Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17: THE BLACKOUT
Spring brought severe storms.
One evening in April, the sky turned bruised purple.
The wind howled against the windows, and with a loud pop, the power went out.
The house plunged into darkness.
Oliver let out a sharp cry from the living room.
In the old days, a blackout meant chaos. It meant Diane complaining about the inconvenience while Michael retreated to his phone to check stock markets, leaving Emma to manage the fear alone.
Tonight, footsteps pounded down the stairs immediately.
Michael.
He held a large flashlight.
He didn't check his phone.
He walked straight to Oliver and shined the beam at the ceiling, making a wide circle of light.
“Who wants to build a cave?” Michael asked.
Oliver stopped crying. “A cave?”
Emma grabbed the blankets from the sofa.
They dragged the kitchen chairs into the center of the room. They draped sheets over them.
Michael brought a lantern and placed it in the middle.
They sat cross-legged in the makeshift tent.
Michael made shadow puppets on the sheet. A dog. A bird. A clumsy dinosaur that made Oliver laugh until he hiccuped.
Emma sat in the dark, watching her husband make a dinosaur roar.
The power stayed out for three hours.
Nobody panicked.
Nobody left the room.
May you like
The dark was just dark now.
It was no longer a metaphor.
