My life in the tsunami

Authors note: this isn’t actually my part of it. It’s just a support story for Japan and the crisis’s that have been going on there. I strongly support Japan*

I live in Fukushima, Japan. I was having a normal family dinner with my wife, son and daughter. We were discussing normal things that any other family would discuss over dinner, about what’s going on in this strange, awful big world. We were the only fluent English speaking family in the village. I taught my children and wife, my parents told me. My parents didn’t live with us, they lived in their own home, I couldn’t do with anymore people in this house, it’s too small.

I was just about to put some carrot in my mouth when suddenly the whole house shook. Books fell off the shelves and pictures fell off the walls. My children started screaming. My wife tried to calm them whilst I led them outside. You probably think that wasn’t sensible but in my mind it was. Anything could have broken and fell on them there, it was safer outside. We crouched on the cold tarmac and waited for this huge 8.8 earthquake the pass. It took it’s time. Other families started crowding outside and I beckoned them over. It would be safer in a big group. Trees started shaking and leaves fell off. thank god we weren’t near them, they could have fallen on us. A tree fell.

I saw in the distance sea spray. We lived near the ocean. I thought it as normal until I saw it gushing towards us. “RUN!” I Shouted at everyone, pointing at the murky, green, salty seawater flowing our way. Everyone ran inside, i grabbed my families hands and ran inside too. I shoved towels at the bottom of the doors and went up into the attic with everyone. I hope we wouldn’t get it.

‘It’s a tsunami isn’t it?’ I thought to myself. ‘It can’t be, there hasn’t been one in ages!’ I huddled with my family, wondering if this would be our last minutes alive, together… I prayed. I got my family to pray with me. We prayed for our lives, for other peoples lives. I heard slushing outside and the house started shaking again. I wrapped my arms around my family and they wrapped there’s round me. This was it wasn’t it?

The side of the house fell down. We were left, floating on the attic across the gushing sea. We clung onto each other as long as we could. I saw a neighbour floating, shouting.

“HELP!!” He was shouting. I leaned in to grab him but the wood we were floating on fell. My family clung to me and I clung to them. I clung to the neighbour too. My wife lost grip of my leg in the fast flowing water. Oh no, I’ve lost the love of my life. My daughter and sun were hung onto them too, i’ve lost them as well. My life’s fallen apart. What can I do? Nothing. Not anything in this fast flowing water. “GRAB MY LEG!” I shouted to my wife. She leaned to grab my leg but she couldn’t reach. Tears flowed down everyones cheeks. i guess this was the end. I’ve lost my whole family to this stupid idiotic world. I lost my family because I tried to save someone I barley knew. I’ve done a good deed, yes, but I’ve lost my whole family because of it. They’re sinking under the murky water in the distance. That was it for them. My heart broke in two as I lost sight of them.

I snapped focus back to the man and me. We grabbed a piece of bypassing wood and sat on it. We both panted. I guess we’d seen we’re alive. We floated to the side of the road which was now a huge fast flowing river. We both hopped onto the side and layed on the sturdy ground, panting. Then I snapped back to focus. I ran towards where my family had sunk. They were’nt there. Wait, they must have floated down. I pushed myself to run faster than the water which was humanly impossible. I saw there bodies laying on top of the water, scattered in the stray pieces of wood and furniture. They were gone… I crouched down on the floor sobbing my whole heart out. I seriously felt suicidal right now. I went back to the man who was busy spitting out water.

~A few days later~

BBC News had reported on me, I explained everything. They were amazed that I risked my life for someone else, but lost my family in the process. That I even had the strength to swim against the murky water which flowed at me.

Something had happened about the nuclear power plant thing but I didn’t understand any of it. I wasn’t fully educated for a fully grown man. My whole mind was fixed on my family. I don’t know what to do. I went back to the ruins of my ’house’ and looked at it was awful. I looked at the view infront of me. Half of my house wasn’t even there, the attic, the upstairs. Only the downstairs was there, no roof just broken bricks.

I looked behind me to see the view, it wasn’t a view i hoped of. Puddles of dirty, murky water scattered around. Seaweed and rubbish was everywhere. The trees had no leaves, just on top. Even though it was winter the trees were on the trees before this even happened. Though there were leaves on top of the tree not on the branches near the bottom. I went back through the door-way, of course not the door, there wasn’t one. I swept some dust of the chair and sat on it. I wasn’t sure it was safe though because there was wobbly bricks.

Suddenly an after shock from the earthquake occured I was about to run outside but something fell on my head and I collapsed on the floor and I saw black. I guess that was the end.

http://shortstoriesshort.com/story/my-life-in-the-tsunami/