Sparks and TNT

Carol had been counting for about 5 minutes.

“One one thousand, 2 one thousand, 3 one thousand,” then she saw another flash and the crackling sound that could be likened to a whip slashing across the sky as the rainstorm continued. She had been counting beats between lightning flashes since she was a child. Storms in Southern California could have moments of drama. She remembered how her neighbors the Patterson’s nearly lost their house to mudslides when torrential storms attacked their cliff slide home in Anaheim Hills. The vantage point from their backyard was breathtaking but the sacrifice for living above the masses was the chance that it could all be washed away with the perfect storm. Yet this storm she was experiencing was unlike any she had seen before.

Despite being in a 5 story walk-up on the Far North-Side of Chicago, she could still see enough sky from her 2nd floor apartment that was distinguishable from the buildings, street lamps and police warning lights posted on and around her block. So after a hard day of work and feeling the fatigue of the day settling into her muscles and joints, she stretched herself out on her cozy light green couch and gazed out her window to the watch the storm unfold.

“One one thousand, 2 one thousand, 3 one…” her count was interrupted by a sharp popping sound. It sounded like a fire cracker on the 4th of July but the hissing sounds made her more alert. She jumped up to look out her window to identify the noisemaker. She could see sparks flying in several directions and as she squinted her eyes a bit to adjust to the evening light and darkness that engulfed the outside world she could just barely make out the cause. A wire was whipping against a building across the street and setting off sparks each time it came in contract with the side of the structure. She wondered what type of wire it was. The most logical explanation culprit was more than likely a cable wire. The downpour was still pretty heavy and she did not think it best to step outside and ring the buzzer on the gate outside the building to alert one of the tenants. So she sat and quietly prayed that the wetness from the rain would counteract any potential fire that would be caused by the flapping cable.

As she stepped back towards the couch, she heard the familiar calypso sound that was her ringtone.

“Hello”

“Hey, Carol, it’s Mike.”

“What’s up, Mike?”

“Did you see that they are showing The Godfather 2 on TNT tonight?”

“No, I didn’t.” She yawned and rubbed her arm while propping the phone between her right ear and her shoulder. “What time?”

“It looks like the first showing started at 6:00 p.m. and then the rebroadcast is right afterwards.”

“Thank you TNT,” she giggled.

“Yeah, the double feature is a godsend,” Mike agreed with a chuckle.

She continued chatting with Mike for a few more minutes. From time to time, she would glance out the window to check on the progress of the dancing cable. It seemed to now just be letting off a few weak sparks but they flew away from the building. The storm was dissipating and the glow of the street lamps was becoming stronger, yet casting an eerie yellow light through the naked tree branches.

“Oh, so we’ll meet for lunch on Tuesday?” Mike asked.

“Sure. I’ll meet you there,” Carol replied and hung up.

She nestled back into the couch, picked up the remote and powered on the TV to begin channel surfing until the next showing of the Godfather 2 began.


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