A stormy night beneath the stairs

It was an unfortunate time to have a storm. It was expected to come, since it had been so cold that morning and so humid that evening. My little sister’s seventh birthday party was a hit, and the family had enjoyed filling ourselves with Italian food that night. Although the spaghetti I had enjoyed came back up on the kitchen floor, I went to bed satisfied. My room was a so-called mess, a mess to my mom’s standards. And it was the light behind my mother’s head that woke me up at a quarter to eleven that night of May 30^th. What she said wasn’t memorable, but it was shocking enough for me to scramble out of my warm bed and follow my mom down the stairs. It wasn’t until my family was trapped in the crowded space underneath the stairs that I heard the wind. The moldy smell of the damp space just made us all the more nervous. It was crammed with boxes and random stuff, just thrown in randomly throughout the years. My two sisters sat on either side of me, each of us clutching a pillow and a blanket. My mom was by my dad, who was at the closet door, clutching the collar of our scared Sam who wouldn’t fit in our already cramped space. I knew it was bad if my dad was under the stairs with us. It was so dark, as the power had gone out completely. The only light that gave us any idea of our surroundings was from the lightening show going on outside. Since my family was in such a hurry to get to safety, we did not think to close the door to the basement behind us. We all wondered what was happening outside, but we didn’t dare to speak. It didn’t cross my mind to be scared for my life, because I was more worried about my beloved dog’s safety outside the door of our hideaway. Eventually the howling and pounding rain let up, and we emerged from out beneath the steps. We stretched out and headed outside to inspect the damage. We saw our neighbors doing the same, some with looks of relief, others who looked like they knew there was a lot to fix up in the next few weeks. We eventually headed back into our home and settled back into some sort of sleep, as restless as it was. We knew we had been lucky, and we were glad we still had each other. But none of us will ever forget the night beneath the stairs.