Christmas Eve in a tenement house on the Motława River could be smelled from the threshold. Borscht smelled, fish was baking quietly, and a chorus from years gone by crackled on the radio. Snow swirled over the street, muffling the noises. Lena, a fourteen-year-old with a ponytail, was hanging lights on the balcony. As the last bulb went out, her mother sighed. - 'There are spares in the basement,' she said, stirring the poppy. Olek, a year older cousin, was already grabbing a torch and keys. - Let's go before the first star falls - he muttered. The cellar was cool and smelled of wet wood. On the lowest shelf, between the jars and the box of nuts, they found a box wrought with brass. A star and the letters S.¶ were carved on the lid. - A Christmas treasure? - joked Olek, but his voice echoed dryly. Inside lay a frosted glass bauble, an old compass and a card of yellowed paper. On the card was written: "For the one who lights the last light. The Keeper of Lights knows where the lantern stands." They went back upstairs, holding the bauble like an egg. Lena touched the broken wire with it, and the lights flickered as if someone had lifted the day for a moment. The radio stopped crackling; a 1952 Christmas carol flowed melodiously. Between stanzas, someone whispered: "Leno, the time is near". The girl's hands trembled, but curiosity was stronger than fear. A milky light came on in the stairwell, arranging itself into a narrow, luminous path to the roof. - 'We'll just check,' whispered Olek as his mum leaned over his ears. On the roof, the wind carried the salty smell of the river and the snow creaked under their shoes. In the middle stood an old lighthouse, rusty and padlocked. The compass was spinning like mad, the bauble was getting warm. Suddenly, on a neighbouring roof, a figure in a long coat flashed by, carrying a pole with a silver star. She disappeared, as if hiding behind a chimney. The sound of a bell came from the harbour, although there was no ship on the water. The padlock moved away of its own accord, and the lighthouse burst into cold blue light. Footsteps rustled behind them. - 'You are late,' said someone very quietly.