Finding Christmas

1

My younger brother and sister were holding onto their kites that were dancing in the strong wind.

The flat rooftop of the building was the perfect place to fly kites since the streets and parks were deemed no longer safe.

I was looking out to the ocean, its vast blueness going on as far as the eye can see. Something was off. I just knew it.

The earthquake had hit a city miles away from us, two days before. It shook our ground and cracks of all sizes started decorated the buildings around us.

My eyes stayed focused on the water, its waves getting bigger as the the signs of a storm coming grew.

The clouds got darker, the sun nowhere to be seen.

"Lita, Sammy, come on." I had said urgently. The waves were getting bigger, and they shouldn't look that big without any binoculars.

"Why, Ate (ah-teh)?" Sammy had asked, smiling up at his kite. "Look at June! She's up so high!"

Sure enough, his kite was going up to heights it had never been to before.

"The water is making me nervous. Let's go get our stuff. Just in case." I replied, urging my younger siblings to follow.

They pulled their kites back in obedience and I saw the understanding on their faces.

We knew how this time of year brought storms and typhoons to the Philippines. We had never been in one, but lola, our grandmother, told us stories about typhoons that took away the worlds of people.

We'd only been here for a year without our parents and I was feeling nervous about what could happen.

The water levels rose and slowly filled the town. We were far enough to not be hit right away, but not far enough to not experience damage.

"Perla!" My lola's voice rang through the house as I sat up and ran downstairs. The water was up to my knees, rising steadily.

"Wake up your siblings and get to the roof. You know where the emergency bags are." She said, putting water and food into a big waterproof bag.

I nodded, running back upstairs to wake up my siblings. I hurriedly thrust the emergency bags into their arms, urging them to go to the roof.

I ran back downstairs to help my lola who was struggling through the water that was now at chest level.

"Come on, lola, we'll be okay." I kept saying over and over.

Lola is a strong woman but I knew memories were filling her mind. Lolo, her husband of fifty years, died in a typhoon.

"Come on, lola." I urged her to climb up the stairs and she did, slowly. I stayed behind her, feeling the water rising.

"Lola, whatever happens, stay with Sammy and Lita." I said calmly.

Lola looked back at me and I smiled. She continued up to the roof where my siblings wore their shirts over their heads and held on tightly to the emergency bags. I should've brought something to shield them from the rain.

It was pitch black out and we couldn't see the rain. "Turn the flashlights on." I told them, grabbing one for myself. "I'm going down to see what else I can bring up here, okay? Hold onto the bags, they'll keep you afloat too."

I ran back down before they could worry about me. The water was already reaching the second floor. I wade into my room, looking around for other things that could help us get by.

The water was up to my knees. Umbrella? Nope. I tried looking for ponchos or rain coats, but found nothing. I grabbed blankets and towels and made my way back up, wrapping my family in blankets and keeping a towel over their heads.

And then I remembered it.

Before lola could stop me, I ran back down to grab the one box I could not lose.

The water was to my neck. I swam into my room, pushing myself towards my desk. I saw the box, still wrapped in plastic.

I hugged it to my chest that was about to burst for oxygen. I swam up to the roof of my room, the water way too high.

I took a deep breath and pushed myself to swim out of the room, my chest burning. I let out a breath, taking in some water as I stumbled up to the roof.

I took a deep breath of air then fell onto the roof, right in front of my little family.

"Perla!" Lola shouted, as I hugged the box to my chest.

Then I blacked out.