1.3. The Boy who asked for a Lantern

      By 10:00 p.m. I became definitely alive. Firstly, the 12-hour time difference between the Island and my country affected. Secondly, during the day it was incredibly hot there and absolutely unbearable to stay out on the Sun.

      It seemed that life on the Island had not changed at all over the years, as well as the straw hotel, consisting of small guest houses, in one of which I had spent the night waiting for the ferry to Cebu during my previous visit. But that time, following Alex, I was ready to call the guest house a “hut”.

      Thatched roof, bare walls, a small window, a table with a candlestick, a tiny bed and a narrow wardrobe… I had noticed even then there were no light bulbs in the lamps, and so far no one guessed to insert them!

      As before, there was no tap for hot water in the shower, although the cold water got warmed naturally under the scorching Sun in some storage tanks outside the house.

      And what to say about air conditioners! – I found only an ancient fan in the room, but the electricity in the network had disappeared somewhere.

      And more! I double-checked, including the reception, there was still no Internet there.

      However, perhaps the charm of the lost in the Ocean Island, the riddle of which I had to solve, was precisely in such wildness and complete isolation from civilization…

      Planning my vacation, I decided to explore Camotes thoroughly, because the first time we had had to escape from the Island the very next morning for having no cash. By the way, no cards were still acceptable there.

      I stepped out of the hut into the deep darkness and wandered towards the light of a torch burning at the reception like an eternal flame.

      In fact, several torches were always available there so that any tourist could take one out if felt like walking around the Island at night.

      I got the opportunity to light my path and stepped out the gates to a dirty road, on both sides of which long-legged palm trees towered, piercing the black-book Sky.

      Turning to the left, I walked towards the pier, getting used to the darkness. Suddenly a boy jumped out of unknown to me species of the tropical thickets. He seemed to be about seven years old and looked like a homeless grimy beggar, easily found along the streets of big cities. The Boy grabbed my hand and began to beg, shouting out the same word in almost all languages of the world. And that word was…

      “Lantern!”

      Understanding nothing, I took a couple of coins out of my pocket and handed them to the Boy.

      However, to my greatest surprise, having seen the coins, the beggar squeamishly threw them into the thickets, twisted his finger at his temple giggling, and then he shouted out again,

      “LANTERN!!!”

      1.4. The Old Man with black birds

      I felt uneasy, but at the same moment I heard someone’s steps from the left. A hunched male figure was approaching us from the pier side, and soon a barefoot, gray-haired Old Man in linen clothes, with a wooden walking stick in one hand and a cage with black birds in the other, stopped nearby.

      “Good evening,” I said to break the oppressive silence. “Can I help you somehow?”

      The Old Man chuckled and continued to scan me, and the Boy giggled again.

      Suddenly, a woman, apparently the boy’s mother, appeared out of nowhere. She bowed deeply to the Old Man, muttered something in the local dialect, then grabbed her son by the arm, and they instantly disappeared into the thickets.

      I felt completely uneasy and stood as if paralyzed. I could not move in fear.

      “What do you want, my dear Soul?” the Old Man asked distinctly, in an authoritative voice.

      My heart began to beat wildly.

      The disastrous chaos reigned in my head, but for some reason I thought about the Fisherman. I wanted Yanis to appear right next to me, but I kept silent.

      The Old Man, realizing that he was unlikely to wait for my answer, turned around and hobbled further. I looked after him, still unable to recover, as someone’s hand fell on my shoulder, and I screamed in surprise.

      “Alice?” I heard a familiar voice, turned back and saw Yanis.

      He graciously escorted me “home”, said goodbye and disappeared.

      Chapter 2. DEAD WATER

      2.1. The Ocean comes silently

      …Water… all around me is water… I can’t float up… I have no strength to…

      “Damn! This dream has already tortured me!”

      I vaguely remembered that always in that dream, in its last frame, I saw a man’s face, although waking up I couldn’t restore it in my memory.

      I woke up on the Ocean shore just in time. High tide. Still, it was strange, there were no waves at all there, and the Sun used to fall into the water instantly, giving way to Mrs. Warlock, named Night.

      I sat down at a table in Yanis’ cafe.

      “How are you, Alice?” he asked. “Have you got enough sleep?”

      “Yes, thank you. It’s good you walked me home at night. To be honest, I was a little bit scary. Do black magicians really live here?”

      “Yes, all kind of sorcerers, and stargazers, and healers, and alchemists… It’s easier to tell who is not here!” Yanis chuckled.

      “And that Old Man with black birds… Who is he?”

      “The

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