The family meal that night was served in the main sitting area where we enjoyed each other's company while watching a pretty decent 3D vid movie.
It was a marvel for me to watch. True three-dimensional holographic projections. No more impossibly large plasma or LED screens or having to use special 3D glasses to see the images in 3D like in my time. This was so much better!
The movie ran a little long. By its end, Yaru was sound asleep curled up beside me, one arm draped across my waist. Claru didn't want to go to bed yet, but he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.
"How about I put these two to bed while you clean up dinner?" I suggested, gently slipping out from under Yaru's arm.
"Deal!" Papa declared, leaping up.
"Ssshh!" I hissed, hands up as I glanced over at the slumbering Yaru.
"Sorry!" Papa whispered, making a great show of tiptoeing out to the kitchen.
As I was gingerly scooping up my slumbering littlest brother, a faint rumbling off in the distance reached my ear. As I carried Yaru down the hall to his bedroom, Claru following behind, I saw a couple of distant flashes of light through the bedroom window.
A storm was coming. This high up in the spire, I began to wonder how the city dealt with lightning strikes. The winds this high up would be stronger, too.
Well, there was nothing I could do about either worry, so I tucked Yaru into his bed and pulled the cover up over him. A gentle smile came to my lips as he slowly turned on his side and stuck a thumb in his mouth… a classic infant gesture.
"You, too," I whispered, turning Claru toward his own bed. "Do you have pajamas or something?"
Trying to stifle another yawn, my little brother touched a button on the side of his bed, and, in a flash, his day clothes were instantly replaced by what passed for 43rd century PJs.
Claru climbed into bed and I pulled the blanket up over him.
"Goodnight," I whispered, planting a gentle kiss on his forehead.
"Night," he whispered back, his eyes slowly closing.
Mama and Papa were just finishing up in the kitchen as I joined them there.
"Any problems?" Mama asked.
I shook my head. "They're both already asleep."
"I think they got worn out from all the excitement today," Papa chuckled, giving me a hug.
"It has been a busy day, hasn't it?" I giggled, returning the hug. Then, more seriously, I noted, "A storm's coming. Will they be alright?"
"Storm?" Mama wondered, glancing nervously at me.
As if in answer, a faint rumbling could be heard off in the distance.
"Guess it'll depend on how close it gets," Papa sighed.
"These spires are pretty tempting lightning targets," I remarked, feeling a little nervous. "Does the city incorporate some sort of lightning mitigation system?"
"You sound like one of the engineers!" Papa chuckled, laying a comforting arm across my shoulders. "Don't worry, sweetheart. The buildings are designed to absorb and channel the energy of a lightning strike away from the living quarters."
"Hmm, almost sounds like a Faraday cage," I quietly remarked.
"A what?" Mama wondered.
"You know, I think you're right, sweetheart," Papa said, grinning as he gave me a brief hug. "I remember one of the city engineers mentioning something like that."
"What's this 'cage' thing you're talking about?" Mama wondered.
"It's a way of shielding things from extreme levels of electricity," I explained, "named after the man who invented it."
"Well, we've been living here since before Claru was born," Mama declared, giving me a hug of her own, "so I don't think we need to worry. Now why don't you get off to bed yourself, sweetling? We've all had a pretty exciting day."
"I will," I chuckled, returning the hug. "Goodnight, Mama."
"Goodnight, Papa," I said, giving him a peck on the cheek.
"Sleep well, sweetie," he wished as I headed down the hall.
Slipping into one of my nighties, I stepped out onto the room's balcony to check on the approaching weather.
The balcony enclosure did mitigate the breeze somewhat, but it was still gusty out. Lightning strikes were clearly visible off in the distance accompanied by muffled peals of thunder. The moon was high and bright in the sky, illuminating the clouds as they raced overhead. Judging by their movements, the winds were blowing straight towards us. And that meant…
"Time to hunker down," I sighed, locking the balcony door once I was back inside.
It took about two hours for the weather's fury to finally reach us. When it did, the sky outside lit up like the 4th of July! Flash! Boom! Flash! Boom! It was as if the storm was taking out its anger on the city. Several times I jumped when the strikes were particularly close, rattling the very building around me.
As I was trying to quiet my pounding heart, I heard someone crying. Drawn by the sound, I went to the bedroom door, pausing in the opening as the door slid aside. Cocking an ear, I suddenly realized the weeping was coming from Claru's room!
Padding softly on bare feet, I made my way across the hall to his room. The storm continued to assault the city, rattling the walls with thunder. And with each flash of light, I heard two voices whimpering in fright.
"Yaru, honey, it's me," I whispered, gently touching his trembling shoulder.
He whirled, staring at me with wide, frightened eyes. He cringed, ducking in terror as another close strike filled the room with light and sound.
I picked him up, hugging him tightly. "It's okay, Yaru. I'm here. You'll be alright."
Still carrying Yaru, I quickly found Claru in the other bed. He had the blanket pulled up over his head, but I could see him trembling with fright.
"Otouto-san?" I quietly called to him, lightly grasping his shoulder.
"Onee-san!" he sobbed, flinging the blanket back before seizing me about the waist.
"Easy, little brother," I quietly spoke as I stroked his hair. "You'll be alright now."
"I'm scared!" he whimpered, grasping me even tighter as another lightning strike close by filled the room with light and sound.
"We'll be alright," I assured him, turning towards the door. "Come with me."
Weeping Yaru clinging to my neck and terrified Claru clutching my waist, we crossed the hallway to my bedroom and over to my bed.
"Climb in," I told Claru, slapping the mattress.
"But, Onee-san…"
"It'll be alright," I assured him, helping Claru up. "Scoot over."
Once he was situated, I slipped into bed beside him, Yaru still clinging to my neck. Then the three of us settled back as I pulled the comforter up to cover us.
Another flash and crash of thunder made all three of us jump.
Claru stared at me. "You're scared, too?"
"A little," I admitted. "It startled me, that's all."
But there was no mistaking the unmitigated fear in Claru's eyes.
"Little brother, have you ever touched something and seen a spark jump between your finger and the object?"
"Well, yeah," he admitted, clinging to me as the room lit up again followed a few seconds later by thunder.
"That's called static electricity," I explained, brushing the hair out of his eyes. "Have you heard of that?"
Claru nodded, cringing away from the window as another flash lit the sky.
"Well, believe it or not, lightning is just another form of static electricity," I explained as the room shook with thunder.
"What?!" he gasped, staring at me.
Chuckling, I nodded. "It's just a lot bigger than that little spark you've seen."
"How?" was all he could ask.
"Not sure," I admitted, shrugging even as the room lit up again. "Scientists think it has to do with the water and ice droplets in the clouds moving up and down."
"Water and ice?!" Claru stammered, flinching as rumbles of thunder echoed outside.
I nodded. "It's just a part of how the world works, little brother. It's okay to be afraid of it. Lightning is a very powerful force of Nature. I know that I need to seek shelter whenever it's around, but I'm not terrified out of my mind by it."
In spite of the storm outside, I noticed that Yaru had stopped crying, although he still flinched whenever there was a flash.
"I wish I was as brave as you, Onee-san," Claru whispered, snuggling up against me.
"You know, there is a way for you to tell how far away the lightning is, Otouto-san," I said, giving him a hug.
"Really?" he asked, looking up at me.
"Really," I assured him, adding a smile. "Want me to show you how?"
Claru nodded, a little of the fear leaving his eyes.
Flash!
"One thousand one… one thousand two…" I began to count. "One thousand three… one thousand four… one…"
Boom! went the thunder.
"That lightning was nearly a mile away," I said.
"How could you tell?" Claru wondered, relaxing a little more.
"Elementary, little brother," I explained, ruffling his hair. "Lightning obeys certain laws of physics. The light from the lightning bolt travels at 186,000 miles per second."
"That's fast!" Claru exclaimed.
"The lightning bolt superheats the air it passes through, causing it to rapidly expand," I went on. "That's what causes the boom you hear. But sound travels a lot slower than light. At sea level, it only moves at about 700 miles per hour."
"That still sounds fast," Claru observed, flinching as a nearby lightning strike rattled the walls.
"True," I said, smiling down at him. "But if light can move 186,000 miles per second, sound can only move two tenths of a mile in that same second."
At first looking confused, Claru's eyes suddenly lit up with comprehension!
"By counting how many seconds pass between when you see the flash and when you hear the boom…" I explained, returning the smile on his face.
"You can tell how far away it was!" he exclaimed.
"You got it!" I cheered, giving him a hug. "It takes sound about five seconds to travel one mile, so if I count less than five, I know the lightning is closer than a mile. If I count higher than five, I know it's farther away."
Once more, the room lit up.
"One thousand one… one thousand two…" Claru began to count.
He got all the way to ten before the rumble of thunder was heard.
"How far was that?" he asked.
"Well, you counted to ten before we heard the thunder," I explained, giving him a hug. "Remember, sound takes about five seconds to travel a mile. So, what's 10 divided by 5?"
"Two!" Claru exclaimed, eyes lighting up. "It was two miles away!"
Flash!
"One thousand one… one thousand…"
BOOM!
"That was a lot closer than a mile, wasn't it?" Claru sheepishly responded, grinning up at me.
"Yes," I chuckled, giving him another hug. "So, I'm glad we're inside instead of out there."
This little game of counting went on for nearly two hours as the storm raged outside.
"One thousand twenty five," Claru whispered before we heard the latest rumble. "The storm's moving away?"
I nodded.
"Ssshh," I whispered, glancing down at Yaru. "I think your little brother is finally asleep."
"Onee-san?"
"What, sweetie?"
"I'm glad you're my big sister."
"Me, too."
Soon, all three of us were fast asleep.