front porch bliss

Beth 11/7/06
Sound story-Front Porch Bliss
The sun was setting in that Carolina town. Friends and families began to gather on their front porches. They all love to hear the familiar sound of cicadas and crickets. The warm wind caressed their faces. This was the time they used to relax, they rarely spoke when they sat on their porches. A glow could be seen coming from a single candle or maybe a lantern at each house. This was tradition in the South.
Billy and Imogene sat together on the porch of their first home. They wanted to fit in. They didn’t grow up in the South so they had no idea what this was all about. They looked around at all of the other houses wondering why they did this.
“Why do they do this?” asked Imogene. “I just don’t get it, the noise is annoying and the silence between us is killing me.”
“Because,” Billy replied, “ it’s a tradition of some sort. Now be quiet.”
She was still confused but she let the noise surround her. As the night went on the noise became louder. All other noises disappeared and the only thing they were able to hear was the sound of the cicadas and crickets. They created a symphony, a relaxing tune. That was something that Imogene had needed for a very long time.
She now sits on that porch every night, just like the others. She embraces the night and lets the wind caress her face. She lights a candle and invites her family out onto the porch. She understands, it's a tradition of some sort.