Julia has lived on Nova Island for six years. After the trauma she experienced there, she decided to go home. It's been ten years since her last visit to the small seaside town. She didn't expect to see her arch-enemy sitting in her parents' living...
The cover was by Angelanguyenn. Thanks for the beautiful graphic.
After graduating from Columbia University, I moved to an island to teach English to kids and adults. The kids have picked it up quicker than the adults, but it's good to see them trying to communicate with me.
On the island, they speak Spanish; to communicate with them, I usually type words into the Google Translate app to talk to them.
Right now, I am sitting on the beach with six eight-year-olds.
"Ball," Angelica says.
Toby throws the ball at her, and the ball goes around the kids like a hot potato.
Suddenly, the water from the beach begins to recede, and I hear an unusual roar that sounds like a train coming from the ocean. "Run," I yell. "We need to get higher ground."
Five kids start running, and I see Darcey staring at the sea.
"Leave her," Beatrice yells as she runs with her kids.
I'm not going to leave an innocent child to die.
I pull her back and see the tsunami wave come toward us.
Birds are flying away and making a lot of noise.
Darcey and I don't make it too far when the sea sweeps us up.
I see Darcey get dunked under the water. I dive into the water, and my hands grab onto her shirt. I pull Darcey up, and she wraps her arms around me.
"Darcey, I need you to grab onto the tree when we pass it."
"Okay,"
A fallen tree is in front of us, and I grab it.
Darcey climbs onto the tree while I stay in the water, holding onto the trunk.
The water keeps pushing against us, and I start to wonder when we'll be free of the water.
I feel something scraping against my leg, and it hurts badly. I start to curse.
I'm glad the kid doesn't know what I'm saying.
The water starts calming down, but I don't believe that's all we're getting. I look around the water and see another wave heading our way from the opposite direction.
"Darcey, you need to dive under the water. It's going to feel like you're in a washing machine. When the water settles, you'll know when to come up."
"Okay, Julia."
I count to three, and we dive into the water.
She holds my hand, and I try not to let it go.
The water throws me all over the place, and my hand slips from Darcey's.
Please, let us survive this.
***
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
