Again

The Past Becomes The Present

The waves crashed through the resorts hotel, taking everything with it in its raging path. His brown eyes grew wide as he looked on with fear— people screaming, the trees being ripped from the ground— all of it; headed straight for him.

Everything in him, every nerve, every inch of his mind, scattered as it was,  told him exactly what to do, yet all of it brought one word to mind as he stood, frozen: RUN.

He looked to his mother, her face a grim reminder of her fear for her eldest son, the way his name rolled from her tongue as she lunged from her chair towards him— it all clicked then and he dove into the pool, hoping to dodge some of the debris that followed behind him.

"Lucas?"

He snapped awake, sweat pouring from his forehead as he sat up, wild eyes looking for the person that called his name. His heart beat against his chest, but as his eyes focused on his youngest brother— Simon, his blue eyes dilated with the knowledge of what his oldest brother had just relived. Lucas sighed, his pulse returning to normal as he fell back against his sweat-soaked sheets.

"Again?" Simon, now 13 years old, asked, lips narrowing at his brother, who merely nodded in response, "I'll go get you some water.."

Lucas didn't even argue, like he usually did. Insisting he was fine and then pushing Simon out of his room.

Simon, who was 5 at the time of the tsunami, had memories of what happened, however, he learned to cope with it more. He hadn't witnessed as much as Lucas and wasn't able to fully comprehend the situation at hand. All he knew then was he was scared and half of his family was missing.

After downing the glass of water, from which he gratefully took from Simon and thanked him with a faint grumble, Lucas grabbed his phone. He saw it was 12pm. His flight left at 6:30pm. 

"I don't think it's a good idea to go, Luke," Simon stated, warily watching his older brother.

"Simon," Lucas shook his head before he rolled from his bed to his feet, "if mom can't even talk me out of it, you won't be able to either. It's something I have to do."

The younger boy watched as Lucas threw his packed suitcases onto the bed yet said nothing, wondering what in the world would make him want to return to the place that nearly took his life— all of their lives.

Within a few hours, he was on his plane, watching as his hometown grew smaller and smaller, fading away under the clouds. Eyes brimmed red from the goodbye his mother gave him, nearly crushing his lungs as he reassured her he'd be fine, he released a deep breath, resting his head back against his seat.

In time, he'd be where these nightmares flourished from; Orchid Beach Resort in Khao Lak, Thailand.