Erica Farmington

Night

The lights go out—another power outage1. “Grab the candles,” Mom says, and I do. My younger brother and I raid2 every room to collect the tall candles. I hurry from shelf to shelf gathering wax sticks in my arms and place them in the living room, a few candles in each corner. I take one to the coffee table to use to read. I slide my book beside the candle holder, determined to finish the last three chapters, but lacking conviction.3 So the book remains closed. A sigh escapes my brothers lips.

“This is boring,” he says. A drop of wax falls on my book.

“I know,” I say, but really, I am enjoying the stillness. I like to watch the candle burn and feel that life is simple. I like to look out the window into an immediate darkness unspoiled by harsh light.4 I cherish these silent moments when I feel as if I can live the way they lived, the people of the past—the Egyptians, the Pilgrims, the Greeks—anyone who ever lived to see the black color Im seeing, anyone who lived to see a yellow flame and depended on it.5 I feel at one with a secret, primeval6 age. Im convinced that night, in this unhampered state,7 is the closest a person can get to experience the past.

So, what was night really like for them? Night, as we know it now, is a mellow, tender thing compared to the impenetrable darkness that cloaked Earths first people.8 Even its beauty seemed unparalleled9.

What did a farmers family do at night? Of course, the darkness must have brought them together, forced them into each others company as it has done to us tonight—fostered camaraderie in a time of fear and uncertainty.10 A fire probably blazed11 in a central room where the family gathered to talk and relax. Night was a time when men and women were liberated from work and socialized. They had no computers or TVs, and had to make do12 with books, religion, and conversation.

Nevertheless, to venture outside was sometimes necessary, and the threat of robbers, wolves, even the ethereal, was tangible.13 What emotions did these people feel? What would it have been like to feel the night, heavy and damp against my back? Would it have taken me, smothered me with its clammy hands, isolated me?14 Or would those have been frightful dreams, and dreams only? Perhaps the night was grand, maybe a mixture of both beauty and peril15.

I imagine a young girl, stepping outside her home and into a desert for some air. A cool, earthy smell would greet her. Theres a sky speckled16 with millions of stars—far more than a person could see today—and theres the moon. Its the largest object in the sky, the midnight sun that illuminates the world, the travelers torch.17 It inspires stories of uncertainty, stories of power. I imagine this girl marveling at18 the moon and stars. Shes entranced by this sight as divine as sparkling diamonds,19 and if she wanders too far, she neednt worry, for the stars will lead her back home.

Bzzz! The lights return. Everyone cheers and abandons the room, happy that their period of solitude is over, everyone except me.20 I pull my candle closer, and stare into the night. The glory is gone; it has been dimmed by street lamps, electric signs, TVs, and all other manner of artificial light.21 But in those moments, when every light in every house was snuffed22, people may have had a taste of the old world. They may finally have touched upon the fear, the admiration, and the reverence that our predecessors felt for the night.23?

1. outage: （尤指電的）斷供，中斷。

2. raid: 突擊搜查。

3. slide: 使滑行，使滑動；candle holder:燭臺；conviction: 信心。

4. immediate: 當前的，眼下的； unspoiled:（地方）未遭到破壞的；harsh:（光線）耀眼的，刺眼的。

5. cherish: 珍愛，珍視；Pilgrims: 指1620年到達北美洲創(chuàng)立普利茅斯殖民地的清教徒。

6. primeval: 遠古的，原始的。

7. convince: 使確信，使信服；unhampered:不受妨礙的，受束縛的。

8. mellow: 柔和的，溫和的；tender: 溫柔的，體貼的；impenetrable:不能通過的，不能穿越的，此處形容一片漆黑；cloak: 掩蓋，隱藏。

9. unparalleled: 無與倫比的，無雙的。

10. company: 陪伴；foster:促進，培養(yǎng)；camaraderie: 同志[同事]情誼，友情。

11. blaze: 猛烈地燃燒，發(fā)光。

12. make do: 湊合著對付過去，勉強應付。

13. venture: 敢于去（危險的或令人厭惡的地方）；ethereal:（聲音、特性等）縹緲的，非人間的，此處加上the表“空靈、幽靈”之意；tangible: 有形的，可觸知的。

14. smother: 使窒息，悶死；clammy: 又冷又潮的，濕冷的。

15. peril: 危險。

16. speckle: 點綴，如斑點般散布。

17. illuminate: 照明，照亮；torch: 火把，火炬。

18. marvel at: （對……）感到驚訝，驚嘆。

19. entrance: 使（某人）陶醉，令（某人）入迷；divine:〈口〉極好的，極美的；sparkle:閃閃發(fā)光，閃爍。

20. abandon: 離棄，拋棄；solitude: 孤獨。

21. dim:（使）暗淡，使失去光澤； artificial: 人造的，人工的。

22. snuff: 熄滅。

23. reverence: 尊敬，崇敬；predecessor: 前輩。