A black-out

Topic: A black-out

I was doing my homework one night when the lights suddenly went out. The flats in the opposite block were also in complete darkness. I knew at once that there was a black-out in my area.

While my parents groped about the flat, looking for candles, I found my way to the window. It was pitch black outside as it was a moonless night. Flickers of candlelight were just beginning to appear in the other flats.

In the road below, I could see the headlights of vehicles piercing the darkness. A traffic jam was already setting in as the traffic lights had stopped working. The drivers were hooting impatiently at each other.

After lighting the candles in our flat, my father took his torch and went out to check the lifts. I followed him. As we had expected, all the lifts had stopped working. Unfortunately, some people were trapped in one of them. A group of firemen were quickly called to rescue these people. After helping the firemen, my father and I returned to the flat.

We carefully locked the doors and windows and then went to bed. The next morning, I quickly tested the light. I was relieved to find it working. Like many others, I find black-outs most inconvenient and frightening.