My name is Susan, and I’m no one extraordinary, but I’m going to tell you about the day that changed my life.

Once upon a day in summertime, it was raining. Drops of water fell in a methodical way, making a constant pitter patter sound on the roof. This was the sound that lulled me to sleep. I take comfort in constants because they help me feel in control. No matter what I do or say in my life, constants will remain.

A bright white light flashed. Thunder followed, and it rained harder. These were the sounds that startled me awake. I’m afraid of thunderstorms, not only because they are unpredictable, but also because the lightning blinds my eyes, and the roars of thunder murder my eardrums. Lightning never strikes in the same place twice, and there is a 0.000083% chance of being struck by lightning at least once in one’s lifetime. A very small chance; however, a chance all the same. I trembled while mulling over these facts and wondered what I could do. I certainly didn’t think I could return to unconsciousness, so there was only one thing left to do: find my mom and dad.

I frantically checked cupboards and a closet, knowing it was unreasonable they would be hiding in these places, but delirious enough to try. They weren’t in their room, or the living room, or even the bathroom. Where else would they go? My heart was beating so fast, it was as if it was trying to leap out of my chest. I knew that once I found them, I would be less afraid. I grasped to this small thread of hope and distant comfort with everything I had. I imagined what I would tell them, something along the lines of, “The lightning frightens me, I didn’t know where you were.”

“It doesn’t matter, we’re here now. It’s alright Susan. The storm will go away soon,” they would answer in an attempt to soothe me. I took false comfort in these thoughts.

“How long is soon?”

The lightning struck more frequently, thunder interrupting my imaginary conversation. I calmed myself down by counting the seconds between the flashes of lightning and the roars of thunder.

My eyes darted back and forth as I resurrected some facts about lightning I knew from the many hours I spent researching this unpredictable force of nature. The speed of light is approximately 3.0 X 108 m/s and the speed of sound is approximately 340.29 m/s, lightning is seen first and then thunder is heard. If I count how many seconds between the lightning strike and the roar of thunder that follows, I can estimate the distance between the lightning and my current location because every second counts as 1,056 feet (⅕ of a mile), and every five seconds counts as one mile. These are facts, constants, my heartbeat slowly returned to normal.

After my failed expedition, I realized they were not in the house, so there was only one place left they could be: outside. I was at the point where I was so desperate to find my parents, I was willing to swallow my fears and go outside. White light flashed. I counted the seconds: one, two, three rumble. It was 3,168 feet away (⅗ of a mile). White light flashed again: one, two, rumble. It was getting closer. Outside in the open, I was aware I was located in the middle of a thunderstorm, and the lightning was coming closer. I panicked. I attempted to recall my knowledge of thunderstorms and what one is supposed to do. There was nowhere for me to go in any short period of time, besides a tree, but I knew I would be better off out in the open. Another bolt of lightning struck: one, rumble, I was doomed. In a high state of hysteria, I desperately forced myself to conjure up what I knew about thunderstorms: lightning never strikes in the same place twice, there is a 0.000083% chance of being struck by lightning at least once in one’s lifetime, the speed of light is 3.0 X 108 m/s, and when trapped in the open during a thunderstorm one must - I was too late. I witnessed the world around me bathed in white, the thunder in sync. It was here. Before I had time to react, I was paralyzed. Lightning coursed through my veins, my senses electrified, my blood boiled, and I glowed from within. I felt a warm liquid running down my legs; my body was at a temperature greater than the sun. It was akin to being cooked alive.

Then I had the strangest thought: I wonder if this was how Dr. Frankenstein’s monster felt when he was brought to life. If so, did that mean thunderstorms, specifically lightning, were the main ingredient for life? Why our universe existed? Or was it some form of a higher power in disguise? No, that couldn’t be it, if lightning was so unpredictable, how could one control it? Why me? I was already alive; I didn’t need the lightning. There were things other than me in greater need of this power. Like what?

As my thoughts drifted farther from reality and my body felt suspended in time, it finally stopped, and my world went black. The power of life no longer flowed through me.

I don’t know how I survived, I don’t know how my heart didn’t stop nor how my parents eventually found me. What I do know is that I did survive, my heart didn’t stop, my parents did find me - they were in the cellar looking for a flashlight believe it or not - and I was struck by lightning. My name is now something you will never forget because of this, and I will forever remain more terrified of thunderstorms as a result. I guess that’s the price I pay for gambling with the power of life, and losing. That's the end I guess, for now.