Flashlight Adventure

            Suddenly I was awake.  The house was too dark and quiet.  The power was out.

            “No problem,” I thought, “I’ll just grab the flashlight in my nightstand drawer.”

            Sitting on the side of the bed, I fumbled around with the flashlight.  It’s one of those handy purse-size ones, with the push-the-end design to turn it on and off.  However, no matter how I pushed, nothing happened.  Finally, I unscrewed the cap.  Putting my hand over the end, instead of catching batteries, I felt something soft, squishy, and wet.

            “Oh, no!” I exclaimed out loud, thinking of the damage battery acid does to skin.  I blindly walked in the dark to the bathroom to wash my hands.  Fortunately, there was a trickle of water.  (When the power goes out, so does our water pump.)  Then I groped my way down the hallway to the coat closet where I keep the big flashlight.

            Finally, there was light to guide me back to the bathroom where I had placed the little flashlight on the counter.  Except there was no flashlight:  instead, a Cortizone-10 cylinder with its spongy applicator (perfect for itchy mosquito bites) sat on the counter.