Tsunami, the Game of Ocean and Land

The vast ocean was beckoning to its playmate, the land mass. As it teased and tickled Land with its lapping waves, Ocean murmured sweet nothings near its shores. Together with Wind, Ocean liked to frolic under Sun, always very near Land. They were inseparable.

Sometimes Land did not want to play as it was burdened by humans with countless tasks. Furthermore, Land had not been feeling well. There was too much pollution. Ocean was angry too. Long ago, Ocean was not often sick. It could reach further into Land without being harrased by structures built by humans. It could leave behind shiny crystals of sand, shells of queer shapes and sometimes bringing its inhabitants namely the turtles ashore.

Lately, Ocean was playing too rough. It had resorted to extreme sports too. Instead of churning waves of two or three metres high, it was not satisfied if they were not ten metres high. Why are the Humans so afraid?  Ocean just want to play rough. Why don't Humans just join in the fun?  Go, go and prepare some special gear and play with Ocean and Land! You like rollercoasters- the crazier the better.  So does Ocean and Land!  You want to be part of us, so you have to play our game!  Why do you choose tragedy when you can have happiness?  Is you life so worthless? A survival kit does not guarantee your life, any precautionary measure does not either.  Living in harmony with Ocean and Land does. Understanding our temperament does.  Why all the money and time spent on plans to go to Outer Space when your friends here are calling to you? 
   
Let's have some 'rollercoaster' fun with Ocean! Let's do the craziest surfing! Let's turn the place into a Theme Park when the next tsunami hit us!  Ocean and Land just want to play!  They are not Bad Boys!

Sayonara

That was all Hatsumi could do as she laid sandwiched between a fallen wall panel and a ceiling with an injured leg. It was so close to saving her baby daughter from her crib. She had imagined herself rushing into her house just in time to catch hold of her precious child, and then running out safe from being crushed by falling wood. Why, why, had it not be so, she lamented. I thought God loved my baby, loved me as well , and that was the reason He gave me this baby after so many years of trying and waiting. Please don't take her away from me, please.  Hatsumi screamed her voice hoarse.

Mummy, Mummy, where are you, Hatsumi almost felt as if she heard her four month old baby calling. Mummy, Mummy, don't leave me! Hatsumi was helpless. She cried like a baby.She tried hard to move but her injured left leg was numb and would not move at all. She used her hands to claw her way towards the crib but in vain. She only got her nails broken.

Soon, the sea water moved in. Where is everybody, she asked herself a silly question. She knew she had to save herself and her daughter because time was too short. No time to turn back. She wished she had not gone out to deliver the finished kimono to the bride-to-be who lived not far away. She was too proud of her work to wait. Her husband had warned her to be alert though he did not think anything bad would happen. There had been tremours for years and years , and nothing really dangerous had come out of them.

Anyway, make sure you don't leave the house without the baby, he warned as he left for work in the city. What is she going to tell him, that is if she and the baby survive at all.  Suddenly, she felt the pressure on her body grew less and seconds after that, she knew why. A big wave must had hit the shore and the sea water had now moved in. Everything in the house started to bob around and for one moment, she saw her baby floating on the foam rubber mat she was lying on.  However later, she could not see her because a big cupboard which had floated in front of her,  blocked her view. She tried to stay calm so that she would not sink into the rising water. She clung on to the cupboard door. It hurt her hands but she decided to focus on saving her daughter to cut off  all the pain she felt.

The baby was crying and crying now. Where, where, are you, my baby, Hatsumi called out desperately. Hatsumi could not hold on anymore. The more she panicked at the thought of losing her baby, the more tensed she became. She slipped and sank into the water . She struggled, kicking hard to surface but to no avail.

 Sorry, my baby, sorry, I cannot save you. Sorry, I have to leave you. God will look after you. God , you MUST. Take me instead. Hatsumi floated away together with the other items in the house leaving Masuko still floating on the foam rubber mat trapped in a corner at the rooftop. Mummy, Mummy, what is this funny taste? Mummy, Mummy, I am wet. I don't like it, Mummy. The baby cried as she complained of the unfamiliar surroundings. An hour later, she got tired and fell asleep.

The Sea Monster's Meal

Mitsuyo was awake all the time. Being a professional photographer, her greatest regret was she had not her camera with her. She could not let a single thing pass by her eyes, her 'natural camera'.

She captured the swaying buildings, the scampering people on the streets, the shoppers running inside the buildings and going under tables to protect their heads and bodies,and the countless calling up of whoever that might be on their handphones.  Later, just as she was up in her office and was almost reaching out for her camera in its bag, a loud crashing sound stopped her. Pieces of glass from the windows fell on to the floor of the 3rd storey office and they were told to leave immediately as the roof was coming down. Her hands were bleeding profusely as some of the glass splinters had pierce into her flesh. Before she could feel any pain, she was bundled off by a caring female colleague, Akio, to run for their lives. And as they were running down the steps, thoughts of dying kept flashing across her mind. The flight down the stairs took a long time. Even in fleeing for their lives , the younger ones were still giving way to older ones.

Downstairs, they were told to take their cars and drive as far off the coast ,towards the interior ,as they possibly could. They were warned if they did not hurry. they would soon be swallowed up by the impending tsunami. Mitsuyo went into Akio's car and had to forget her own because she could not drive with her bleeding hands. They had got into their car and suddenly, Mitsuyo saw an odd expression on Akio's face. It was like she had seen a ghost. She was staring at the rear mirror, and wondering what the reflection was, Mitsuyo turned her head to look. In the distance she could see a greyish mass moving towards them in a fast pace. The others must had just seen it too because there was loud horning to hasten each other, but it was too late. Akio knew it, Mitsuyo knew it and so did others. The cars just stopped moving as if waiting for the next thing to happen.

Next they could see cars ramming into one another and Akio was screaming as the car next to them crashed into hers. As the salty sea water seeped into the car, the claustrophobic Akio struggled to open the door and she just crawled out into the rising water. She disappeared and Mitsuyo, with a quick action, grabbed a rubber neck pillow, filled it with some air and then shoved it into her jacket, hoping it might help later on. In a nick of time, she managed to retrieve the emergency bag containing a survival kit from under the driver's seat.  Deftly, she strapped it over her shoulders.  Just as she had finished, she too was 'consumed' by the sea water.

Takeda's Wrath

Takeda walked out of the debris, feeling angry. He was furious at what had happened. He was ,about an hour ago, enjoying his work , happily chatting with his colleagues about the recent project.
Now, look at me, he thought. His new tailored suit was all soaked wet by the salty sea water. And what is this mess sticking on its fabric! Takeda examined the lapel of his suit, very irritatedly.  He looked around in the darkness, and every now and then his surroundings became visible by an intermittent brightness which baffled him.

He could not stand his own smell and he could not recalled any time in his forty -year life during which he was ever this dirty. He called out but there was no human reply. The only sound he heard was a distant booming sound. The air smelt strange . Where had everyone gone, he queried himself. Where am I, he questioned himself.

He decided to walk away from where he was. He felt like he had just woken up from a rubbish heap. He wanted to see himself in a mirror. There was not a single soul around and he felt he looked horrible. A strange feeling came upon him and he was right about its weirdness! His hands were inflamed but he could not feel any pain. It seemed that his outermost layer of skin had been 'sandpapered', and what was left was amazingly raw but with no sign of bleeding. What had happened, he wondered again.

There was an earth quake and he had felt something hit his head. That was the last thing he could remember. Why is he where he is now?  He recognised the smell,the saltish air, and something else which he could not make out. A burning smell. Where has he smelt that before? He could not remember anything. He did not like it at all .  He found himself shaking and his fists clenching. Suddenly, his hands went up his head and they started to pull his hair. Strangely, his mind could not control their actions.  They were separate from his body although they remained unattached. However, he felt so much better after that.  It was much better than screaming and yelling.  He began to fear his own self.  What next, what is he going to do next?  He felt a monster breaking out of his pent-up self.