Power Outage

"Mom, the power's out," Nick said after stomping into my room. He shined a light into my face that I could see through my eyelids. Ah, that was why my phone had buzzed to wake me up for no apparent reason.

"Okay, go back to bed," I mumbled into the pillows.

"But Mom," he said, "it's dark." No it isn't. Some kid is shining a flashlight into my eyes. Isn't this how they torture prisoners of war?

"It's supposed do be dark. It's the middle of the night." I tried to sound patient. I'm pretty sure I didn't succeed.

"But Mom, I can't find my flashlight."

"What's that you have in your hands?"

"It's the night light from the bathroom, but I can't find my flashlight."

"You don't need a flashlight. You need to get back into bed, close your eyes, and stare at the backs of your eyelids the way I'm doing."

Silence.

Heavy breathing, then more silence. I can feel him staring at me.

"Okay, I'm coming. You get into bed. I'll be there in a minute."

Now, who is asleep in bed and who is sitting in the dark, playing with her phone?

Thank you for listening, jules