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My parents went back to China the day before the blackout, so I just stayed home
by myself during the blackout. I didn’t know about it for another ten minutes. That’s
when the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) running my personal computer, my cable
modem and my router started beeping to warn me the time was running out. I calmly
close the document I was working on, checked my eBay auctions and my E-mail one last
time and powered down my personal computer. Then, I patted myself on the back for
It was fine in the evening. After all that, I just cleaned up the house. But it was a
horrible night for me. There was no candle in my house because my parents liked to use
kerosene lamps. My parents brought several kerosene lamps from China to this country.
Sometimes, they used the kerosene lamps in their bedroom during the night. They told
me that when they used them, they would flashback to the day they were in China. When
they were young, they had no electricity, so people always used the kerosene lamps and
lanterns. That night I used the kerosene lamps. I had never used the kerosene lamps
before, but my parents had taught me how to use them. I thought I knew how to use them.
There were very inconvenient because they had to be filled, and the glass globes had to
be cleaned of the black soot that gathered on them when they were burning. The wick had
to be trimmed off nice and square so that you got a full burn, which gave the most light.
These lamps did not give off much light. I had to have one hanging over the corner of the
table. So, when I was trying to study or eating, it was hard to see.
During the night, I was afraid that someone would drop or knock a burning lamp
and spill the oil all over. This would have most likely caused a fire that would have
burned down our house. My parents told me that I had to be very careful about where the
lamps were set so that did not happen. That night, when I went upstairs to bed, I carried
the lamp and set it on a stand in the hallway so that a little light would get into each room.
Then I could see to get undressed and into bed. After about twenty minutes, I fell asleep.
Suddenly, I learned the first thump, and the silence, and another thump. A door creaked
somewhere. I rubbed my eyes, got off the bed, and groped with my feet for where I
thought my slippers lay. I touched nothing but smooth tile. Barefoot, I crept forward. The
house was very quiet, and suitably tomb like. I washed my face, tried walking bravely,
There was nothing, just furniture lying around the way I always had. I got to the
living room and closed all the windows, bracing myself for kind of stuff you get when
you rent a VCD title, “Night of the Living Dead.” The aisle outside was empty, just stairs
After a while, I went back to my bedroom and used a mattress to cover my whole
body. I told myself there was nothing, but I still felt very uncomfortable. So, I called my
best friend Rosemary. I asked her if I could come over to her house. She said sure. I lived
several blocks away from her. I walked to her house. When I arrived, I knocked the door
and Rosemary opened the door for me. I saw many candles put around in her house.
Rosemary’s parents and brother were playing pokers in the living room. I said hi to them,
and then they asked me if I would like to join them. Yes, I said. We were just playing
poker until the light came back. Unfortunately, I lost fifty dollars. I still felt very happy
because I didn’t have to stay home by myself during the blackout at night.