There are three porch lights on the side of our house. The porches are perpendicular to the south window of my captain's cabin bedroom. Whenever I turn on one of the lights, the tenants on the compound congregate there and just sit around and chat. Sometimes the children on the compound come and play their games.

I like turning on the porch lights and hearing the soft voices of the people outside my window. Their casual conversations are laden with many stories for future novels. I drift off to sleep listening to them, somehow feeling cozy and somehow feeling secure.