The Streetlight

One evening, friends dropped me off at home. We got out of the car and stood talking for a while. It was calm, unhurried. Not far from us, near the cul-de-sac, I noticed a streetlight that wasn’t on. Without thinking too much, I said: “If I stand under that streetlight, it will turn on.” Everyone laughed. It sounded like a joke. But I decided to walk toward it anyway. As I walked, step by step, I kept thinking: Why did I say that? I don’t actually know if it will turn on. After about fifteen steps, I stopped directly beneath the light. And suddenly, it turned on. People started laughing and shouting, saying I must have known it would happen. That it was just coincidence. But the most surprised person was me. Because I didn’t know. I didn’t expect it. And I still don’t know how it happened.