I stand up and walk up to the podium. Thousands of unfamiliar faces stare up at me in interest. I know that they don’t care for me…they only care for their own loses. I wonder why I’m even up there and pull out six sheets of paper. These people didn’t deserve to know this; they didn’t deserve to be here listening. Someone coughs and I push a lock of my curly blonde hair from my face.

“ Human beings have a flaw.” I cleared my throat and spoke into the microphone.

“ Disaster brings us together. And yet even a moment of peace seems to tear us against each other.” People nod and say that I’m right. “ But there was one disaster that tore an entire nation against one of their own. This disaster was in the summer of 2009 and was the sinking of the state of Florida. There were always talk of how the sea-leveled state would sink one day and that year it actually happened…”

 I picked up the papers and cleared my throat to read…

***

The first waves

It was a normal day on Miami Beach, Florida. People were everywhere sleeping, singing, playing, and just having fun on the beach. My parents were close by sleeping, and my little sister was playing in the sand with two of her friends. I sat and looked at the water. It was low tide and tiny waves were coming to the beach. I stood and started walking to the water. The small waves were getting bigger, gradually going up to my knees and then to my waist. People were noticing now and backing away, few even leaving the beach. I urged my parents to do the same but they reassured that it was just natural waves. We backed up several meters from where were and my mom told my sister to stay close to her. I walked down towards the water and froze halfway there...

A wall of water at least thirty feet high rose in front of me. I heard the screams, the cries for people to run, and stood there. The wave came down like a ton of bricks and I fell backwards and blacked out. When I woke it was dark and I could hardly breathe. I pushed out my arms and a tarp fell off of me. I propped myself up on my elbows and looked around. I was lying in a pile of body bags and tarps and immediately stood. They thought that I was dead. A little girl was tiptoeing amongst the bags and tarps innocently lifting the tips of each one looking for a familiar face. I didn’t recognize her but I wanted to help all the same. At the bottom of the pile was water and I walked down and unknowingly stepped into the seriously deep brown and mucky water. I tried wading back to the platform where the bodies were but objects in the water kept me from going anywhere. I realized that the water was receding, and taking me with it. Sharp things in the water scratched and stabbed me but I kept wading as it was drawn into the sea. Many bodies floated around me and a dead baby floated past my face. I floated past a two-story building and hung on to a low gutter for dear life. Another enormous wave was visible in the distance and I panicked struggling to get onto the roof but couldn’t. I saw the wave coming, riding the water to its destination and started to cry. Here I was looking death in the face again without even my family for comfort.

Suddenly, a strong hand took hold of my arm and I looked up. A boy scratched up, bleeding all over¾whom I guessed was nineteen¾, pulled me into a window and then shut it. I tried to thank him but he helped me up and I ran after him up a staircase. We reached a large office and he closed the door peering out for a quick second he shut the windows and stood on a desk. Working at a square opening he made a hole large enough and motioned me over. I climbed up and helped him up after me. Up in the attic we found a door in the ceiling and he opened it. I went through and helped him climb up. On the roof I saw the wave crashing into buildings and tearing down homes, trees, and everything else in its path. I paced around after it disappeared and saw that the water wasn’t returning to the sea like I’d heard that tsunamis would do when their rein on destruction was over. The water had risen to the roof and was up to my ankles. The boy was pacing around on the rooftop looking around and selectively pulling bodies onto the roof and checking their ears. I winced as he pulled a dead pregnant woman onto the roof. He turned to me and I walked up to him.

“ Thank you.” I said but he didn’t answer. “ Um. Thanks.” I repeated.

He didn’t even turn to me.

“ Hey! This is no time to act a fool, just say that you don’t feel like talking.”

He continued looking around as if he hadn’t heard me.

“ Ugh.” I groaned.

I walked up and tapped his shoulder. He was spooked and fell on the roof water. Something fell out of his ear and I bent down to pick it up. It was a small tan-orange hearing aid, soaked with water. I sighed guiltily and helped him up. He signed something to me with his hands and I shook my head. It was so quick that I barely even saw it, let-alone read it.

“ Sorry…” I said knowing that he was as lost as I was.

“ I-it-it’s o-okay-y.” He stammered quietly and went back to his searching.

“ You can hear me?” I asked but he didn’t turn or even acknowledge that I’d spoken.

He’d probably read my lips and responded from his memory of words. I tapped his shoulder again and he looked at me curiously.

“ Can you read my lips?” I asked.

He had no idea what I said and looked at me bewilderedly. I shook my head and he walked up to me staring with the curious look again. I saw a silver cylinder float by and pointed to it. He nodded.

“ C-c-an…” He stammered.

I nodded and pointed to him.

“ I.” He said and I nodded.

I opened my left palm like a book and read an imaginary page.

“ R-r-re-e-ad…” He mumbled a little but I understood and nodded.

I pointed to myself.

“ Y-y-you?” He wasn’t too sure about that one I nodded once and shook my head slowly.

I acted as if I were taking something from him.

“ Your-r?” He was still unsure.

I put a finger to my lips.

“ Can I read your lips?” He was a bit more confident than before.

“ Yea.” I said and then nodded.

He nodded. “ B-b-barely.”

All that trouble for one sentence made me feel sorry for him. I’d search out another hearing aid for him myself but they were all bound to be wet. I suddenly realized what he was doing. He was very selective in who he pulled out and now I knew why. He was looking for a new one…from some dead person.