapes moving under the water.
She grabbed Ben’s arm. “Ben! Look!”
Ben looked. His face turned white. He pushed the boat faster.
They didn’t look back again. They just kept going, until the island was a small grey dot on the sea.
They never went back to the old lighthouse. And they never forgot the old man, or the shapes in the sea. They knew one thing. Some lights are best left off.
Vocabulary Notes
bump: (verb) to hit something with a small amount of force. Example: “The car bumped into the wall.”
Similar words: knock, tap.
Example: “The little boat went bump against the side of the island.”
creak: (noun) a sound made by old wood when it moves. Example: “I heard the creak of the stairs as someone went up.”
Similar words: squeak, groan.
Example: “It opened with a creak.”
shivered: (verb) to shake because you are cold or scared. Example: “I shivered in the cold wind.”
Similar words: trembled, quaked.
Example: “Inside, it was dark and cold. Maya shivered.”
dizzy: (adjective) feeling like you are spinning and about to fall. Example: “The climb made me feel dizzy.”
Similar words: lightheaded, giddy.
Example: “Maya felt dizzy.”
landing: (noun) a flat area at the top of a set of stairs. Example: “We stopped on the landing to catch our breath.”
Example: “They stopped on a small landing.”
keeper: (noun) someone who takes care of something. Example: “He is the keeper of the zoo.”
Similar words: guardian, caretaker.
Example: “I am the keeper of the light.”
shapes: (noun) the form of something. Example: “I could see shapes in the dark.”
Similar words: figures, outlines.
Example: “In the sea. Shapes. Dark shapes moving under the water.”
Story written by Gemini 2.0 Flash AI
Image created by DALLE 3 AI
CC Music: Drifting at 432 Hz – Unicorn Heads
Reading Short Stories/Content for English Learners 
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