A muggy summer night broods over the city. The stars are shining clear, no moon to overpower their glimmering. Tonight, no wash of light rises from the ground, either.
Cars crawl slower than walking along unusually dark streets, local drivers struggling to see with only their own headlights. The lanterns on the lampposts cast no incandescence.
Inside buildings, groping hands flip unresponsive switches, then search for flashlights, matches, lighters, candles. The opening of refrigerator or freezer doors is prohibited.
For the people in frozen elevators, the time spent waiting powerlessly for the power to come back on stretches interminably.Β
A girl sits with her back wedged into a corner, head down, eyes closed, focusing on just breathing in the dark. I am not going to die here. People do not die from being stuck in an elevator during a blackout. That would be a headline, wouldnβt it? Elevator Found Full of Corpses.
βSince weβre stuck hereβ¦β
The girlβs head jerks up, and her eyes open to see only darkness. We all know that weβre stuck. Unless you got service on your phone and can call for help, or you can turn the power back on, can you just leave me in peace to deal with my panic attack?
ββ¦we might as well talk to each other. You know, to pass the time.βΒ
Hah.
Someoneβs phone flashlight snaps on, pointing at the cowering girl and blinding her like in a cheesy interrogation-room scene. I wish they would turn it off. Itβs easier to pretend Iβm somewhere else when I canβt see where I really am. But maybe not seeing scares them more than seeing scares me.
The light shifts to point at the ceiling. Now the girl can study the person forcing her to see the metal box sheβs trapped in. Heβs got a scruffy blond beard, and blond hair sticking out from under his backwards baseball cap. His face is ruddy, maybe sunburned. Sweat darkens the armpits of his white T-shirt.
Setting his phone on the floor and settling back against the wall in a crouch, he says, βMy nameβs Norris.β
βIβm Josie.β The young womanβs black, curly hair stands out from her head like a halo. Silver buttons flash on her denim jacket as she leans into her corner opposite the cowering girl and folds her arms. Then Josie and Norris both pin their gazes on the elevatorβs third occupant.Β
She works a piece of paper out of her pocket and holds it up so they can read it. My name is Lucia. I am mute. Then she presses her face against her drawn-up knees, shutting out sight. Her brown ponytail slides off her back and down one shoulder. She has a phone, she could type it all out and have the automated voice say it for her, but she just doesnβt want to. This has got to be Norris and Josieβs fault. I got on the elevator first, but they had to stop it at other floors to get on, and that slowed it down, and now Iβm stuck here.Β
βI went to the zoo today,β Norris volunteers, glancing at Lucia. No reaction. βWhat about you, Josie?βΒ
βActually, I was at the zoo today, too. That free one.β
Norris nods and sits forward eagerly. Light and spoken words are taking his attention away from the constricting shadows. βYeah, thatβs the one Iβm talking about. Did you see the lions?βΒ
βYes! Theyβre beautiful animals.β Josie frowns. βBut itβs sad to see them trapped like that.βΒ
Lucia lifts her head. I was at the zoo today, too. The lions didnβt do much, just sat there.
βWhy is it sad? Arenβt they happy, getting to just sleep all day, never having to get up and do anything?β Norris asks.
Josie purses her lips, thinking. How to answer? βResting and sleeping is part of normal lion behavior, but thatβs not all they do. Lions are hunters. They need exercise. Itβs not healthy for them to just sit around all day.βΒ
βYou mean, they get fat?βΒ
βThatβs one problem,β Josie says with a nod. Her feet hurt from her long day of walking, so she slides down her corner and crosses her legs. βIn the wild, lions get exercise while hunting and traveling to water. In a zoo, water is right there, dead food gets thrown to them, and theyβre stuck in one place all the time.β
I wonder what theyβre doing right nowβ¦ Lucia tips her head back to look at the illuminated ceiling of the elevator. I guess the blackout wonβt affect them much.
* * * * * * * *
Within walls, great tawny feline heads are tipped back. One head is adorned with a multitude of long, wiry hairs. This thick mane would defend the lionβs neck and throatΒ from the claws and teeth of adversaries, if he had any. This male has never had a serious fight for life and pride, and he probably never will. He was born in captivity, to parents who had also never been free, and so were his female companions. They have always known the walls, but seldom have they seen stars of any kind.Β
The stars are shining now, brighter than memory records. For such a long time there have been few, if any, points of glittering light in the sky.Β
Moving, blinking lights with a distant call, yes.
The light of the moon, yes.
Hazy light thrown up from the ground, yes.Β
The shining of innumerable points of light in the sky, no. For this lion and his lionesses, this is something new.Β
Gazing heavenwards with round pupils expanded, their golden irises are reduced to fine rings. This may be new to these great cats, but it is something ancient as well. Their ancestors have always seen stars in the night sky. Different stars in different skies, on different nights.Β
Nights full of waving, swishing grass, brown or green in daylight, gray in the darkness no matter the season.Β
Skies of clear blue, or gray rain clouds stretching beyond sight.
Stars scattered across a wide, dark dome, fading into the distance.Β
Within the walls inside the city, there have always been boundaries.
Night has always been noisy and bright.Β
The sky has always been a square overhead.
The stars have appeared in all their glory for the first time.
Authorβs note: This story was inspired by a poem I greatly enjoy.
The Greater Cats
By Victoria Sackville-West
The greater cats with golden eyes
Stare out between the bars.
Deserts are there, and different skies,Β
And night with different stars.Β
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3 comments
Critiques and comments are greatly appreciated.
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That poem is beautiful, Guadalupe! Thank you so much for sharing it. I have to confess, a lot of stories, I sometimes skim a bit more than I should. Yours, never. This was a lovely comparison between humans trapped temporarily as an inconvenience, and animals who've never known freedom... and about how the inconvenience turns their positions on their heads, the lions experiencing something wonderous, and the humans in despair. Definitely food for thought. And may I one day write a line that evokes something in me that yours did when I read t...
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Hi, Wendy! Thank you so much for reading and commenting so quickly! You got exactly what I was going for! Temporary inconvenience vs. lifetime captivity, and the reversing of what is typical for each party. [I have to confess, a lot of stories, I sometimes skim a bit more than I should. Yours, never.] [And may I one day write a line that evokes something in me that yours did when I read this: "This may be new to these great cats, but it is something ancient as well."] Thank you for the huge compliments!
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