It happened in the August month of 1999 in an average coastal town of Orissa,India..It was a town with around ten thousand population…It was raining cats and dogs there for almost a week..
Life to say the least,was paralyzed.
The communication link with the outside world was cut off long ago…
And On that eventful day..
It was around 5 AM in the morning..
Before they could realize what was happening, the levels of water started rising drastically and there was no escape route for them as the heavily gushing water was hampering their movements…
Still they managed to run out of their houses but pathetically found themselves stranded in more and more of flood water..
The water at that time was up to the waist level and was gradually rising..The shocked many tried to reach that handful of high rise buildings in the town only to find them overflowing with people.
While the lucky ones could barge in…those unlucky were shunted out…
And it was still very heavily raining at that time..
With the passing of time..Rains didn’t stop..The rising of water levels didn’t stop..And the plight of the people didn’t stop..All the streets were full with people and full with water..Some people were trying their best to come out of the water but the level was constantly rising and was making life miserable for them.There is no escape route visible anywhere nearby except a frightening flood water.
By then almost all of them have very silently realized that they are slowly heading towards a country from whose Bourne no traveler has ever returned..
But there were still some people shouting for help ..A few some were weeping out of fear..While some were down low spirited…A few some were going hysterical…Children and the old aged were the worst affected as one by one of them started dying a silent death…
A helpless death..An unnoticed silent death…
All the remaining of them there wanted to live…
Just live. Do something. But live..
Helplessness….Dddaammmnnn helplessness was bogging them down..
Questions and questions were frustrating them..
Do..??What to do..???How to do..????
How..how…..??????????????
All they want from God at that moment was..
Life. Just life. Nothing..Nothing else…
No riches,no money…No egos,no jealousy…
No holier than thou attitudes..No one-upmanship..
No false shows of prestige…
No clashes,no rivalry,no religion,no exploitation in the name of God.no superiority,no inferiority,
Nothing..nothing..And nothing else..But life and life alone..
But less do they know
That..
In the court of Nature there is no room for appeal..But still they were doing their best to survive.. They were praying for life.. Praying for those helping hands..
Praying loudly, praying silently…Praying and weeping..Weeping and praying…
Praying for their survival and weeping for their loved ones…They were praying and praying and praying..
Thuddddddddddddd..
Before they could realize with what force death strikes when it strikes..It was all over..All their dreams, all their plans, all their aspirations..With one blow of death..With one deadly blow of D…E…A..T…H…H…H…H..Were washed out in a moment…A sudden rush of water flowing from a broken dam nearby, struck them silently wiping them away off their feet…The water that was so essential for the survival of humanity on this planet has silently eliminated them…The deadly fury of Mother Nature….
And after that…
There was absolute silence. ..
Fearful silence..
With only the sound of water echoing around..
Just the sound of free flowing water creating terror…
That’s all..
…………..
And..
And..
From that dangerously flowing deadly waters..
And from among those dead..
Rose a woman..
A poor young woman in her late twenties..
Rose like a phoenix out of the ashes..
During all that painful time she was fighting..
Was waging a lone battle..
She just did not remain silent and immobile by offering prayers to the invisible..
She was trying to move..
Come what may..
Move..
And then finally she moved..
To be continued......
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