The summer air was hot and sticky.  In her bed, Hannah turned from one side to the other and moved her legs to find a cooler spot on the sheet.  She closed her eyes but sleep was the furthest thing away.  Sounds were everywhere keeping her awake.  The
crickets were singing their nighttime songs and the clock played its
steady rhythm as Hannah counted ticks and tocks, one-by-one.  Then the house creaked and gave her a little fright.

In the moonlit room shadows appeared larger than life and Hannah tried to keep her eyes closed.  She heard a train in the distance.  "Whoooooooo Whoooooooo," it sounded.  A little breeze came through the window and tickled her skin. "How nice," she thought.  Then it was gone and the hot still air hung on Hannah like a blanket.  Firecrackers went off in a neighbor's yard.  Some boys laughed and ran away.  So many sounds when everyone is supposed to be asleep.

Hannah lay quietly, looking around in her shadowy room.  On the far wall she could see a head with very large pointy ears and long sharp teeth.  Its arms seemed to be reaching for her so Hannah quickly pulled the covers up over her eyes.  "Mom, there's something in my room," she cried.  Mom came running in and turned on the light.  "What is it honey," she said.  "There!"  Hannah pointed to where the creature had been but nothing was there except a doll on top of her dresser.  The moonlight had made the doll's shadow look scary.  "It's gone now," said Hannah.  Mom smiled.  "Isn't it funny what shadows can do?  There's nothing to be afraid of here.  You get some sleep or you're going to be tired in the morning."  Mom blew Hannah a kiss, turned off the light, and went back to her own room.  Her footsteps echoed in harmony with the crickets outside the window.  A chorus of wind chimes rang unexpectedly as another light breeze teased the humid air.  So many sounds when everyone is supposed to be asleep.

The moon rose higher in the sky.  Hannah shut her eyes, but the insides of her eyelids were like a movie screen playing all her thoughts back to her.  She could see the swimming pool where she swam earlier with her best friend Cindy.  Cindy's cat was resting on a lawn chair in a patch of sun.  And
later, when they were jumping rope, Hannah remembered stubbing her toe
on the concrete and trying not to cry in front of her friend.  How it hurt!  In the end the tears felt hotter than the sun on her cheeks.

  Hannah
turned again, from one side to the other, just in time to catch another
breeze.  She could smell a sweet, familiar scent.  Jasmine, it's called
- a night-blooming flower.  Imagine! Flowers that bloom in the night! 
The air quickened and Hannah heard some papers rustle on her art
table.  A little flash of light in the distance meant a storm was
coming.  She could hear a low rumble of thunder, and a car alarm went
off somewhere down the street.  A dog barked, and then, "Whoooooooo
Whoooooooo!"  She never heard so many sounds when everyone is supposed
to be asleep.

Hannah got out of bed as another rumble of thunder sounded.  Her toe still ached a bit, but she tiptoed down the hall to her mom's room and opened the door.  "Mom, can I sleep with you tonight," she whispered.  Mom pulled her sheet aside and moved over to make room and Hannah slid into her spot on the bed.  Mom
leaned over and kissed Hannah's forehead. "You're so much like me,
aren't you," she said. "I can never sleep on these hot nights either,
but we're in for a storm.  Let's lay here and watch the lightning show."

As the storm grew closer, a gust of cool air parted the curtains as if to announce its arrival.  Mom
pulled the curtains to the side so they could get a better view, and
then she and Hannah propped up their pillows and waited together for
what looked to be a grand performance.  Lightning bolts darted across the dark night sky.  They counted the spaces in-between thunderclaps, and then they listened as the rain tapped a steady beat on the roof.  It was just enough to lull them to sleep.  And all night long the sounds of summer played on.

copyright 2007