She Had Awakened to Darkness
Something big and strange was happening
This was not like morning dusk. It was different. It was black, eerie, still, and foreboding.
An hour passed. The sun should have risen by now. The morning remained mysteriously dark and silent. She wanted to turn on the news hoping for some answers. The television was completely dead, just jagged lines and white noise for just a moment and then complete silence.
Her thoughts wandered. Was this the end? She needed to run through the streets to meet the others and ask what was happening. Her hand twisted the door knob. She struggled to turn the door knob but it would not move. It felt as if it was bolted permanently with nails and screws. She jiggled the knob hoping it would open. The door felt as if it were a thousand-pound boulder. It would not budge.
She called for the comfort of her cats. Each sensed, as cats do that something was wrong. But they could see perfectly in the dark. They both purred and rubbed up against her legs.
She found candles and matches. The pleasant, distinctive scent of the struck match wafted through the air. Finally, there was a delicate flickering of light. But how long can these candles last she thought?
She gathered her thoughts. She was a prisoner in her own home. Destined to remain alone until she ran out of perishables and candles, with only two feline inmates for comfort.
Suddenly feeling extreme fatigue, she fell into her bed. She wrapped herself in her blankets, with her cats still purring. She needed to rest and regroup and hopefully wake from this nightmare.
After what felt like hours of deep sleep, she started to stir. Slowly her crusty eyes strained to open. It was daylight. She rubbed her eyes to clear her vision. She massaged her temples to remove the cobwebs and ran her fingers through her long tousled hair. She looked at the end of her bed and saw her two cats still purring peacefully.
She noticed that her bedroom television was on but it was the morning news. TV hosts were chatting about recent events, new recipes, and silly Hollywood gossip.
The candle that was at her bedside had now extinguished itself leaving only a slight leftover scent of what once was.
She stretched and rose from her bed very curious. A bad dream, a nightmare, she realized. Thank goodness.
She padded to her front door to retrieve the morning newspaper. She jiggled the door knob. It felt as if it was bolted shut with nails and screws. What? This can’t be happening! Her door felt as if it was a thousand-pound boulder.
She sank to the floor and wept. Her cats, still purring rubbed against her for comfort.
You are traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. Welcome to the Twilight Zone 1959–1964 (Narrated by Rod Serling)
