And the Thunder Rolled

The thunder sounded like fireworks being set off outside my window. I was sure that it was cracking not more than 10 feet from my house, from my room, from my bed. But it wasn't the sound of wrecking balls that kept me awake; it was the lightning. Right as I was about to fall asleep, I would see flashes as bright as if the paparazzi was right next to my bed. The anticipation between the light and the crash that was sure to follow-- the brighter the light, the louder the noise-- that was what kept me so on edge I could not sleep.

After one particularly loud clap, I stopped pretending. I stopped pretending the noise was soothing, that the rain could lull me to sleep instead of making the window screens shake in their frames as if someone was trying to break in. I stopped pretending I wasn't scared, and I stopped pretending I was too old.

So out of my bed I hopped and right into my sisters. She was awake too, but after a rumble that sounded like it was going to take my house down, I realized I needed something more. I ran down the hall and climbed right into the safest haven in the house. Just like being in a car, nothing can harm you in your parents bed during a lightning storm. I fit perfectly in the middle of the two existing inhabitants. Even though the winter comforter that I associated my whole childhood with (throwing it into a pile on the ground, standing on the bed with my sister, pretending to be Aladdin as she was Jasmine, asking her "do you trust me? then JUUUUMP!" as we leapt the two feet off the bed into the lump of down that, for the sake of the game, had been transformed into some sort of Arabic market overhanging) had been replaced by a lighter, summer quilt, it was still warm and smelled of Smartfood.

There, I waited out the storm, until the only noise left was indeed a soothing pitter-patter of rain. I crawled out and back into my own bed. I quickly fell asleep, as there was nothing to keep me awake anymore. And today, when my 20-year old sister asked me, "where did you go in the middle of the the night last night??" And I replied, to mom and dad's room, she said, "and left me alone! I'll hit you guys up next time for sure," I learned that no one is too old to stop pretending.