A non-electric weekend

I woke up startled by the sound of the fire alarm. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 05:30 Saturday morning. I got out of bed and headed for the apartment door. I live on the 18th floor of a building.

When I opened the door, I found the hallway dark and silent. I tried to turn on the apartment light, but it didn't work. Neither did the TV, nor the microwave, nor the air conditioning. I realized that there was an electrical failure in the whole building.

I looked for my mobile phone and saw that the battery was low. I called the electricity company, but no one answered. Then I called my brother Tony, who lives in another part of town. I told him what was happening and that I hoped it would be fixed soon. Tony told me that he had electricity and that he could come and pick me up if I wanted. I thanked him, saying that I would rather stay in the flat, in case the technicians came to fix the problem.

I hung up the phone and sat on the couch. I thought about what I was going to do that weekend. I had planned to go to the movies, do some shopping at the mall, and visit my siblings. But all that was canceled because of the power failure. I felt frustrated and bored.

I decided to go to the balcony to see if there was any movement on the street.

When I went out to the balcony, I saw that everything was normal, only the area where the building is located was the one with the electrical problem.

Some stores decided not to open and the streets looked a bit lonely. I looked with my eyes for a truck or an electrical crew, but I saw nothing. I wondered what was going on and how long the failure would last. The neighbors were just like me.

I went to wash my face because I hadn't done so since I got up and to brush my teeth, and when I turned on the tap I remembered that because there had been a power cut, the water supply had also been affected because the pump runs on electricity.

Then I went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. I saw that I had some perishable foods, such as milk, cheese, eggs, and meat. I thought I should consume them before they spoiled due to lack of refrigeration. I made myself a breakfast fit for the gods.

I thought about going down to the building lobby to see if there was any notice or any information about the electrical failure. But then I remembered that the elevator was not available and that I would have to go down and up 18 flights of stairs. That was not an option because I had just come from suffering a hypertensive emergency and the recommendation was to do moderate exercise, not high intensity or extreme exercise, such as climbing 18 flights of stairs.

I looked at my cell phone. I saw that I had only 10% battery. I decided to turn it off to save energy and use it only in case of emergency. Then I looked for something to entertain myself. I looked through books, magazines. But nothing caught my attention. Everything seemed boring and meaningless.

I lay back down on the couch and closed my eyes. I tried to get some sleep, but could not fall asleep. I felt anxious and uneasy about the situation. I wondered if there was some danger or threat behind the power failure. I imagined catastrophic scenarios, such as a terrorist attack, an alien invasion, or a zombie apocalypse. Yes, I went overboard with that, but I was just super bored.

I got up from the couch and went to the balcony again. I looked down and saw that a crew from the electricity company appeared. But I could see them hesitating, they couldn't find the fault and it looked like it was going to take a long time.

And so the hours of Saturday passed: between the sofa and the balcony, between boredom and anguish, between hunger and thirst.

Sunday dawned the same as Saturday: no light and no sound. I looked out of the balcony to see if there was any change in the panorama and nothing. The only thing was that there were more electricity personnel and it was obvious that the search for the fault was more extensive.

Dusk came and everything indicated that we would start the week without electricity and that we would have no choice but to go down and up the 18 floors.

When I was already feeling totally disappointed, sad, and above all bored, at about 11 p.m. the light bulb in my room went on.

I felt my soul return to my body, immediately a smile came to my face and I heard the joy of the neighbor children.

It was a non-electric weekend, unexpected and an extreme situation, which made me discover that I can be a resilient, patient, and creative person.