We could hear our neighbors’ kids playing igave’a (hide and seek) in the dark, giggling and scurrying around the property under the starlit sky. The moon was bright and I looked beyond the lagoon towards the flatlands of Tafuna, electric lights on, busy and unaware of our tranquil brown-out.

10.13.2020 — My darling fiance made a delicious dinner of chicken dumplings and green salad with avocado and peppers. The power went out around 7pm, and we didn’t know how long it would be out for, but he got the tealights out, our battery-powered fans normally reserved for cyclone season, and streamed “Community” using his cellular data hotspotted on his fully charged laptop.

Luckily the water was still working, so I washed the dishes and Ian gently touched my back with his fingertips, something I normally do for him when he’s doing the dishes. His finger has an infection on it, so I’ve been on dish duty and it’s not so bad with stars on my back. We sat back in bed, brushed our teeth, and chatted for a bit before slipping into a humid-hot restless sleep.