Secret of the Lighthouse (a Short Story) | LMAC FreeStyle Collage No. 165

I wanted to share with you my current freestyle collage whose theme entails a dramatic lighthouse mystery.

My style of collage is a Freestyle. Although I wasn't required to utilize any contest photo in my design, I usually include it. However, if you'd like to join in any regular contest, visit the: Let's Make A Collage Community.

If bricks could talk, the lighthouse would ring out tons of glorious tunes depicting seafarers' woes while casting its beam upon the white-crested waters, inviting all to dare draw near. That is the place where Victoria was headed.

She sat irritated by the crowded subway train. Small talk didn't rise to the occasion of worthy enough to occupy her thoughts. Instead, thought gremlins, busy tearing through her synapse, scattered carefully laid plans meant for her future with Dereque. The past must reconciled first before you can move on, they all agreed, heckling each other with abandon while tears hid behind dark eye shadow and long, black lashes.

She didn't exactly know why this feeling of woe lingered.

The musical ring interrupted her self-chastisement. Dereque, her finance of two years, checked on her progress toward the bay area, by which his calculation, she should've arrived an hour ago. Noise from the "L" train drowned his concern. "I'll call back in five," she texted. A smouldering headache began to rise from the base of her neck.

Grand wasn't the word for the bayside estate. The mansion sat upon a cliff behind the winding uphill road.

Arriving shortly before cocktail hour, Dereque wasn't available, so his staff ushered Victoria in, assisted with luggage, then escorted her to the family drawing room. Within minutes, her gaze was drawn to the large painting on the far wall.

A haunting image of the lighthouse in charcoal. It wasn't the structure itself, but the image of a female.

"Beautiful, wasn't she my first wife?" a voice from behind projected loudly. That would be Dereque's father, she surmised, vaguely recalling his husky tone from that one telephone conversation.

"Extremely," she replied respectfully. "What a lovely tribute her image on the lighthouse is."

"Yes. Her grandfather built it," Mathias Newberry explained. "Not only that, but she was a skilled equestrian. Her untimely and unexplained demise still haunts me." Pride, sorrow, and loneliness all rolled up into that tall, bearded and burly patriarch escaped for second. He recovered quickly, clearing his throat before offering Victoria a drink.

Odd that Dereque didn't take time to greet her, but weariness took over. She retired early.

The next day, Victoria returned to the drawing room. Alone, she ran her fingers along the peeling, salt-cracked wallpaper of the living area, her hand caught on a heavy, dust-covered portrait of the original light-keeper's daughter.

As she lifted the frame, she noticed the wood backing felt unusually dense. Canvassing the room, her gaze landed on an accent table. A small butter knife. Prying the back open, she uncovered a small, carved hollow behind. Inside lay two items: a gold-plated key and a hand-drawn nautical map detailing a cluster of rocks labeled 'The Fatale'.

The key could only be entrance to the lighthouse.

She didn't know why, but she hurried from the drawing room to her own room upstairs. As she hid the items under her mattress, a light tap on the door announced Dereque. Along with his company, he'd personally planned and delivered her dinner. A quiet night ensued.

The third day of her visit arrived, Dereque left for work early, promising to return before dinner.

"My father is away for a two-day trip. I have you all to myself, so I've arranged a sailing adventure," he advised enthusiastically.

"Lovely. Can't wait," Victoria replied smiling; secretly acknowledging the morning and most of the afternoon was hers.

She spent the morning researching 'The Fatale" and the lighthouse. What she discovered unveiled a layer of Dereque's family history he'd not revealed during their time together. And the picture the discovery painted wasn't rosy.

But Victoria had no idea the written history only speculated was nothing compared to the unwritten testimony yet to be discovered.

[to be continued]

In preparing my design, I searched for a female looking for something. I have no idea what it was, but the pose was perfect to reposition next to a photo frame as though she's lifting it up and looking behind it. Since my theme is a mystery, including the lighthouse inside the picture frame I felt was a memorabilia item for its owner. But to have a photo of a female painted on the lighthouse was unusual indeed. The haunting image of a female in tears served the theme well, including the background sunrise image.

My initial thought was to keep the black crow in the original wall photo, but removed it for an #LIL seagull perched on a buoy. The exotic pets in the living room added to the mystery surrounding the individuals residing near the lighthouse.

Below are the images I included to complete my theme:

Item	Contributor	Source
LMAC Round 251 Contest Image (Sunrise)	Contributed to @LIL by @m1alsan	Link
Lighthouse	Contributed to #LIL by @redheadpei	Link
Crow in picture frame	Pixabay	Link
Female in discovery	Pixabay	Link
Black panther	Pixabay	Link
Abstract flower pattern	Pixabay	Link
Female in black portrait	Pixabay	Link
Black flower	Contributed to #LIL by @borjan	Link
Pure Fractal titled "Shield in Brown Veil"	@justclickindiva	Link
Seagull perched on post	Contributed to #LIL by @redheadpei	Link
Black and White Horse	Contributed to #LIL by @redheadpei	Link

I then utilized Canva to blend the different type images. Below are my steps in which I began with a blank, white canvas, then added layers of elements, removing backgrounds, detaching elements from their backgrounds, resizing, duplicating, colorizing, and repositioning items as needed incorporating the tools at my disposal in my Annual Pro Membership Subscription.

Below is my completed collage design:

Thanks for your visit. I appreciate it. I hope you like my freestyle collage theme.