Ubertines: 1-4-3 (727 hits)
Category: RomanceRating: 1.46 on 22 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by CaptainThorns (View user info) at 2006-02-03 10:46:08 EST
August 20, 1892
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The flashing lights lit up the white sands in brief, but reassuring, intervals as she walked barefoot on the shore underneath the moonlight. One slow flash of light. Two seconds later, four more in rapid succession. And another several seconds after that, three additional pulses in medium tempo.
It brought a smile to Martha's face. Though she hated lonely nights like this, she knew that Joseph was still thinking of her at work, signaling his love to her from the rough waters of Cohasset Rocks. What else could make a young woman feel so alive and full of energy at 2:30 AM? Folding her legs underneath her billowing skirt, Martha gently sat on the beach and let the mists of the crashing waves envelop her in whole as she gazed at the distant lighthouse.
Her father had sternly scolded her weeks ago upon learning of their passion for one another. "This is completely unacceptable!" Henry had bellowed. "You are the daughter of a Minot, and Minot family members do not entertain courtships with commonfolk! I forbid you to see this Joseph!"
But what her father was able to withhold from their physical presence, he could not withhold from their hearts. "My love for you shall never die," Joseph swore to Martha in a quill-penned letter that he had slipped under her windowsill later that evening. "As long as I shall live, you will know my love for you by the signal that I will send from the lighthouse. 1-4-3. I love you - with all of my heart."
The very next day, Joseph went about procuring the appropriate paperwork with the national service to change the official signal of his beacon. It was approved, and within hours, he had successfully implemented the necessary modifications.
Tonight, although he couldn't see Martha from his post through the moonless sky, he knew that she was down there somewhere, watching and yearning for the relationship that they could not have, as she had promised to do every night until they were able to reunite with one another.
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December 24, 1892
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The night before Christmas, and Martha still could not sleep. She knew that she wouldn't be able to have the one gift she truly wanted. Not while her father was still alive. The silken sheet gently brushed over her nude figure as she silently slid out of bed and tiptoed toward the closet. Martha slipped into a summer dress far too light for the fierce New England winter weather. Almost as an afterthought, she grabbed her overcoat from the wall hook as she crept out the front door of the house and into the cold, starry evening.
A half hour, and a mile and a half later, Martha reached the shores of Scituate. It was only 11:30 PM, which was much earlier than the usual appointed time for her arrival on the beach. Fortunately, everyone else in town that night was asleep early in anticipation of the holiday festivities tomorrow. Everyone except for her, and Joseph, however.
As if by magic, Joseph materialized from the fog fifteen feet in front of her. "Joseph!" She fled towards him and jumped into his open arms, embracing him tightly. With a gentle move of his finger, Joseph tilted Martha's chin upward and tenderly kissed her on the lips. The kiss seemed to last for eternity instead of seconds. When he pulled away, her eyes were still closed.
"That...was incredible," Martha whispered, her eyes still shut. Joseph gently stroked her hair in reply. "Don't ever leave me, Joseph," she continued. "Don't ever change our signal."
"Don't worry," he replied. "I won't. Not for as long as I live." Then, looking down in disappointment, he continued, "But I have to go back now. I can't leave the lighthouse unattended for long; there isn't much oil left in the lantern."
"I understand." Martha started to walk away, then paused, looked back at Joseph, and said, "I love you" before turning around to return to her home.
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February 14, 1893
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Martha ran down to Scituate Beach in a panic. "Joseph!" she cried, over and over. "Where are you?" Just hours ago, news had carried through the town that the distinctive signal of the lighthouse had suddenly changed without warning. It was now blinking in a steady series of single pulses.
"What do you care about the lighthouse signal?" Henry had growled as Martha had torn down the stairway from the study in a panic. "You don't understand!" Martha screamed at him, tears in her eyes and voice. "It's about Joseph!"
"That gutter snipe?" her father replied. "He's no good and no good for you. You're better off without him," then lifted the newspaper back in front of his face. Less than a second later, her hand reached around the newspaper and slapped him fully across the cheek. Too stunned to respond, he sat motionless as Martha screeched, "How...DARE you!", then bolted out of the house.
Now, standing on the beach, Martha continued to call for Joseph over the howling wind, which was tearing through the night sky at incredible speeds and whipping her goldenlion hair into Medusa-like strands, each with a mind of its own. The moon shone brightly tonight, tugging at the foaming waves and pulling them onto the rocky craggs in the force of a full tide. "Joseph!" There was no response, and no sign of Joseph on the shore.
Some Valentine's Day, Martha thought to herself in despair. What's the use of the holiday if I can't even be with my true love? She collapsed on the beach in a rage of tears. In the distance, the lighthouse blinked steadily at her, almost as if it were mocking Martha. One...one...one...beckoning for her attention in a slow plea.
"That's it!" Martha exclaimed, jerking her head up. "He must be in trouble at the lighthouse!" Knowing what she had to do, Martha dashed towards the flashing beacon, braving the raging waters. Halfway toward her destination, the riptide pulled at her heels, threatening to drag Martha underwater, but she managed to break free of the force and splashed onward.
Ten minutes later, as she rounded the narrow staircase of the lighthouse, Martha swung open the door to the lantern room to find a short, fat man with gray hair and a flask of whiskey in hand, sleeping in a chair. The sound of the wooden door hitting the wall roused him from his slumber. "Whaaa...who...are you?" he drawled in a gravelly voice.
"The signal! Where's Joseph?" Martha demanded in a panic. "Jo...seph?" the old man replied. "I...don't know. He's not here anymore. Who's...Joe?" He struggled to form the words as he awoke from his drunker slumber.
"He's not here?" she shrieked. "Then...the signal...that means...he's...dead?" Martha gulped. The stranger shrugged, and fell over onto the floor, unconscious. "No!" Martha wailed, clutching her head in blind anguish. "He can't be dead!" She fell on her knees and wept uncontrollably, her tears spilling into a puddle on the granite floor.
Several minutes later, Martha rose to her feet. In a trance-like state, she walked toward the front of the lantern room and stepped onto the ledge of the opening. Staring out at the asperous waters of the ocean, Martha barely whispered, "If he's dead...then surely there is no more worth in my life...", and stepped over the ledge, plummeting ninety-seven feet into the rocky waters at the same moment that Joseph burst into the lantern room to investigate the cause of the modified signal.
Moments later, in a cry of anguish and despair, Joseph stepped over the same ledge and disappeared into the night. The drunken sailor continued to snore on the lighthouse floor, oblivious to the world around him, unaware of the consequences of his inebriated decision-making earlier that evening.
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Portsmouth, NH Tuesday, February 21, 1893
Mass. lighthouse's distinctive '1-4-3' signal on the blink
By Heidi B. Perlman, Associated Press
BOSTON — Minot's Ledge Light, known for its distinctive 1-4-3 flash that folklore says stands for "I love you," recently began flashing a simple 1-1-1 pattern instead.
A mile and a half off the coast of Scituate, Massachusetts and twenty miles southeast of Boston Harbor, the unmanned Minots Ledge Lighthouse protects the shipping lanes for miles around. The lighthouse rests upon the rocky reef known as Cohasset Rocks.
This lethal ledge has caused the death of many sailors and the wreckage of countless ships over the years. Between 1833-1841 over a hundred square-rigged ships and over three hundred schooners were lost with insurance claims of over $150,000,000. In addition, most of the three thousand sailors who were shipwrecked perished at the ship-killing shoal.
In 1851, a light ship was put on station, but a small storm took it out of commission. The sunken light ship was replaced with a lighthouse in 1860. During last year's blizzard, waves were actually crashing over the top of the 97 foot beacon.
In 1890, the U.S. Lighthouse Service decided to give lighthouses distinctive flashes to make them easier for mariners to identify. Minot's Light was randomly assigned the 1-4-3 signal.
Legend has it that this sequence was chosen by the keeper to signal to his lover on the beach. No one is sure how the legend began, but someone figured out years later that the 1-4-3 sequence — one flash, followed by four, then three — matches the number of letters in "I love you." The lighthouse has been identified with that message ever since.
Coast Guard officials said they plan to fix the signal as soon as the weather allows.
"This lighthouse is an important aid to navigation, and it's known for its unique flash," said Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer David Waldrip. "We certainly don't want to change the signal now."
Waldrip said that Coast Guard officials are unsure when the light stopped flashing, but that it probably hasn't been long. They were notified by a mariner over the weekend, and a team tried to fix it Monday but failed because of rough seas.
User Reviews
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2006-02-03 18:09:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2006-02-03 18:09:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This title was a royal bitch.
You did good job with it, but I just wasn't feeling it all the way. Little choppy and I didn't connect to the story and the characters that well.
Solid 1.5
Submitted by Davros (user info) at 2006-02-03 16:53:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Nice idea, but it left me a little cold.
-Dave
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-02-03 16:32:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2006-02-03 13:18:39 (#)
Ranking: 0
Yup - it's official. I do not know how to write like an 1890's journalist. Knew that would net me solid 1.5 ratings. But I was at a loss for methods of improving it (heh heh, I said "Method").
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it was a good try nonetheless, but the 1890s setting really clashed with the story.
+1 for the concept
-1 for the execution
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-02-03 15:37:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I've got to hand it to you--- this was probably a really difficult title to work with.
Bit dry, but well written.
Submitted by MandaPanda (user info) at 2006-02-03 13:58:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Aww!
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2006-02-03 13:18:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Yup - it's official. I do not know how to write like an 1890's journalist. Knew that would net me solid 1.5 ratings. But I was at a loss for methods of improving it (heh heh, I said "Method").
To the victor goes the spoils.
Submitted by jack11058 (user info) at 2006-02-03 13:13:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by jack11058 (user info) at 2006-02-03 13:13:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
for me, a 1.5
great story, but the article at the end was tough to get around.
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-02-03 13:05:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked the telling, and the story.
The last section threw me a little, because the news piece didn't 'read' like it was written in 1893. I kept thinking you'd mistyped, and you were really going for 1993 instead, or 2003.
Great job taking a far different approach than I was expecting...or from what anyone's done so far. AND...I learned something.
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2006-02-03 11:57:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2006-02-03 11:34:11 (#)
Ranking: 2
Did you know about this before you got the title or did you do some research to find that out? I'm bummed that I'm knocked out first round again but this is very well done. good luck.
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I stumbled across it doing a Google search on '1-4-3' - originally I was gonna do a serial stalker story about a guy who sent anonymous text messages with that signature, and I was looking for a picture of a cell phone with '1-4-3' on it.
In the process, I came across the articles mentioned in my first response, and this was a much better (and less typical) storyline, so I ran with it.
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-02-03 11:55:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
i like that. retelling of a kind of classic story.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2006-02-03 11:37:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Some little problems here and there, but I thought it was well written.
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2006-02-03 11:34:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Did you know about this before you got the title or did you do some research to find that out? I'm bummed that I'm knocked out first round again but this is very well done. good luck.
Submitted by weasul (user info) at 2006-02-03 11:26:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2006-02-03 11:10:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
This story was silly.
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2006-02-03 11:08:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by phuzzygish (user info) at 2006-02-03 11:00:29 (#)
Ranking: 2
Great idea, something new, something old. News story maybe a *little* too modernistic as compared to how it would actually have been written, but I still liked it quite a bit. I'm going to be completely honest, and say it it was a 1.5 for me, but I'll round up because i'm mathematical like that.
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Yeah, it's hard to think of how a nineteenth-century journalist would write in contrast to the way that they spoke back then. That was one of the tougher elements to work on this story.
Submitted by ozzy (user info) at 2006-02-03 11:05:44 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Original idea. Good stuff.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2006-02-03 11:02:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Coo.
Submitted by phuzzygish (user info) at 2006-02-03 11:00:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Great idea, something new, something old. News story maybe a *little* too modernistic as compared to how it would actually have been written, but I still liked it quite a bit. I'm going to be completely honest, and say it it was a 1.5 for me, but I'll round up because i'm mathematical like that.
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2006-02-03 10:52:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Clarification: the news article source was adapted to fit the rest of the story, which is my pure fiction, based on the folklore legend. But it seems to fit the bill pretty well.
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2006-02-03 10:48:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
The real story behind 1-4-3. Based on a true-life legend.
Source articles:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/2001news/8_28_sb2.htm
http://www.lighthouse.cc/minots/index.html
Enjoy.