Chapter 19 - The Power Outage
At exactly 8:00 PM, the lights flickered and died. The house plunged into absolute darkness, save for the flickering orange glow of the fireplace.
Lily let out a small gasp of surprise.
"Don't worry, little bird," I said, my voice cutting through the dark. I navigated the familiar layout of the room, retrieving a heavy brass lantern and a box of matches from the mantle.
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As I struck the match and lit the wick, a warm, golden circle of light illuminated our faces. We gathered around the coffee table in the living room. Without the distraction of screens or electricity, the house felt incredibly intimate.
Elena brought bowls of the hot stew to the table, and we ate by lantern light. I told Lily stories of my own childhood, of my grandfather’s boat-building days, and of the mythical sea creatures he claimed to have seen. The storm raged outside, but inside, surrounded by laughter and the smell of woodsmoke, we created a memory that no amount of electricity could ever power.
