Hans woke up to the sound of oars splashing. Her eyes drifted open slowly, then closed back. She opened it again and the first thing that came to her notice was that she was floating on a raft-like piece of wood. She sat up slowly and took notice of her surroundings. It seemed like the whole world was covered in water. Water! Then she remembered.
Four Months Ago
Hans was in her last year of school and was preparing for her final exams. She was anticipating getting into the university to study civil engineering. It had always been her passion to construct and elevate quality infrastructure from the flatness of the ground. But to achieve that dream, she had to work and study very hard, so she could get a scholarship. That was why she arrived home from school late in the evenings.
She had just gotten home from school. She opened the door which led straight to the living room. Her dad and mum were sitted in front of the TV, watching the 5pm news. Her little brother was sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms. The air about the room was melancholic and there was a certain tension shifting in the room. Her father's lips were in a deep frown and his eyebrows were bunched together while her mother's lips were drawn tight as she rocked the baby in her hands gently.
“Good evening, Papa. Good evening, Mama.” She greeted, bending her knees.
“Good evening, Hanny.” Her mother replied.
“Good evening, Hans. How was school today?” Her dad asked.
“It was fine, papa.” She stood up straight and went to sit beside her dad. “What's wrong?” She asked her dad
Her dad and her mum exchanged glances, keeping mute.
“Papa, what's going on? You and Mama seemed angry when I came in.” She pushed for an answer.
“I think we should tell her. She's not a little kid that we should be hiding things from.” Her mum said. She stood up and went out of the living room.
Her dad let out a sigh, then cleared his throat. “On the news today, there were reports that a crack was noticed in the dam wall. They said it is just a slight crack and the government would be in to fix it. But you know we live close to the dam and we are in the rainy season. If they don't fix it fast or right, hmm.” He didn't complete his sentence.
Hans heart pounded, thinking of what could happen if the dam wall collapsed. Her home and thousand of others would be destroyed. Lives would be cut short. She understood her dad's fear because the government was really unreliable. But she felt they needed to trust the government to do the right thing this time.
“Papa, I think we should have a little faith this time. The government will fix it. They know what would happen if they do not. They can't let a whole state get decimated.” She said.
“You speak wisdom, my daughter. Let's hope then.” He rubbed her head warmly and she smiled.
A month later, the government came in to fix it. The good news went viral and everyone breathed out in relief. But anytime Hans left for school, she would look into the horizon. She would make out the high dam wall, and hope they fixed it well.
The month the dam broke, heavy rain had been falling for most of the day. Hans had been waiting for the rain to stop and it finally did. She stepped out of the school with her study group mates and waved goodbye to them. She started the walk home, her mind going over the equations and graphs she had studied while in school. Then, she heard a roar, like a waterfall. This moment, there was dry ground. The next, a huge wave of water was crashing into her and lifting her from the ground. She got covered by the water, but she fought her way up. When her head broke through, she gasped for air. She had lost her school bag due to the onslaught of water. She looked around and saw a raft-like wood drifting fast towards her. She grabbed a hold of it and she tried swimming in the direction she thought was her home. Another huge wave of water, her head hitting something hard and she was gone into the darkness of oblivion.
Present
Hans saw a longboat moving towards her and soon, it was beside her. A man and a woman holding a little boy were in the boat. The man was the person navigating the boat with his oars.
“Hello, young girl. It seems you are stranded. We are rowing to one of the IDP camps. You can join us.” The man said. Hans just shivered in response.
The man dropped the oars and stretched out his arms, heaving her into the boat. She was laid flat and she found herself looking at the sky that was devoid of birds and sunlight. A warm clothing was wrapped around her. And soon, she stopped shivering. She found herself looking at the woman and her son. They reminded her of her family and then, she started crying. She wondered where they were or if they were alive. The tears burst forth in floods and she crumpled in on herself. The woman only rubbed Hans’ shoulders in comforting circles, not saying a word.
Two weeks at the IDP camp and people were still coming in. People who had been displaced due to the flood. Families and children who had been separated from each other. Sad lonely people trickling in every day.
International agencies over the world had been donating money, food and health services to the state to help affected people. Agents were employed to help reunite families together. There were also reports that the waters were gradually receding. Soon, there would be land once more.
Hans had spoken to one of the international agents, telling her of how she wanted to reunite with her family. She gave the agent her name and the names of her parents and brother. But every single day that other people got reunited with their family, there was no news of hers. Her hope had started fading slowly. Her family was probably dead.
Then one day, she was jolted awake from her slumber. It was the international agent. A sad smile was on her face. And Hans felt her hope getting renewed.
“We found your family. Come on.” The woman pulled her gently to her feet and led her to the makeshift office where the agents worked. Hans closed her eyes and inhaled heavily. Then she opened her eyes and there was her mum, carrying her baby brother. Her mother's eyes were glistening with tears and they were moving towards each other slowly. Soon, they were in each other's arms, hugging tightly, tears dripping. Hans felt all of the weariness and anguish seep out of her.
“What of dad?” Hans asked her mother. They were sitting on one of the mattresses set on the ground. Her brother was sleeping peacefully.
“He didn't make it. He risked his life so I and your brother could be safe.” Her mother replied. A tear slid down her cheek. Han felt a tear on her cheek too. Her dad was dead. All because of the higgledy-piggledy work that the government had done. If the government had constructed a strong dam wall, if they had fixed it right, her dad would be alive. She would be writing her final exams now. Hans felt a burning anger at the government and all the people who had done shoddy work on the dam. She made a vow just then that if everything ever got back to normal, she would be the best civil engineer there ever was. She would make constructions and infrastructure that didn't collapse.
Two weeks later
Hans was getting used to life at the IDP camp. She had even joined the agents in making life easier for the displaced families. She helped in serving food and guiding the new families that came in. She was with her family. Life was getting better. Then, a ray of sunshine came in. The waters had finally dried up in some areas. Land was in view and people could start picking up the shards that was their lives and piecing it back together. Hans believed that so far there was life, there was hope. Somehow, her state would get better. Somehow, the people would put the trauma of the flood behind them and the land would heal.
Thumbnail is mine.
