The letter was delicately crushed in my palm. My mind was still a blur with the truth I had just read, heat creeping to my face. I was stolen. Those were not my real parents. My life has been a lie.
I walked out of my kidnappers' room and to the living room, where I just stood and stared at the front door.
Is it even worth it to leave? The world is going to end, isn't it? We're all going to die. I'm a mistake.
My breathing became ragged, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Tears streamed down my face and splashed to the tiled floor.
I had to calm down. I had to get my head straight and do what was sensible. I had to survive.
I took deep breaths in and out in an attempt to calm myself. Somehow, that cringey technique worked and made me feel much better. I needed to think, to plot how I was going to survive the doom I had brought upon this world.
Bang! A loud noise sounded outside, followed by pitter-pattering noises on the hard ground. I rushed over to the curtained window and forcefully pushed the curtains aside so I could see what was happening outside.
Rain. Lots and lots of rain. However, there was something different about this rain. The sky was still a bright blue and fluffy white clouds were still roaming above. This had to be the upcoming doom. An idea struck me to turn the television on in the living room and check out the current news broadcast.
"There seems to be an unusually heavy storm here in the state of California. No, I'm just getting wind now that apparently this crazy phenomenon is occurring nationwide. A normal looking sky, blue, black, sunset or sunrise, the rain just doesn't stop. It also doesn't look like it will be stopping for some time, so dress warm and carry an umbrella wherever. This is newscaster Navia signing out. Stay safe everyone and more news to come."
I turned the television off and stared at its blank screen for a moment, stunned. What am I going to do? Are we going to drown? Am I flooding the world?
"Ok, be sensible now. Hide in this house and ride out the storm here? No, that's so stupid. The water would just get in and there would be the problem of food."
I racked my brain for any more ideas. Then, a not so silly one struck me. I could actually ride out the storm, just not in this house. I recalled that painting of a boat and it occured to me that the boat dock was not too far from this house. I could get there quickly then hop onto someone's boat. It seemed far-fetched but the most sensible idea I could think of.
I rushed to my bedroom and grabbed the biggest bag I had, dumping clothing, my notebook, writing materials, a heap of food and two bottles of water. This has to be enough, right? My bag was getting extremely heavy and that was when I decided I wanted to carry no more. I decided to put on a long sleeved shirt with track pants and a puffy jacket. I wore with it waterproof shoes and had my phone stuffed into one pant pocket with my wallet stuffed in the other. My backpack slung onto my back, I said my goodbyes to the house and unlocked the front door. I was immediately met with a strong gust of wind that almost knocked me off my feet. I quickly steadied myself, rushed out the house and locked the front door, stuffing the keys into the back pocket of my pants. Maybe I'll come back in the future and check it out. If it's still standing. I held on to that little sliver of hope, unaware of how dangerous this storm was going to be.
I was walking as quickly as I could with all the wind resistance and rain pouring down, my umbrella entirely not serving its purpose. I got some odd looks from passers-by. Probably from my outlandish attire and ginormous bag. However, I returned their odd stares. They were dressed casually and were going about like any other normal weekday. I was confused, then I realised that they may not be aware of how bad this storm may be. Suddenly, I heard my name being called. It was my classmate, Mika. I trotted up to him, also realising that he was also dressed like any normal school day. "Miriam, what are you wearing? And carrying? Are you going on an adventure?" I sighed and replied as patiently as I could. "No, I'm going away. To survive. Aren't you too?" "What are you talking about? Are you planning to skip school? You know that's wrong." "The storm? The flood that's coming? What, is everyone just pretending everything is ok?" "The storm will pass over like every bad storm does, so let's just go to school now." I was exasperated. "No, Mika. I'm leaving. You'll regret not taking my words into account. You're going to die." He looked shocked and taken aback. "What are you saying? You shouldn't curse people like that, it's not very friendly of you." I shook my head and continued on my way to the boat docks. I yelled back to Mika, "No one likes you anyway!"
The stares did not die down the more I walked. In fact, they increased as more people had woken up and were on their way to work. Some who passed by laughed at me while others actually stopped me to ask about my get-up. I clearly explained to them how the world was going to flood and we should all get to high ground. However, they stared back at me like I was a madman, scoffed and walked away. How annoying. No one believes that I am telling the truth. At least I think that is the truth.
I had underestimated how long the walk to the boat docks was going to be and I had walked for at least an hour. In that hour, as time passed, I started doubting myself. Am I just overthinking things? What if I'm the crazy one here instead of them? However, I decided to trust my judgement and trudge on through puddles of the slowly but surely rising waters. Finally, I saw it. The boat docks.
ns216.73.216.121da2
and then Add to home screen.