Late spring brought about new possibility. Caitlyn was anxious to finish her senior year and move away for college the following fall. With the traumatic events that her family experienced losing the business, she was not able to afford and attend the top school of choice, but she was happy to be leaving town and that was all that mattered. Jason and her would both be attending Central Michigan the following fall. She was grateful that they could remain friends through all of the sadness and terrible events over the past year. Truthfully, she knew she needed him in her life not as a boyfriend, but as a true friend. He was the only one that understood how this event impacted their lives. And, Jason needed her likewise. They often walked to the end of the pier together discussing their plans for the upcoming fall. Caitlyn forgave Jason and his nightmares finally came to an end.
Following Graduation Day Ceremonies, Caitlyn and Jason took one last stroll along the pier to say their final farewell to Grand Haven. They both decided to take summer classes that summer to get a jump start on college. They sat down at the end of the pier and watched as the sun began its final descent over the horizon. Caitlyn bowed her head and whispered a prayer to Steven, she and Jason as time must move forward. As she opened her eyes she caught sight of a shiny object lodged in a sheltered crack alongside the base of the lighthouse. She leaned over to investigate. There in the sheltered darkness of the light she found Steven’s pendant. She reached into the crack of the lighthouse base cement and pulled out the pendent with her tiny hands. She held it close to her heart, looked out at the sun upon the water and began to cry. Her heart sank, she was certain now of the events that took place that fateful night. She folded her hands, sank her face into them and cried over the sad reality of the past year’s events, the loss of her youth and the darkness that exists in the beauty of the light, just as the undertow and undercurrent below is a dark and dreaded reality that attributes to the beauty of the waves above.
As she glanced to her right, looked up and watched in complete curiosity as The USCG Cutter Mackinac made its way through the channel charting its path to open waters for duty to service the great lakes. As she looked up toward the cockpit, a glaring beam of light struck the captain’s window so bright she was forced to look forward toward the bow of the ship. There standing in full uniform alongside the ship’s bell, stood a beautiful young officer glancing back in her direction. The light gleaming from across the lake illuminated his stance creating an apparition-like image; in the likeness of Steven stood there in lighted brilliance. Caitlyn gasped, her hear skipped a beat; and in a moment the image faded away with the sun and ship into the dark blue waters on the distant horizon. Her heart was still. With the dawn of the day, she stepped over to the edge of the light’s pier. She held Steven’s pendant up to her lips, kissed it and surrendered it to the waters below; returning it to her beloved Steven. The first glow and beam stretched out from the lighthouse as she whispered, “God is near… do not fear… love goodnight.”
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