1.30.2012

The Hurricane


The eerie sound of laughter rang across the landscape, incongruent amidst the ruin and devastation. Marie stopped and listened to the hideous noise of joy. The futility of struggling to survive pressed against her heart. The storm that raged only days ago had taken her last morsel of hope.

She pushed aside a two-by-four, torn from its structure and roughened by the wind's fierce onslaught. Beneath a sludge-encrusted sheet, she found the box, still taped shut. A score of memories flooded her soul, yanking at her spirit, refusing to allow her slow descent into despair.

Her mind rewound the day she stuffed all of Sadie's toys into the packing crate and sealed it with a kiss. So much anticipation. One more day. Just one. And they would have been on the road to a new home and a new life.

She yanked the tape from the box and tossed toys on the still wet ground. At the bottom, she found Sadie’s teddy bear. Gulping back her tears, she pushed it against her chest--a vain attempt to keep her heart from leaving her, never to return. For although she had lost Sadie to the storm, she refused to lose her memory.

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12 comments:

  1. What a powerful, heart wrenching write ... being from South Louisiana, hurricane region -- I can relate to the saga of devastation, loss and the force of nature. Well done!

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    1. I'm from north Louisiana. I was actually thinking of Katrina when I wrote this piece.

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    2. My thoughts exactly -- along with a couple of other big ones from when I was growing up.

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  2. It brought tears to my eyes. Any loss is a great loss but this is sadder by the two days in the story. I guess if we have never gone through an experience like this then we cannot truly know the pain. Storms can bring so much devastation.

    Thanks for writing and sharing this for this weeks Theme Thursday. It was amazing. Hope to see you next week.

    God bless.

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    1. Thank you for your kind comments. I always enjoy reading your impressions.

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  3. oh my goodness...this one hurt quite a bit in the middle of my chest...wonderfully evocative take on the prompt...sad

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  4. Marie is strong..as strong as the winds that took from her..a story full of both emotion..and restraint..which leaves us understanding just how big that void will be..Jae

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  5. It is true how you cling to such objects because they are your sole remaining links to a loved one. A beautiful, brutal but touching piece of writing.

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  6. For a child who is lost, in any way, I can imagine the need for a tangible object to hold a parent's heart steady. I hope that Marie will not let go.

    Beyond the destruction, I will hold onto what is warm in this piece.

    http://archnasharma.blogspot.com/2012/04/sunday-scribblings-storm-and-to-z.html
    (I usually write much softer than this, but it was fun to explore. Hope you'll visit.) :)

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  7. this was very painful

    the river


    verification makes it really hard to comment. you'd get more comments if you turned it off. i had to do this several times to get it to work.

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    1. Thank you for your comment and for persisting. It's helpful to get feedback like this. Much appreciated.

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