Upon waking yesterday morning, I was pleased at how cool the room felt. It seemed that I had made the right decision in not using the air-conditioning the night before, opening the back doors and the front window instead to let the natural air circulate--a good way to save on the cost of electricity, although the free entry afforded the mosquitoes can be a problem. Nonetheless, the mosquitoes had not bothered me and I had slept the night through quite comfortably. I was even encouraged to think that maybe my long suffered inner heat problem (one of the many neurologic absurdities associated with MS) had magically gone away (like Trump's version of COVID).
It was not until the evening of the day that I discovered that the AC was in fact running, and apparently had been running all day long, as well as the night before, I assumed. No wonder the atmosphere in the room had felt so cozy, even throughout the day!
I determined that there could only be two possibilities for how this had happened. One would be that I had turned the AC on before going to bed, having somehow forgotten that I had already determined not to do so, and the other that I had turned it on in my sleep sometime during the night. Both seemed decidedly unlikely. Turning on the AC unit requires a certain awareness in that one must decide on the temperature he wants, the fan speed he wants, and such-like. This sort of awareness in combination with an awareness of the windows and doors being open, not to mention the determination I had made not to use the AC in the interest of saving on electricity, seems to defy probability. And as far as performing any function in my sleep other than sleeping is concerned, this is even more unlikely than the first option. It just doesn't happen. I think the last time I did any sleep walking was when I was 5 years old.
And yet, how else could this have happened? It had to be one of these two possibilities, right? The only thing I could do was to curse myself for wasting electricity and commit to being more acutely aware.
One again last night the air was fairly cool, there as a nice breeze coming through the front and back windows, so I determined once again to avoid using the AC and be content with the fresh air and maybe the floor fan. Seemed fine as I got into bed, after first spraying on a little mosquito repellent in case of an attack sometime in the wee hours, and I straightaway fell asleep, not waking even once before the light of morning was streaming into the room. Ah, this is fresh and cool, thought I. Perhaps I will only seldom need to use the air conditioner. Just think of the savings!
Except for one thing. The AC was on, cheerily blowing away, floor tiles cold beneath my feet.
How can it be?! I certainly did not just forgetfully turn it on before bed, and I certainly could not have turned it on in my sleep. IT had turned ITSELF on!
Or ...
The wall garden ghost. Yes, it can only be the wall garden ghost--this old woman who likes to play with electricity, turn the lights on and off, turn the hot water on and off, slam the door on my finger, leave strange things in one place and take needful things from another. Curse you, wall garden ghost! Apparently she finds the natural air insufficiently cool and simply must run the AC, and if I don't turn it on, she will. But what does it matter to her? Do ghosts have a preference for temperature? Aren't they better known for bringing a chill with them? And hasn't she always lived outside anyway, just beyond the back windows in the area that bears her own name? Has she decided to forsake her own soil and enter the house proper? Or ... God forbid ... has she for the last two nights been sleeping in bed beside me?!
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