The lighthouse

Every morning Momo is awake before the sun creeps up above the mountain ridge. In summer, when the largest number of yachts rest in the harbor, this is a very early hour. Momo doesn’t mind. He doesn’t sleep well, anyway. The person in the mirror looks like his father used to look, the sick and withered version, not the hulking bull. A thought comes to Momo. What if his son looks in the mirror one day and sees Momo? And then he shakes his head. No, this is not possible. His son doesn’t know what Momo looks like now. This is a good thing – the boy was always too easily upset. Momo glances at the mountain through the small bathroom window. His eyes have had a lot of practice looking at distant objects. That’s why he can see the limestone getting brighter as the sky ripens from pale to blue. The sun will be here soon. Momo throws on his white cap and hurries out, racing against the sun to get to the lighthouse first. On the town streets, Momo walks past old people with hiking poles,…