I was sitting on the couch in the living room watching a scary movie with my dad before he had to leave to go get my sister, Shaina, from practice. I wasn’t too scared when he left to go get her and I was stuck sitting on the couch by myself watching a scary movie. After about 15 minutes, everything went black in the house and the TV flickered then shut off. I knew that the power had gone out, but I was not expecting the power to just go out.

I walked to the kitchen carefully trying not to hit anything on the way. I opened a cupboard door and took out a lighter, and then I went over to the table and lit a candle that was sitting there. I took the candle with my over to the fire place and just sat there because I knew my dad was going to be home soon from picking my sister up. Of course, I didn’t have a cell phone yet because I was only 11.

After 15 more minutes went by and my dad wasn’t home yet, I started to get a little scared. I didn’t want to worry because I knew I would start psyching myself out. About 5 more minutes go by, and then the phone rings. I started to think, hmmmm the power is out so the phone should not be ringing. There was no way I could hide my fear now. I had a feeling that there was someone outside of my house. Then I started to think even more about it, and I realized that I only heard the upstairs phone ring. Of course! It was a cord phone, and cord phones ring even when the power goes out. I started to feel myself stop shaking and calming down.

Even though I could of just called someone and tell them to come home right away, there was no way I was walking upstairs. I thought maybe my sister left her phone home because she was just going to practice, so I took my candle and started to walk down the hallway slowly. I got to her room, which was at the very end of the hallway, and looked on her desk for her phone. Her phone was there! I took the phone and went to the contact list and called my dad.

“Dad, you need to come home, the power went out and I am sitting her in the dark all by myself.”
“I will be home soon, Shaina is just getting out of practice.”
“Alright, I will see you in a few minutes,” I say happily.
Another 15 minutes went by, and I knew that my dad should have been home about 5 minutes ago. I called his phone again, pacing back and forth thinking maybe someone is after my whole family.
“Where are you!?” I scream
“We are out at grandmas; we will be home in about an hour.”
With fury I mention, “You told me you were going to be home about 10 minutes ago! Mom still isn’t home from her quilting class, and I am still home alone!”

“We will be home in an hour, just sit around with candles and wait for us to get home.”
I hang the phone up with anger. I sit on the couch with the candle right next to me on the end table. I was calming down from the anger that had built up in my body. Then I started to hear little creaking noises as if someone was coming up the stairs slowly from the basement. My heart starts to pound faster and faster. I had been sitting on the couch for about 25 minutes before this started to happen. This feeling went on for another 20 minutes, and before long I was under a blanket hiding everything but my face. The blanket gave me a feeling of safety, even though the blanket would do nothing for me if someone was really in my house. Another 10 minutes went by, and everything in my house starts to turn back on. As I look around when the lights are turning back on I look outside and see a car coming up the driveway. A feeling of anger yet relief swept across my body.

My dad and sister came in the house, and my dad apologized for not coming home before they went out to my grandma’s house. It old them the whole story, and, of course, they made fun of me for being so frightened. Sleeping that night was a little more difficult then normal…