Light

Emptiness fills the air as the speaker describes a winter day

I always hated winter. The cold air billowing through the barren trees made me want to hide away forever. As I wake up, the report on the radio says “Snow everywhere! The roads are closed and everyone is advised to stay indoors today.” I get out of bed and make my way to the window. Looks like two feet of snow. I walk over to the bathroom and shut the door. Total darkness.

The power is out.

I feel alone.

Nothing is working in the house. I go over to the drawer under the radio to look for batteries for my flashlight. The drawer was empty. I emptied the batteries out of the radio and tried to use those to bring light to this day. “They’re not AA’s.”

 Nothing works.

I meander into the dining room to grab my book of matches next to the pack of Marlboro’s. I struck a match, lighting the only candle that I had on the table. I look out the window again, this time seeing more snow than before. My only companion, Oreo, stood proudly on all fours, waiting for breakfast. We sat on the couch in the living room, eating dry cereal and a few apples that I had left on the counter.

I sat on the couch for as long as I could manage, wasting the day away. Surrounded by empty bottles, I rummage through the cushions to find the tv remote, except nothing worked. I looked to my right and saw on the bookshelf a collection of children’s books. I picked one off of the shelf and looked to Oreo to read it to. “Oh, Corduroy. This was always her favorite.” We sat there together and opened the book. “The store was always filled with shoppers buying all sorts of things, but no one ever seemed to want a small bear in green overalls.” I got up to put it back after a while. As I walked towards the bookshelf, I found myself tripping in every step that I took to get across the room.

The storm is over.

By now the sound of the howling wind has been replaced with the sound of people shoveling snow from their houses. Still no power. I look outside to see all of the kids building forts as moms and dads are cleaning up the mess. The day is almost over, yet I am still trapped here.

It’s dark outside.

It’s dark inside.

I hear through the breaking silence of the air a loud knock at the door. I walk over to the door and peer through the peephole to see who it is. I see no one. I open the door ever so slightly to see who is disturbing me. It was a pair of kids with smiles on their faces and shovels in their hands. “Hello. We would like to shovel off your driveway for you. Only costs twenty bucks!” I thought about it for a second. “Sure, that sounds ok to me.” “Great! We’ll get right to it.” I shook their hands and they walked away.

The door closed.

I peer out the window to see smiles on their faces as they shovel the mess away. Both of them seem happy about the snow. Their happiness made me think of the days of old.

A feeling of emptiness fills the air.

The only thing I have left to my name is this house and Oreo. Nothing else in this world brings me joy. The things I once had are now gone and the people that I once knew have all left me. I sit in this empty house with no lights on, remembering the days of old when the light of children’s faces brought more joy to me than anything in this world. That was the only light that mattered to me.

Author's Note

This was freehanded in one sitting with one grammar check afterward, not something that I have revisited afterward much. Just threw some ideas together over a cup of coffee!

Reviews

[monono]

I really liked this. You write simply but the understated feeling of loss is heartbreaking. Keep writing!

[Nick]

I'm glad you liked this! Thank you for the comments. :)