"No air conditioning? How can you sleep?" a friend asks, horrified¹. I've just revealed that my family has decided² to shut the air conditioner off to save money.

"Nobody opens a window, day or night," warns another friend, whose windows have been painted shut for a decade. "It's just not safe."

On this first night of our cost-cutting adventure, it's only 30 degrees. We're not going to suffer, but the three kids grumble³ anyway. They've grown up in 22-degree comfort, protected from the heat outside.

"How do you open these windows?" my husband asks. Shaking the window handle, he finally releases one. Lots of dead insects lie on the windowsill. As we spring the windows one by one, the night noises howl outside --- and in.

"It's too hot to sleep," my 13-year-old daughter moans. "I'm about to die from this heat," her brother yells down the corridor. "Just try it tonight," I tell them. In truth I'm too tired to argue for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly listening to the cricket choirs⁴ outside that remind me of childhood. The neighbor's dog howls. No doubt a squirrel. It's been years since I've taken the time to really listen to the night.

I think about Grandma, who lived to 92 and still managed the upkeep of my Mom's garden until just a few weeks before she died. And then, I'm back there at her house in the summer heat of my childhood. I move my pillow to the foot of Grandma's bed and angle my face toward the open window. I flip⁵ the pillow, hunting for the cooler side. ( to be continued)

“不开空调？你睡得着吗？”听说我家为了省电要把家里的空调关掉时，我的朋友一脸惊愕。

“现在谁敢开窗？”另一个朋友警告说，“不管是白天还是晚上都不安全！”她家的窗户刷过漆后，已经尘封了十年。

在开始省电的第一天晚上，气温不过30度。我们不觉得难受，3个孩子却抱怨连天。他们是在22度的温室里被呵护长大的，与外界隔绝。

“这些窗户该怎么开呀？”丈夫摇晃着金属插销，终于打开了一扇。各种各样的昆虫尸体装点着窗台。随着窗户被一扇一扇地打开，萦绕在外的夜声涌了进来。

13岁的女儿不停地嘀咕：“太热了！怎么睡啊！” “我快被热死了！”她弟弟的牢骚也从客厅的另一头传了过来。 “今晚就试试好吗？” 我对他们说。我实在太累了，不想和他们费口舌。脸上汗涔涔的，但我还是静静地躺着，听着窗外蟋蟀的合唱，勾起了我童年的记忆。邻居的狗突然狂叫起来，可能是只松鼠惊动了它。我已经好多年没有工夫静下心来倾听夜的倾诉了。

我想起了外婆。她活了92岁，直到去世的前几周，还在帮妈妈照料花园。此时，我好像又回到了外婆的小屋，回到小时候的夏季热浪中。我把枕头挪到外婆的床尾，脸冲着开着的窗户，还是热。于是我不停地翻动枕头，想找凉快的一面。（待续）