fzhptrii
"In my village, we did not die because of water.
We died because your city chose to remain silent."
The name Swarnapala comes from the Sanskrit words Swarna (gold) and Pāla (guardian). Ancient records once called Sumatra Swarnadwipa, the Land of Gold-rich in rivers, forests, and life. Swarnapala was meant to be a land protected. In this story, that meaning has become bitterly ironic.
Once known as the city of gold, Swarnapala now stands flooded for five relentless days, reduced to drifting timber and broken promises. When the Director ordered the Great Dam sealed, it was called a rescue. For the Periphery, it was a death sentence. They were abandoned without food, without clean water, and without a voice.
Kaera "Kae" Hosino, a scout from the flooded zones, no longer believes in miracles. Survival means letting go of hope-until the current brings her Refal, an Upper City technician carrying biometric access to the dam, the only key left to stop the catastrophe.
One holds the key.
One knows the river.
Hunted by armed guards and trapped in a deadly maze of water and debris, they must sabotage their own government's dam before Swarnapala is erased from history.
Disclaimer!!
Swarnapala is a work of fiction, inspired in part by real flood disasters that occurred in Sumatra and Aceh. This story is written as a reflection on human tragedy and negligence, not to exploit suffering. May those who have passed find peace, may the families left behind be granted strength, and may this land be spared from repeating the same mistakes.