The Storm at the Cabin

The Garza family had never seen so many trees. After a flight from Monterrey to Toronto and a four-hour drive north, they arrived at a small wooden cabin by a lake in Ontario. There was no television, and the nearest town was twenty kilometers away. "This is exactly what we need," said Rodrigo, the father. His wife, Elena, smiled, but their children, Sofia and Mateo, looked at their phones and saw that there was no signal.

For three days, the weather was perfect. They went fishing, swam in the freezing lake and cooked dinner outside. Even Sofia, who was fifteen and hated being away from her friends, admitted that the stars were amazing. On the fourth afternoon, however, the sky turned dark gray, and the owner of the cabin called on the old phone in the kitchen. "A big storm is coming," she warned. "If the power goes out, there are candles in the drawer. And don't drive anywhere until the road is clear."

The storm arrived just before dinner. The wind bent the tall trees, rain hit the windows like stones, and at seven o'clock there was a loud crack outside. A second later, all the lights went out. Mateo, who was ten, grabbed his mother's arm. When Rodrigo looked out with a flashlight, he saw that a huge tree had fallen across the road.

They lit the candles and sat around the fireplace. Without electricity, the fridge would stop working, and the food wouldn't last long. "We need a plan," Elena said. "As soon as the road is clear, we'll drive to town and buy what we need." "And if it isn't clear tomorrow?" Sofia asked. "Then we'll walk to the main road and ask for help," her father answered. "But nobody is going outside unless the wind stops."

Nobody could sleep, so they played cards by candlelight. Mateo won four times in a row. Rodrigo told stories about his own childhood in Monterrey, when the power used to go out every summer and the whole street sat outside to talk until it came back. Sofia laughed more that night than she had laughed all year.

In the morning, the storm had passed. The sky was clean and blue, and the lake was as smooth as glass. At ten o'clock they heard the sound of a chainsaw: two workers from the town were cutting the fallen tree into pieces. "You'll be able to drive out in an hour," one of them said. "If everything goes well, the power will be back by tonight."

The family drove to town and bought ice, bread and more candles, just in case. When they got back to the cabin, Sofia surprised everyone. "When the power comes back tonight," she said, "can we still play cards instead of looking at our phones?" Her parents looked at each other and smiled. It was the best vacation they had ever had.