A fun power cut

Some things cannot be replaced with electricity. Something so engraved into human life today still fails to compare to things like climbing to the top of a mountain and feeling the wind hit your face, or running so fast as a kid that you felt as if you would never stop running. It can’t even replace the simplest of things, like the sky on a clear night, when all the stars are present to greet the world. But the world rarely greets it back, as we are too occupied with staring down at our screens, rather than looking up and admiring the sky.

But then, there are times when electricity fails, and our houses are engulfed into darkness and quietness. There isn’t the light from the bulb, there isn’t the sound of the tv. So when that happens, what do we do then? We wait until the electricity comes back on.

But one night, the electricity went out, and Lizzie’s family decided instead of waiting inside for the power to return, to go outside into their garden, set up a tent, and camp outside. 

Lizzie’s face lit with excitement, as if she had just heard that it was Christmas day tomorrow. At first, she had been afraid of the darkness that surrounded her, but seeing the lamps and blankets in the cozy tent made her feel at ease. The lamp from her bedroom that created patterns against the wall made the tent look like she was amongst the stars. It was as if she could reach out and touch then. 

“Why are you doing that?” Asked Jess, annoyed that her mother had come into her room to disturb her. 

“Lizzie was afraid of the dark so we did it to make her feel better. She’s really enjoying it. Come out with us, she’d love for you to be there” said Lizzie’s mum, hopelessly hoping that Jess would join the family for once. 

Jess’ face was only lit by the laptop screen in front of her. It was hard to convince your teenage daughter to do family activities anyway, never mind when she couldn’t see the pleading look on her mother’s face. 

“It’s stupid though. The electric will be back on soon. I don’t see why I have to join either.”

“You don’t. I just thought you might want to since there’s nothing else for you to do now there’s no power”

“I can watch videos on my laptop”

“Okay then. I’ll leave you in here” said her mum, in a friendly way but with an evident hint of disappointment to her voice. 

The tent was almost as cozy and comfortable as the inside of their house. They didn’t know how long the power cut would last. It could be fixed within the next 5 minutes, or they could be waiting for hours. Yet they carried on, getting pillows and lamps from inside, not just for Lizzie, but for themselves too. How often did they camp out in their own back garden just for the fun of it? How often can you see the stars this clear, no light pollution to conceal its display of the beauty of nature. They had never camped out in their garden before. If only Jess was there with them. 

Lizzie’s dolls and toys were now scattered across the garden, as if the whole world was a place for her to play. Both of Lizzie’s parents played with her, acting out that the doll’s were camping themselves. Only in their game, Lizzie’s dad pretended that a bear had come to scare the dolls on their camping trip. Lizzie ran around the garden screaming, both dolls in her hand, as her father chased her, pretending to be a big, scary bear. He picked her up and spun her around, and Lizzie laughed and screamed even more. Lizzie’s mum was laughing almost as much as Lizzie was. But she still felt Jess’ absence amongst them. 

The air was cool but not freezing. The night was clear, and the moon shone to provide light to the family’s play time. Lamps and torches lay around the garden, leaving shadows constantly flickering over the grass. No street lights invaded their privacy. No lights from the neighbour's windows to watch them. Only they could see each other, the only other beings to watch them were the stars.

Jess stayed in her room, in the complete darkness apart from her laptop screen. She lay there, feeling bored, her only entertainment being waiting for the electricity to come back on. As she was scrolling on her laptop, the screen suddenly went black. It was dead, and she had no way of charging it. Now that she was in complete darkness, she realised how alone she was. No comforting light, or music, or anything. The only sounds she could hear were the sounds of her family playing outside. She didn’t want to go out there, especially after the fuss she made. But she had nothing to do inside now. She sat in her bed for a while, staring at nothing. The sounds of Lizzie laughing made her more aware of her loneliness. The darkness around her suddenly felt threatening. She threw on a coat, walked outside into the garden, and sat by her mother.

A whole family, sat outside, all together. Lizzie’s mum wondered when was the last time all of them had been together like that. It’s funny, how the lack of something that is supposed to bring us together, brings us closer together without it. Jess, who was always glued to her laptop screen, sat here, smiling along with her family, as happy as she could be. Lizzie, who was always afraid of the dark and always slept with a nightlight on, was now running around in her garden in almost pitch blackness, laughing as if she was fearless. Lizzie’s parents, who were always using their computer for work, now felt more relaxed and carefree than they had for months. All because of a simple power cut. I guess this proves that we rely on electricity too much for entertainment, when finding fun can be as simple as setting up a tent in your back garden.

All of a sudden, a light flashed across the grass. Everyone turned to look back behind them and saw that the living room light was back on.

“The lights are back on!” shouted Lizzie, in an excited voice, as if everything that had just happened now became a memory. Why would they stay outside now that the electricity was back on?

Within 5 minutes everyone was back inside. Jess was back in her bedroom, shut away from the rest of her family. Lizzie was tired, so she went to bed, with her night light on. Lizzie’s parents stayed in the living room with the tv on. The remnants of their evening in the garden are completely gone now. Tomorrow, the tent will be back in the attic. Tomorrow, they will be as they are now, rather than they were just a few minutes ago.