It is the morning of the eclipse. Everyone has been talking about it for weeks and I’m only just getting interested in it. There are stories of families traveling out of state for better viewing, but if I’m being honest, I don’t see the big deal.
I’m at work. Trying to get my classes ready for the day. And there’s a buzz in the school. There’s been so much coverage in the news leading up to the eclipse that everyone is expectant and a little confused, but a lot of the talk in the schools has been about safety and protection, and the amount of times we’ve discussed potential dangers has actually made me more scared than excited.
I know I should be more curious. I know I should be dying to see the eclipse. But I am more interested in finally getting to the end of the novel I’ve been working on the past year. I’ve been stuck on the end the last two months. Not knowing where to take the story, or perhaps, knowing where I should take the story but being afraid to write that pivotal final scene that will close things out. There is a lot of pressure on the final chapter, to tie all of the loose threads, to give the reader the feeling that the journey they’ve just been on has been worth it so that they don’t feel like I’ve wasted their time.
But the book has to wait for now because there’s a special schedule for the eclipse. Solar glasses have been handed out and the teachers are responsible for testing them to make sure there are no issues. This means trying on each pair and looking into a bright light to see if there are any holes or gaps that might expose the retina to the eclipse during viewing.
I go through the stack carefully at first and tell myself that everything should be fine. There’s no chance we would be sent faulty glasses that could risk student safety. Just when I think this will be an easy job, I get a call from a teacher who tells me she’s found a pair of glasses with a crooked lens and there is a gap. My stomach drops. This is exactly what I’ve been afraid of.
I rush over to the teacher’s room to inspect the glasses and, sure enough, there is a small gap, just wide enough to cause permanent damage. I check my pile again this time more closely, but I still don’t find any holes. The glasses seem to be OK. But now I’m even more scared than I was before.
It’s a mass viewing. We’re walking six hundred students outside to see it. And that requires a lot of supervision to make sure everyone’s safe. But that’s my job. The kids are lined up on the football field with their glasses on. They were told to leave them on. Never to look up without them. Most of the kids follow the rules.
The other teachers are looking up at the sun through their own solar glasses, but, for some reason, I’m still not interested. Whether I’m scared or bored or annoyed by the hype, I can’t say. All I know is, I just want the event to be over. I want to lead the kids safely back inside and move on.
But my stomach hurts, and, suddenly, I know I have to look. I can’t be the only one who didn’t even try. I put the glasses on and glance up. The sun is only partially occluded, and I feel like I’ve risked everything—my conviction, my eyes—for what? A small piece of the moon blocking the sun?
The event only lasts about fifteen minutes, but it feels like an hour. We trod back into the building, and the buzz is noticeably gone. I’m not the only one who feels let down or maybe I am, but I suddenly feel less alone.
There are still about ten minutes left in the school day. The kids are talking about video games and cell phone apps. Anything but the eclipse, and I feel comforted. The hype is over, just like the eclipse. And everything can go back to normal.
The dismissal bell chimes and the kids race out to their busses. I open up my manuscript and start my final chapter with a new sense of energy. Some animal thing is driving me on. I push past the fear that it might not be good, that it might let down the readers, and I write the thing.
Four o’clock. I’m leaving for the day, and when I get home my family will ask me about the eclipse. They’ll want to know if I’ve seen it. But I’ll just shake my head and tell them that it was a great day. Because today’s the day I finally finished my book.
Tell Me What You Think
I love hearing from readers after every story! Please feel free to drop a comment below!
I always get excited hearing and witnessing solar eclipses, sunsets and sunrises,comets,shooting stars even a rainbow 🌈 . There is something magical going on in the universal sky and it makes me realize how minuscule I really am.