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But then Volta started to get happy and it shut off. How would we keep Volta crying, and awake all night?

I then remembered that the machine had a manual override. Of course, that would just require us to take shifts. When I tried it the first time, however, the manual pump broke. So we were back to problem one.

Volta was still crying, fortunately. Bill got into bed and put the mask on. Soon, Volta's crying became a soft sob, and my father in law started to doze off. I could see that Volta was getting tired. The machine continued its rhythmic hum. It was such a soothing sound that I started to get drowsy, too. My wife then came and asked me where I kept my stash. My eyes lit up. I had forgotten all about my stash of Jolt Cola. That would certainly take care of keeping Volta awake. But what would keep her crying? I felt so horrible to have to make my young niece cry all night, but it was literally a matter of life and death. Perhaps I could just remind her that if she stopped, Bill would die. It sure was making me tear up.

As the night wore on, I became restless and nervous. To no avail, I tried a few more times to fix the manual override. The Jolt worked on Volta, but I could see the beginnings of giddiness with each gulp. I had to keep her sad.

The crying exhausted her, but she continued her sobs all the way through the night. Thank God Bill wakes up early. At five sharp, Bill sprang up. I had been asleep for about two hours. Poor Volta was still ever so softly sobbing, barely awake. The machine was still humming quietly. Bill picked Volta up and put her on the bed in his stead. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.

At about two in the afternoon, as we were finishing lunch, Volta came into the dining room. She rubbed her eyes, stretched out her arms, and let out a huge yawn. Everyone ran over and wrapped their arms around her.

After everyone gave their hugs, Bill picked up Volta and started to cry. He told her how thankful he was that she had saved his life. Volta, too tired to cry anymore, smiled, and all the electricity in the neighborhood came back on. Maybe we should call her "Jenerator" after all.

Learn more about this author, Reed Daigle.
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