‘There couldn’t be a more perfect place,’ Charlotte thought, looking out over the vast ocean. The dull gray water seemed to stretch on forever, steadily darkening until it reached the distant horizon. There was nothing to see but water. No ships, no islands, not even a lone seagull searching for its next meal. Standing on her perch on the lighthouse’s catwalk, she was truly alone. Out here, it was just her and the moon.

For Charlotte, the solitude only served to enhance the location's natural beauty. The lighthouse was old and mostly forgotten, so visitors rarely made the journey. Unlike the more popular lighthouses in the region, troops of visitors hadn’t stomped flat the vegetation or written their names on the walls. All manner of wild flowers and greenery grew in the area, even all the way up to the building’s facade. Charlotte could usually hear a chorus of birds, insects, and small mammals chittering away in the growth whenever she had visited before, but tonight they were silent. The chill in the air must have already driven everyone else inside their warm burrows. She had the lighthouse all to herself.

Charlotte turned her back to the water and glanced into the lantern room. The lighthouse had been decommissioned long before she was born, so the old contraption hadn’t spun or been cared for in ages. These days, the large, curved mirror, cracked and tarnished with age, reflected only the soft glow of moonlight. The amplified light wasn’t bright enough to warn off incoming ships, but it bathed Charlotte’s features with an ethereal radiance. Her broken image stared back from within it’s cage of glass. The looming reflection was too much to bear; she spun back to the ocean and forced her mirror self to do the same.

It was the eyes she couldn’t stand. The haunted, plaintive gaze pierced straight to the core of her being and stirred all of the memories trapped there. Memories she had worked hard to keep at bay. Memories she couldn’t live with. She had lived without mirrors for years now, just to avoid that penetrating gaze. It seemed fitting that this would now be her final witness. She clutched the cold steel railing with both hands and turned her face to the moon.

The night was clear, and the moon’s brilliance shone down all around her. Gentle moonbeams sparkled in Charlotte’s tears as they fell from her eyes, turning the expression of her grief into diamonds. After taking a moment to steel her resolve, Charlotte redirected her attention to what lay below. Thanks to years of erosion, the lighthouse now stood on the brink of a cliff. Eventually, the entire structure would collapse into the waiting ocean, but for now it stood waiting. It was difficult to tell for sure, but Charlotte estimated that the catwalk just barely reached past the edge. Beyond that lay only large angular rocks and the hungry ocean.

The water below swirled and churned even though the rest of the ocean was relatively calm. White froth splashed up against the base of the precipice leaving behind ephemeral patterns. Charlotte didn’t know how deep the water was here, but it didn’t matter. The rough current and substantial rocks would make sure she achieved her goal. Maintaining her grip on the crossbar, Charlotte stepped over the railing and onto the edge of the catwalk.

Now nothing stood between Charlotte and her fate. All she had to do was relax her grip and let gravity take over. She would fall into the ocean, and all her troubles would wash away. She closed her eyes and slowed her breath in preparation. The wind ripped at the hem of her dress, trying with fervor to tear her from safety before she was ready.

“Soon,” she whispered to the wind. These were her last moments- they would be on her terms. She mentally pictured her surroundings one last time. Grand trees, blooming flowers, the mysterious ocean, and the lighthouse standing as a lone sentinel above it all. She knew it was an idealized picture, but she still couldn’t have picked a better spot for a final resting place.

With confidence and conviction, Charlotte released the cold railing and fell into the waiting maw.