Gazing at the wave far away, Meena‛s mother felt a sudden fear
gripping her. She felt that something was wrong. She caught Meena by
her hand and started running towards their home.The wave came closer to
the shore had crushed the fishing boats. Before they reached their home,
the powerful wave had hit the village. Meena and her mother could hear
their friends and family screaming all around them. The seawater entered
the village and washed out the huts and boats. The water hit their hut
too. Meena and her mother were separated and thrown off. Then, slowly,
the water receded again into the sea. Meena‛s mother gathered herself
and searched for Meena. It was then that the second massive wave hit
the village. Meena‛s mother was washed away by the wave. Meena, whirled
through the water, struggling to breathe. One moment she was inside the
water, and all was dark around her. In the next, she could see the sky. The
wave banged her to the trunk of a coconut tree. She wrestled the wave
and firmly hugged the tree. Soon, she fainted.
When she woke up, she was in the hospital. After she recovered, they
transferred her to a rehabilitation centre. The centre housed nearly 99
boys and girls. A kind-hearted official of the centre was always very kind
to the children. He often used to visit them with his family. Meena was the
youngest of all and soon was loved by all. The incharge and his wife often
carried Meena while they played with other children. All children used to
call them Amma and Appa. After three years the official was transferred.
He and his family continued to visit the centre once a year for the next
five years.
Meena now opened her eyes. Her cheeks were moist. All this seemed
like it happened yesterday. The school bell rang and, Meena wiped her cheeks
to get ready for her English class. Meena was good at studies and now was
in the twelfth standard. The teacher was teaching, and Meena was writing
her notes. She then heard
a familiar voice calling
her, “Meenu”. She raised
her head to see. She was
surprised to see her father,
the official standing at the
entrance. He was smiling
at her. She stared at him
blankly for a few seconds,
with tears rolling down her
cheeks. She jumped out
of her bench and dashed
towards him, calling “Appa!”
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