Waiting For The Sun To Disappear

Jeff pushed his nose against the window, waiting for his cousin Liz to arrive.

- Buffy Silverman

Liz and Aunt Molly were coming to stay at his house. Jeff couldn’t wait to play at the park with them. He planned to show Liz the fort that he and Dad had built. And best of all, they were going to watch the solar eclipse!

Everyone was excited about the eclipse. Jeff’s mom had told him that during a total solar eclipse the moon would move in front of the sun, covering the sun up little by little. The sky would get darker, the air would get cooler, and the sun would disappear in the middle of the day!

Jeff and his parents had never seen a total solar eclipse. That’s because the last one to pass over the United States was 38 years ago—before his parents were born. But now Jeff’s town was right in the path of the next eclipse. People from all over were coming to see it, including Liz’s family.

“They’re here!” Jeff yelled. He ran outside just as the car stopped in the driveway. Liz jumped out, wearing funny glasses.

“Why are you wearing those?” he asked. “They’re for the eclipse,” said Liz.

“We brought a pair for you too.”

Jeff tried them on. They made everything look very dark. “Thank you,” he said, “but I already have sunglasses.”

Aunt Molly smiled. “Looking at the sun can hurt your eyes. Sunglasses don’t block enough of the harmful rays to keep your eyes safe. These do. I’ll put them away for now, so they don’t get scratched. We’ll take them out again to watch the eclipse.”