The sky had been dark all afternoon. Heavy clouds gathered above the small village, rumbling with distant thunder. Lala, the curious and sometimes dramatic little girl, was sitting on the floor of the living room, playing with her favorite stuffed bunny. The sound of raindrops tapping on the roof usually calmed her, but today felt different. The wind howled louder than usual, rattling the windows.
Her mom was in the kitchen preparing dinner, and Dad was checking the doors and windows to make sure they were locked tight. The storm was coming fast, and everyone in the house could feel the tension.
Suddenly, as a clap of thunder shook the house, the lights flickered and then went completely out. The refrigerator stopped humming. The television went silent. The house, once filled with the glow of lamps, fell into total darkness.
“Ahhh!” Lala screamed at the top of her lungs. Her little heart pounded wildly. She had never liked the dark, and in that moment, her imagination turned the house into a scary cave.
“Lala, it’s okay!” Mom called out from the kitchen, fumbling for a flashlight.
But Lala wasn’t listening. Her panic had already taken over. In her mind, darkness meant danger, and danger meant she had to escape. Without thinking, she grabbed her bunny, ran to the door, and slipped outside into the storm.
The rain splashed against her face as she sprinted across the muddy yard. She didn’t have a raincoat or shoes, only her thin pajamas. The wind blew hard, pushing her hair into her eyes. The trees swayed and bent, their branches creaking as if they might snap at any moment.
“LALA!” Dad’s voice roared from inside the house, but the storm swallowed his words.
Lala didn’t stop. She was convinced that the only way to escape the scary darkness was to run as far as she could. The village street was already flooding with water, and every step she took sent splashes up her legs. She shivered, but her fear kept her running.
She passed by the neighbors’ houses, their windows glowing faintly with candles. Dogs barked from porches, confused by the storm. Lightning flashed, and for a moment the world lit up like day. Lala froze, her bunny clutched tightly to her chest, before forcing her little legs to keep moving.
Finally, she reached the edge of the village where the rice fields began. The fields looked eerie under the stormy sky, shimmering with rainwater. Lala hesitated, unsure where to go. She felt so small in the wide open world.
Meanwhile, back at home, Mom and Dad were frantic. Mom had found a flashlight, and Dad was already pulling on his boots.
“She’s terrified of the dark,” Mom said, her voice trembling. “She doesn’t understand the power just went out. We have to find her before something happens.”
Dad nodded and ran into the storm, shouting Lala’s name again and again.
Out in the fields, Lala’s panic began to fade into exhaustion. Her feet hurt from running barefoot over rocks and mud. She sat down under a tree, trying to shield herself from the pounding rain. She hugged her bunny and whispered, “Don’t be scared, Bunny. I’ll protect you.” But her own teeth were chattering, and tears mixed with the raindrops on her cheeks.
She thought about home. She thought about Mom’s warm soup and Dad’s strong arms. Maybe the darkness wasn’t a monster after all. Maybe she had made a mistake. But now, she didn’t know how to get back. The fields looked endless, and every direction seemed the same.
Just then, she heard a familiar voice carried by the wind.
“LALA!”
It was Dad! Her heart leapt with relief. She jumped up and shouted as loud as she could, “DADDY! I’m here!”
Through the sheets of rain, she saw a flashlight beam cutting through the darkness. A moment later, Dad was running toward her, splashing through the water with determined strides. When he reached her, he scooped her up into his arms without a word. She was soaked and shivering, but safe.
“Don’t ever run away like that again,” he said firmly, though his voice was shaky with worry. “The dark can’t hurt you, Lala. But storms can. You scared us so much.”
Lala buried her face in his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I thought the dark would swallow me.”
Dad kissed the top of her wet hair. “The dark is only the absence of light. And light always comes back.”
By the time they returned home, Mom was waiting at the door with a blanket. She wrapped Lala tightly, her eyes filled with tears. “My brave girl,” she whispered. “You’re safe now.”
That night, even though the power was still out, the family gathered in the living room. Mom lit a few candles, and their warm glow flickered gently against the walls. The storm still raged outside, but inside, everything felt calm again.
Lala sat curled up between her parents, sipping warm soup that Mom had managed to heat on the gas stove. She clutched her bunny, now dry and cozy in the blanket.
“See, Lala?” Mom said softly. “Even without electricity, we can still have light. We can still be together. There’s nothing to fear.”
Lala nodded slowly. Deep inside, she still didn’t like the dark. But she realized that running away had been the scariest part of all. Home was where she felt safe, even during a storm.
As the thunder rumbled in the distance, Dad told her a story about how, when he was a boy, he also feared storms. He had once hidden under the bed during a blackout until his grandmother found him. “She told me that the storm is just the earth cleaning itself,” he said with a smile. “And that darkness is only temporary.”
Lala leaned against him, her eyelids growing heavy. The sound of the rain no longer felt threatening. Instead, it became a lullaby.
The storm lasted all night, but Lala slept peacefully between her parents, knowing she was safe.
The next morning, when she woke up, the sun was shining brightly through the windows. The power was still out, but the world seemed new and fresh after the storm. Birds chirped happily in the trees.
“Look, Bunny,” Lala whispered, holding her stuffed toy. “The light came back, just like Daddy said.”
She learned something important that night: darkness wasn’t the enemy. Fear was. And as long as she had her family, she could face any storm.
From that day on, whenever the lights went out, instead of panicking, Lala would grab her bunny and run—not outside into the rain—but into the arms of her parents, where the safest light of all was always waiting.
