Rating: PG
Category: general
Summary: Defining Moment challenge.  500 words (exactly!).  Josh, age 6.
Archive: the Defining Moment challenge comes from the mind of Jae Gecko.  You can read about it or read other writer's entries here at her site.
Disclaimer: not mine.
 
 

 He woke to the loud crack of thunder and a wind-tossed rain that fell in sheets against his window.  He tried to convince himself he wasn’t scared.

 The next time, he saw the lightening streak across the sky and dove quickly under the covers, preparing for the thunder.

 One, two, three...

 Just a low rumble, slightly muffled by the sheets over his head and the hands over his ears.

 Encouraged, his stuck his head out far enough to look for his teddy bear, then jerked it back under like a turtle into its shell when the sky lit up again.  No bear.

 One, two, three, four...

 A terrific, jarring thunderclap that rattled the window.  Despite his protection, he wrapped his arms tightly around himself and curled up to make himself smaller.  Maybe it would help.

 It didn’t.

 Under the covers, he couldn’t see the lightning.  He didn’t know when the thunder would come.

 He was scared.

 His sister wouldn’t laugh at him, though.  She would let him climb in bed with her and she would keep him safe.  She wouldn’t even mind if he woke her up.  She was like that.

 He slipped out of bed, bumping into a chair and some boxes in the darkness.  He wished he knew where his bear was.  Halfway to the door, he saw a bolt of lightning and froze, suddenly indecisive.  The thunder would be coming soon.  He was close.  Could he make it in time?

 He leaned towards the doorway, ready to go, but instead bolted back to the safety of his bed as the first crack of thunder sounded, barely making it under the covers in time.

 He would have to do better.  He would have to act brave.

 This time, he waited just until the latest thunder died away, then threw the covers off and jumped from his bed, running for the door.  He struggled with the doorknob, finally pulling the door open as his room lit up again.  He almost fell into the hallway, shutting the door against the impending thunder and leaning shivering against it.

 He had made it, so far.

 The hall was just as dark as his room had been, and he took a tentative step forward.  He closed his eyes, breathing deeply.  It wasn’t much further.  He could do this.

 He turned left, keeping close to the wall, creeping slowly down the hallway towards his sister’s room.  When he heard the next clap of thunder he stopped, cringing, but without windows the sound was muffled and soon he convinced himself to keep going.

 He got to her door and opened it slightly, listening.

 A minute passed, and above the sounds of the storm he could make out his father’s slight snore and his mother’s steady, even breathing.

 Lightning flashed, and he noticed for the first time the still unfamiliar house around him.

 Then he knew.

 Careful not to wake his parents, Josh left and went back to his own bed.

 He wouldn’t find Joanie anymore.