Storm Surge

The lightning strike and thunder were simultaneous. The crack of thunder was so loud it threw me from bed. I look to the clock: one-thirty a.m. A long day of work and I was so tired I never heard the storm come up. The wind outside wiped wild as tree branches twisted and broke in the wind. Then the electricity died. There are times living in the countryside has its disadvantages.

Living alone allows me the quiet time I need to write my blog. I am successful at it and writing pays the bills. But country living has risks. The obvious: living so far away from people and services; the less obvious: emergency services are a long wait away.

Smoke? I smell smoke. The sky is a nonstop sheet of lightning. I never saw anything like this angry storm. The rain is torrential, pounding the windows. I reach for my cell phone to call for help, but it does not work. I feel my way to the kitchen to find the fire extinguisher. I can see a flicker of light in the hallway. I find the fire extinguisher and hurry down the hallway. The light switch has a small flame. I aimed the fire extinguisher and depressed the handle.

The acrid smoke and fire retardant make me cough. The electric surge must have overloaded the circuits. I felt my way back to the kitchen and found the drawer with the flashlight. I hurried to the basement to turn off the main breaker. With all the lightning there was too much risk a fire could start I could not put out. Besides, when the current comes back any shorts would be live and could start a fire.

The basement is pitch black. A glow from upstairs from all the lightning cast an eerie glow near the door. I reached out to turn off the main breaker when the biggest lightning bolt I ever saw turned night into day. Even the basement lit up with blinding white light as the house shook violently. A spark of electricity jumped from the breaker to my outstretched hand and covered my body.

When it was over the house returned to night. For some reason I did not pass out or faint. I stood there stunned at what just happened. I coughed, the smell of smoke still in my lungs. I flipped the main breaker and returned to my living room. Something was wrong. The lightning must have messed up my system. My clothes were different. I usually go to bed in my underwear, but my underwear feel strange. I reached up and felt… BREASTS!

My heart raced in panic. I fumbled through the cupboard until I found a candle. My hands shook as I lit it. As the candle came to full brightness the full impact of what the lightning strike did to me became real. I was a knock-out woman! I sat at the kitchen table and buried my face in my hands. Then I started laughing. I don’t know why. Maybe hysteria. I threw my head back, enjoying the feel of a full head of hair bouncing off my shoulders. Miranda. I want to change my name to Miranda. I finally blew out the candle and went back to bed. Maybe I’ll wake from this dream in the morning.

Morning came and the dream was real. Later, when the electrician gave my home a clean bill of health I watched the news to see how much damage the storm did. Seems like it was the strangest storm in history. Nobody was hurt, but twelve men living in the countryside enjoyed a life altering event.