← All confessions · First Time 2026-10-08

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

The whole street went dark. Her device was the only thing in the building fully charged.

How it started

A massive storm knocked out power across the neighbourhood for an entire evening. Streetlights off, phones dying, everyone gathering in the stairwell with candles and torches, swapping battery packs and worried looks. My neighbours were panicking about freezers and Wi-Fi. I was strangely calm. I'd charged everything the day before, out of habit, including one particular item I treat with great respect. Someone asked how I could be so relaxed. I said I'm just good in a crisis. Candles flickered in every window. Somebody's kids were crying about the Wi-Fi. A man upstairs was loudly blaming the council. Meanwhile I made myself a cup of tea by torchlight and smiled serenely at everyone.

Then it happened

I lent out my phone charger and two torches, made tea on my gas hob for half the building and headed to bed early. The neighbours now think I'm some kind of emergency preparedness expert. They still don't know the real reason I was so calm, and they never will. The lady from flat six now calls me first whenever there's a storm warning. I keep a spare battery pack for her.

The morning after

The building group chat now calls her 'the crisis queen'. When the power went out again last month, three neighbours knocked on her door before the candles were lit. She smiles serenely, offers tea, and never, ever explains.