Writing
	February 5, 2026

NYC Midnight 250w Challenge (Round 1)

Won 5th place 🏆

Keepsake

Being a lighthouse keeper in a violent storm demands bravery, but Jonah soon learns the job comes with a haunting past and a warning he cannot ignore.

What the judges said:

1. You set the mood of the piece well. The darkness, the angry ocean – there’s a harshness that mimics the feeling on a ship at sea in a storm. There’s also an accompanying creepiness captured in the unnamed man warning Jonah about the other ship in the distance. It’s an unsettling tone.
2. I loved the spooky, stormy atmosphere you built here! Really lovely atmospheric writing with your details about the sea crashing against bricks, iron stairs, howling wind, a ship rocking back and forth, etc. The watchkeeper’s ghost was also great. Jonah’s wrestling with whether to drink or not also added to the tension. Nice work!
3.  I found the ghostly presence in this story really mysterious and transfixing. The ambiguity of the figure raised interesting questions (ie, is this spectral presence a benevolent guide, or a threat here to sabotage Jonah in his attempt to guide the ship?) that ultimately leave their imprint on the structure of the story as a whole. The bold choice to leave the ending unresolved felt like a deliberate challenge to the reader (in a good way) and left me ruminating on what I would do in Jonah’s place.