5 The Lighthouse

Chapter 5 The Lighthouse Sofia followed Laila's gaze toward the cliffs. She squinted, and then she saw it—the tall white tower with the round red top. "The lighthouse!" she shouted. "Phew!" breathed Max. "With the lighthouse there, there's no problem. When the light reflects on the water, it'll be brighter than the hotel. Bright enough to guide the baby turtles." Laila's face fell. "But there is a problem," she said. "I've never seen the light turned on." Max and Sofia frowned.

"I've heard that the old lighthouse keeper still lives there," Laila continued, "but I've never met him." "He'll turn the light on for us," Sofia said, with as much confidence as she could drum up. "I mean, for the baby turtles. Won't he?"

Laila bit her lip. "Maybe, but... we would need a

boat to reach that part of the cove." Max smiled. "We've got that covered," he said. "C'mon!" A few minutes later, with the help of the Aloha Inn's dinghy, they were climbing up Wind Rider's metal ladder. Max expertly secured the dinghy to Wind Rider with some rope. "Is this your boat?" Laila asked as soon as they were all on deck. "Where are your parents? Who sails it?" Before Max could answer, a chain rattled from the bow of the boat. The anchor came up, and the sail lines tightened. With a snap, the sail caught wind, and the helm of the boat began to spin. Laila gasped. "It's magic!" Sofia and Max shared a smile. "It is," said Sofia, the secret spilling from her lips. "We found it beached near a mangrove forest back home. It brought us here. We don't really know how or why." "Well, I know why," Laila announced. "The boat brought you here to save the turtles!" Max locked eyes with Sofia. She nodded as she realized that Laila could be

right. After all, they had arrived just in time to help their new friend guide the first baby turtle to safety. But as long shadows from the cliffs fell across the deck, Sofia shivered. "It'll be dark out in a few hours. If we're going to save the turtles, we'd better act fast." Wind Rider sped through the waves as if it heard her words. As soon as Wind Rider got close to the lighthouse, Laila jumped onto a rickety dock and tied the boat to a thick metal cleat. Max and Sofia followed her, and the three of them hurried toward the rocky path that led to the lighthouse. Max gazed upward. "It's really steep," he said. Laila turned, waiting for Max and Sofia to catch up. "We have some of the tallest sea cliffs in the world here in Hawaii," she said. "They were made by volcanoes millions of years ago." Millions of years? thought Max, squinting up at the tops of the cliffs in awe. He reached out to touch the old rock. "Look out!" Sofia cried, pointing to a tiny creature the size of a golf ball, hiding in the crevice of a rock. Its hard, spiky body was dark purple and covered in pointy spines.

"A sea urchin!" Max drew his hand back. "Grandpa says a sea urchin's feet are like suction cups that help it hold on." As his own foot slipped on the wet rocks below, he gave a nervous laugh. "I wish I had suction-cup feet right now, too." "Be careful," Laila said. "They really hurt if you get pricked by one." Max nodded. They continued to scamper over the rocks, slowing down only to avoid stepping on the wildflowers growing in between the moss-covered rocks. At the top of the cliff, the lighthouse towered above them. The waves crashed against the shore below. Laila led the way toward the small house that stood