The Hidden Words

You sit at your old wooden desk. The lamp glows warm and yellow. Slowly, you spread the letter flat with shaking hands.

You pick up your pencil. One symbol means I. A circle means am. A tiny star means not. The code comes back to you like an old song you never forgot.

Letter by letter, the message appears: 'I am not gone. Come to the old lighthouse at sundown.'

You drop the pencil. Your heart beats fast. The sun is already getting low outside your window. There isn't much time to decide what to do next.