Original short fiction from Rarle USA. Characters and events are fictional.
The storm passed before dinner, leaving wet leaves across the sidewalk and half the block comparing notes about a brief power outage. Ana stood on her covered porch with a flashlight she no longer needed. Across the street, Mr. Bell was righting a flowerpot while two children hunted for a missing plastic watering can.
Ana had been about to make soup when the weather changed. Now the kitchen lights were back, the refrigerator had stayed closed, and she could finish cooking safely. She looked at the pot and thought about the neighbors who had spent the last hour checking on one another without quite knowing how to stop.
She sent a message to the small block chat: “Soup on the porch when it’s ready. Bring a bowl if you want some.” Then she worried that it sounded more organized than it was. She had no matching dishes and nowhere near enough chairs. Her husband told her that the message had not mentioned matching anything.
Mr. Bell arrived first with a folding chair under one arm. He brought his own bowl and an extra one, just in case. A young couple from the corner house came next with bread. Someone supplied paper napkins. The children found the watering can and decided it should hold flowers instead of becoming part of dinner.
The conversation began with weather stories. A branch had fallen without hitting a car. One dog had hidden in a bathtub. Somebody’s alarm clock now insisted it was four in the morning. Ana served the soup hot and brought out smaller batches rather than leaving a large pot sitting on the porch.
As the sky cleared, the talk shifted. The young couple admitted they had moved in three months
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