The first time I died went something like this…..
There was an abandoned house across the street that I always wondered about. It was like one of those houses you see in action movies and books. I would always read my science fiction novels against the window facing Newberry Lane where mosquitoes would ravage the house. Of course, there was never really an option to mention about that house as rumors have spread over the years. No one ever wanted to ride their bikes past it or even look at it with the plain eye. Not until I decided to do some digging of my own that changed my future, and yours too.
It was August 29, 1966. The local radio station announce the daily weather update. “A hurricane with winds up to 185 miles per hour is about to make landfall in Middletown, Massachusetts”, they say. The old-time background stutters and disruptions during the speaking don’t capture the fear and panic the host’s voice. Soon, the chatter of unbothered souls ringer through the streets of the small town, thinking that the storm would pass like years before. In less than 24 hours, almost every home along the shore was destroyed with the top of trees being seen for the first time, on their own homes. Flood waters up to 20 feet in depth cover the entire town with only rooftops being seen from helicopters above. The voices of terrified and hungry children are heard at the shelter 30 minutes away. Everyone is in rejection and disbelief over the home they have lived in for decades demolished to the ground. The streets they walked on less than a day ago were nowhere to be seen. Everything including their dreams, were gone. Hurricane Kai, true in its meaning and in its hardship to mankind. The sea would strike again.
How can such a strong, trustworthy and amazing community ignore the warnings to evacuate? That was the question I, Amanda Sansbury, asked myself after I closed my book at 12:30 at night. The science fiction novels filled the “done” side of my shelf as my book I got from the bookstore would be next. As I looked at the pile, I realized that maybe overconfidence had to do with unbothered and satisfied humans. That explained the unawareness of a huge tragedy instead of a small storm they put so much effort in to prepare for. Desperate to find answers, I knew that passion and hard work would be the only way to finish this book with a full and complete ending instead of a race with no finish line. Lets say this, it ended rather prehistorically.
The next day, I grabbed my bike from my considerably loud garage after school hoping my parents and little brother won’t hear me. Getting out of the house was always difficult for me, so I found some comfort in switching on the tv to make them distracted. The clicks of the remote were spontaneous as tv shows were easily disagreed on. The minute they decided on “Murder She Wrote”, it was go time. I made to the county office just in time before they closed down the office for visitors. Annoyance filled my ears the minute I stepped in.” Come on Danny, you’re goin’ to prom with me aren’t you? Lisa is way too fat for you to dance with her. Her arms will leave permanent scars on your shoulders!” As you can tell, it was May, and you know what that means! The high school juniors and seniors buzzed about who they are going to take to prom in every shop I have entered. The other day when I was at the cashier line at the mall, there was a blueprint on the counter of where and how Paige McGraw was to “prompose” to her boyfriend Daniel Castillo. Turns out, Danny dumped her during exam day for the much younger 16 yr old Mckenna Bingham. Back to the county office errand, it was seven pm at night and I knew it was late. I just couldn’t hold up the thought of not finding the right first and last names of people. I knew that my librarian had an uncle who was living 20 miles up north from my town when the hurricane hit, so I decided to use the power of Google instead of DuckDuckGo for my research. Who cared whether my information was saved on a database. Link after link, I scanned through websites trying to find one resourceful last name and picture that tied together. Once I found my information, I started grabbing my blueprints so I could give them to the mayor. I always like to give surprises to people, questioning my personality and whether I was playing a trick on them. But suddenly, the wind turned chilly. Before I could even react, there was a knock at the door.
