Commonwealth essay-draft 1

Blue







"Mum I am home!" I yelled as I slammed the front door shut. My voice reverbrated across the flat as a smell of fried char kway tiao wafted into my nostrills. Mum was up to her cooking again. "How was school today John?" I grabbed a plateful of char kway tiao and deposited myself in front of the television. "Lots of homework." I managed to mumble out as i glued my eyes to the television screen. "Secondary three's like that. Look at Joshua. He is just two years younger than you and he plays all day." As if on cue, my brother came back from school. "Hey bro!" He smiled at me. I starred daggers at him and then zoomed back to the television. He looked at what I was watching. "Undersea eathquake in the Pacific hey? Heard it was a big one. Do you know..." He clamped his mouth shut when I stared at him again.

That's us. My brother and I. We both share a fascination of water. However, whereas mine was in doing laps at the pool, his was in plumbing out its deepest mysteries. Therefore I have to admit it. To me, my brother is a geek. The kind that likes everyone to think he knows everything.I loathe him for that. And I made it pretty clear what i thought of him trying to give me a lecture on undersea eathquakes.

"Shut. Up." My brother screwed up his face and stomped off to his room. "John, why are you always so mean to your brother? I want you to make it up to him. Later he has to go to East Coast Park to do an assignment. Escort him there." "Ma. He is already Sec one. He can find his own way there. And besides, Pa can bring him there." "You know very well your father is coming home late tonight. And I don't feel safe letting him go alone while I stay at home. Bring. Him. There."
Well, my father works long hours every day so we can have enough money to keep our home. We have the necessities, but nothing extravagant. My brother's project proves that. "So...what are you going to do at the park?" I was in my brother's room, my feet on his table. He did not seem to mind much though. " I have to take some photographs for my school project." My brother, after hearing that I was going to join him, had cheered up quickly. "Photos? We don't have a camera..." He took off his glasses and glanced around his messy room. "I borrowed one from my friend. I just wonder where I have left it..." I rolled my eyes and settled down for a long wait.
"Hey! Wake up!" I woke to hard shaking. "Wha...?" "I found it! Let's go!" I glanced at the clock. 5:15pm. "Well, you took your time. Quick, let's go before the sun sets and you lose the light for photography." "Take care of your brother John!" My mum yelled to me as we ran out of the flat. Minutes later, we emerged at the park. "Ahhh..." I breathed in the revitalising air. It had been years since I last came here. Secondary life was just too hectic. As I started to breathe in again, the ground began to shake. It was just trembling slightly at first, but it quickly turned violent. Joshua, who had been taking pictures, stumbled to me. "What's happening?" "I don't know, an aftershock from the Pacific or something!" Then, as suddenly as it had started, the shaking stopped.
"John, I want to go home..." "No.Josh, let's just get this over with. Nothing bad is going to happen." I gave him what i thought was a reassuring smile and pushed him forwards gently. He glanced back worriedly at me and then continued with his photo-taking. I looked around. Even though it was a weekday, there were still other people in the park, and they looked worried too. I shrugged dismissively and followed Joshua before he could go too far ahead.
Walking behind my brother, I started to notice how quiet it was. It was a park, so where are the birds? I glanced around trying to catch a glimpse of one while uneasiness slowly crept up on me. It was quiet. Too quiet. Even though I tried to keep a calm expression, inwardly, I was starting to panic. 'Get a grip John. This is nothing compared to the night walks you have experienced in camp before. You are just getting paranoid.' However, this felt...different. Almost as if the land itself was holding its breath in watchful silence. Then, a gasp from up front pulled me back to reality. "John...look at the sea."
Well, you could not really call it a sea anymore. Where once were foaming, blue waves, was now but wet sand, glistening in the gradually dimming sunlight. I have heard of a phenomenon like this before. But I refused to accept reality. It could not be. Then, a low roaring sound started to become audible. "John, I think we better get out of here..." My brother was thinking the same thing as I had. I agreed with a solemn nod. We both started to go back the way we had came, rapidly quickening our pace as the roaring sound grew more intense. "John!" Joshua cried out. We both turned and looked back. A wall of water crashed against the beach, swallowing in its hungry maw everything in its path. Along with it, dragged multiple ships, some as small as kayaks, while further away, large tankers were being slowly sucked to land. Too late, the newly installed tsunami sirens rang off. We watched in mute horror as the blue torrent hurtled inexorably towards us.
"Run!" We both sprinted as fast as we could, but we knew we could not make it. By the time you actually see a tsunami, it is too late to outrun it. We rounded a building and I pushed my brother up a staircase along it. He clambered up as fast as he could, and i jumped up after him, foam rushing around my ankles. Just after i sprinted over the top step, a huge wave crashed against the building, soaking us. We kept going up, until we were on the third floor; the roof. There was no escape from there.
From our high vantage point, we could see the amount of damage the waves had already caused. Debris had smashed trees and buildings alike. The land was swamped in a sea of blue. "Duck!" Joshua warned me as a large wave crashed over the building. We could only hope that we could grab on to something and not get swept over. The wave crashed over and was gone in seconds. I spat out a mouthful of salty water and glanced at my equally-drenched brother. Thankfully, he had also not been swept off.
Suddenly, strong winds buffeted us. We looked up to see a helicopter hovering directly above us with a rope ladder hanging down from its side. We were saved!
Or not. The helicopter could only take one more passenger or it will be too heavy to fly. My brother must go. Except that he did not want to leave me. "Get on the helicopter Joshua!!!" I yelled in his face. I promised my mother I would take care of my brother. That was the whole purpose of me coming here. And besides, if I got swept into the blue torrent, I would stand more of a chance than my brother, who could not swim. He screwed up his face. For a long moment, we looked into each other's eyes. "Go." I murmed softly. Then, he turned, and without looking back, climbed up to the helicopter. I turned and watched as the nearly-overburdened helicopter flew off. Just before he left, I had seen something important that made me want my brother to go off even more. I turned to face this new threat. Cruising along the tsunami's undefinable might, a tanker was heading towards shore. Most importantly, it was heading towards me.
It would crash into the building I was on in moments. And looking at the size of the tanker, the building would not stand any chance. I looked at the blue torrent rushing around the building. Never, had I, who had always loved swimming, been so afraid of the water. I had heard that tsunamis brought all kinds of debris with them when they crashed onto shore. In the water, I could be smashed or sliced into pieces in moments. But I had to try. Or risk being squished by the sun-bleached tanker. I looked at the sun setting over the horizon over an unfanthomable stretch of blue. One breath. One dive. One chance. I leapt off the building and soared through the air. Then it was just me, and the blue.

Ivan