Now so calm, so peaceful. Even beautiful. Pink sky and blue clouds reflected in the deep blue water.
But she could no longer see beauty in the world. Not here, looking out where the Makassar Strait met the Celebes Sea.
The violence of the tsunami was gone now. The serene water held the dead below. It held her child, her son, her Banyu.
Behind her Palu City had gone. She had returned in desperation to search for him. She could not find where their wooden shack had stood. Nothing was recognisable.
She longed to be with him. To be close to him again.
Anger filled her. Standing there, she screamed. An animal, furious call. A shout into the abyss. At who? God? There could be no God now. There was only fact and circumstance.
Her son was dead. After everything life had thrown at her. After everything that she had had to do to survive. He was taken from her, the only good thing to have come from her wretched life.
And now he was so faraway from her. Gone. Suffering? She could take it no more. She would be reunited with him, or she would refuse to go on without him.
With that she took two strides forward and leapt from the rock.
The cold water enveloped her. It dragged her down. The shock stunned her. She let herself fall.
Strong currents pulled her down. Strong hands grabbed her arms. She felt herself be pulled upwards. She opened her eyes. An angry face. It screamed at her. ‘No more. Enough.’
He laid her down on the rocks, she coughed up salt water. He slumped next to her and through tears repeated, ‘No more death. Enough.’
***
There is only fact and circumstance.
The fact was he had saved her. The circumstances had brought them together.
They walked up to the makeshift orphanage entrance. He knew she secretly hoped they would find her son there. They both knew they would not. It had been three months.
What they would find were children who had lost their families, who were alone and needed new homes.
He held all the paperwork they needed. She smiled at her guardian angel. Together they would start again.
Banyu would always be in her heart.
Faraway, so close.
This is a response to the #writephoto Prompt – Faraway curated over at Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo. Click on the link to read other stories inspired by the image.
Nice after losing one son she found three. If she can accept them, it will be good for all of them.
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Thanks Abhijit, I felt there needed to be a little bit of hope in such grim circumstances.
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So close to heart.
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Thank you, I hope I did the subject even a little bit of justice.
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Very poignant, Iain, real and moving. Well done. Jordan
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Thank you so much Jordan, much appreciated.
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Wow! You gave me goosebumps! So well written and so touching how it ended.
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Thank you, I felt there needed to be a little crumb of hope at the end. It’s too bleak to contemplate what many are going through just now.
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Yes, so glad you ended it on a hopeful note for you are exactly right, so hard and bleak to think of what many are going through now!
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Using your Writer Superpower for good, for vision.
Loved it ❤
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Thank you Liz, the very very least that can be done. Hard to contemplate what many are going through at this time.
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Had me in tears again, Iaian. Beautifully done.
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Thank you Sue, glad it had an affect.
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Oh it did.
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Oh my goodness, Iain. This has given me goosebumps. A great piece.
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Thank you so much Roberta, much appreciated.
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Out of tragedy comes hope. Very well put across Iain.
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Thank you Di
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And she got a new lease of life. True, Banyu would always be in her heart but she still has much love to share. A very touching story, Iain!
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Thank you Shweta, a difficult thing to move on from, but somehow she must.
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Very moving, nice work.
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Thank you Cynthia
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You may pass a whole case of tissues if you will. this jerked my heart out and sank it beside her. Such a powerfully written expression of grief… have been there… how you say it rings so very very true to form. The scream that comes from somewhere so deep inside that it defies reality…. sniffle. Great writing!
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Thank you so much, it means a lot that I managed to express those sort of feelings in a way that feels real.
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Until you experience such grief, you have no real idea of it. This powerfully written piece has gone a long way in reminding us of how lucky we are…
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Thank you so much, and for the reblog 🙂
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Our pleasure…
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I really feel this one 💜
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Thank you so much.
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💜
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This was outstanding, Iain.
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Thank you Jennie, much appreciated.
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You’re welcome, Iain.
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A beautifully poignant story … with hope.
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It felt like there needed to be some sort of hope at the end of it. Thank you.
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Such a sad one. Great emotion in this read.! I’m happy she can start again and provide another child a good home.
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Thank you – I felt it needed some sort of hope at the end, the reality is too depressing.
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Beautifully done – the heartbreaking pain that can only be resolved through ending it all, transformed to acceptance through happy accident. Poignant and the emotions so strong and real.
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Thank you Sarah Ann, so pleased you felt that.
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