Pitch Black

After finally getting used to living in the city I went home to
visit for a few days back to the farm, way out in the country.My
younger sister had gotten married and moved to town. We gathered at
Mama's house to stay the night. I had forgotten how dark it could get
there. When you turn the lights off and it's cloudy, it's like they
went off all over the world.

I sleep with my tv on a
habit I got into when I first moved to the city, so I wouldn't hear all
the other noises like sirens screaming, cars backfiring, it was so new
to me I felt like I was living in another world. Now I go back there
and the darkness covered me like a heavy blanket.I had a hard time
breathing.

We were in bed by eight o'clock that
night, and that was a little late for my folks to be up. I was fine
until we turned off the lights. It was pitch black you couldn't see
your hand in front of your face, my eyes popped open and stayed that
way. I sat on the side of the bed smoking all night. My sister woke up
and said &;quot;Whats the matter can't sleep? better not let Mama
catch you smoking in bed&;quot;  I'm smoking because I need the
light, I feel like I'm in a box with the lid
shut.

When there is a full moon, and all the stars
are shining it's so bright you could read a book by that light, but
when it's cloudy you find out what pitch black really means. The
silence was deafening the only noise was that dammed big ben tick tock
clock. That noise lulled them to sleep. My sister thought I was crazy
&;quot;I told you not to move to the city, it drove you crazy didn't
it&;quot; I tried covering my head up it was too hot for that.I want
to stay at your house the rest of the time I'm here at least at night.
&;quot;Thought you might&;quot; she said.

You
did not get up and turn the lights on after going to bed at Mamas
house, if you did everybody in the house would get up to see what the
matter was, so I just prayed it would be time to get up soon. Morning,
came at four thirty same as usual for them it was still very dark. I
walked into the kitchen put some water on to heat so I could wash up
and help with breakfast.

The neighbors house down
the road turned their lights on, and their house looked like it was on
fire in the darkness.&;quot;Lord it didn't take you long to turn
into a Yankee did it&;quot; Mama said. After a breakfast of eggs,
sausage, sawmill gravy, biscuits, and apple butter, Daddy went out to
work in the fields as usual, and since it was Monday Mama, built a fire
under the wash pot to wash clothes.

See they had a
set routine and it never changed, if it had been ten years, since they
last saw you they just kept on doing what they were doing. So we washed
and hung the clothes on the line in the same order as always. Mama,
even asked me if I ran a wet cloth, down the length of the line first
to make sure it was clean. It was almost as if we had never left. I
expected to wake up any minute and find I had dreamed the last twenty
years. We are a strange
bunch