Electric Quest

I have been keeping track of the days since the start of the crisis. First it was at home, for myself. It’s harder than you expect without power or data. 9 days in, I heard 3 different people say “I’m not sure what day it is.” The next day I started sharing the date publicly.

As the crisis of no power wore on, I would continue to announce the date via speakerphone, so that my neighbors would continue to have a solid sense of time. My stomach churned after a month of this. When was the power going to come back on? What was the cause of this crisis?

I decided that it was time to venture out to find the cause of the outage. I took some supplies and let everyone know I would be back before dark. One of my neighbors, Jesse, insisted upon coming with me. She brought her dog Tidus too. We set out following the power lines.

Every now and then, I would glance at him. I would sometimes have the urge to grab his hand, but then Tidus would pull on the leash. I cleared my throat. "So, any guesses?" I asked, shining a flashlight on my feet. Tidus barked, making me jump. (Jesse POV) My finger touched his.

"As a matter of fact, I do," he said. He directed my flashlight to the old elm in the Witts' yard. "Here's the source of the power outage," he said & pointed from behind me. He smelled like orange Tic Tacs. "Mr. Witt—" But I didn't care any more. I turned around & kissed him.