My ship made land at the darkened lighthouse many hours later than I had hoped. It took a careful reading of the afternoon stars to navigate the endless black waves. Eventually, we found the tower. This far from the twilight region the stars were always easy to see, except for the few days the moon hung high in the sky.

My sloop docked with a deep groan, and I had to promise her we wouldn’t stay longer than an hour before she let me disembark.