Thunder Rumbling

“The next time the thunder rumbles, we’ll have to hide.  Six rumbles in a row means only bad news is coming.”  Larry pulled the blanket farther over his head and closed his eyes.  I could feel his body start to shake the longer we stayed crouched in the corner.  I wanted to disregard everything he said since he had all kinds of wild conspiracy theories, but at the same time, what if something really did happen? I knew the one time I did ignore him would be the only time anything ever happened. 

As the next rumble sounded, Larry went running for the basement. Why he chose the basement, I’ll never know. After the door slammed shut behind him, I never saw Larry again. It didn’t matter how loud I screamed or how hard I banged on the basement door, it wouldn’t open. I had always been terrified of the basement and wasn’t sure if the basement had finally gotten its fill of trespassers or if Larry just refused to open the door for me. I wasn’t sure how much time at passed, but I remember coming to, back in my bed with the birds singing and the sun shining. My head was foggy as I stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen. As I asked my mother where Larry was, I knew something was different. 

“Larry? Who’s Larry?” She asked turning to me. She had a maniacal grin on her face and I knew enough not to ask anything else. I guess Larry was right all along.