Ishita Desai Chapter 1: The Lighthouse Girl The sea was never still in Nila’s world. It breathed and broke and whispered, even in its quietest hours, and from the narrow balcony of the lighthouse, she watched it endlessly. The whitewashed tower stood like a forgotten guardian on the edge of the cliff, half-smothered in wild vines and coconut palms. The village below barely noticed its light anymore; satellite dishes had replaced the stars, and the lighthouse had become a relic, much like her. Nila turned sixteen that morning. There were no friends to wish her, no school group singing out…