Been thinking about adding a fiction story surrounding this idea to my mini repertoire of stories. But always, in the back of my mind, I kept saying to myself that I just didn't have the experience to know what it felt like to be a character in such an cataclysmic event. There are many thoughts, feelings, sensations, that go through an individual character's mind when going through such an event. And to describe one person's thought's, let alone a whole stories worth of characters, along with the sights, sounds, smells and touch of the tragedy seems like such a daunting task. But I am definitely up for the challenge at this point.
I remind myself that Carl Sagan was never in "Space". JRR Tolkien was never ACTUALLY in Midedle-Earth, and CS Lewis was never in Narnia. These are all pretent places that only felt real when one read the stories. Those stories, brilliantly written, allowed the person to be swallowed up in another world, another story that felt so real that sometimes, it was jarring to come back to the so-called real world. This is the kind of story, I want to write.
Also, sadly enough, I CAN pull from my real world experience. While I am not going to pretend that the world ended when Sandy hit NJ, the storm was, in itself, a powerful catastrophic event for towns right on the water. I wrote all about it during the days after the storm since, with no electric or access to internet, I had nothing else to do but read and write. And to feel so disconnected from the world was truly a scary place. Listening to a min-radio at night, surrounded by candles and my cat, being forced to listen to 101.5 as the main radio station for news on the storm (most other stations were badly affected) in NJ..Also seeing what happened to Union Beach and Seabright after the storms (yes, I was in both places right after the storms) was also jarring. I could use those experiences to write about what could happen after a major storm. Like, as bad as Sandy was, I imagined a storm with the combined rain effect of Irene and the storm surge and winds of Sandy. Not only would NJ end up a big water park like it did after Irene (not nearly as catastrophic since, most places that got flooded were the places that are used to being flooded) but the destruction would be far geater with the winds AND rain. The lack of heavy rain in Sandy is what saved the inland from some devasation.
Hell, really I could turn it into a love story (as I always do, tho I am trying to avoid it). But I guess there has to be some powerful relationship in the story, even if a platonic or family relationship. There were a lot of people that lost loved ones during the storm. There were also couples that grew far stronger during the storm, as they realized that the real world trappings of day to day life were just bullshit.
********************************Story Time***********************************
As soon as I said that, as soon as I mentioned about the couples getting stronger from the storm...I had an image floating around my head. Real world family. She takes care of the township's animal shelter and he is a police officer. I'll call them Jack and Diane, for now. Diane had a busy day, cleaning up the shelter after a flood (good thing all of the floors are stainless steel, except for the offices). Her stepdaughter, Hanna, was helping her out by feeding the animals and mopping out the backroom where the food supplies were. Suddenly, one of Jack's buddies, Ethan, stops in to check on Diane. He notices that Hanna is mopping up the backroom and jokingly says, "Hey, we got child labor laws you are ignoring." And Diane, who is covered in dirt, water and every animal fluid alive, has a much needed laugh. She'd offer a hug to Ethan but she reeked of animal sweat.
Hanna pipes up with, "It's ok, I like helping out the animals." Hanna is such a good kid, and while the relationship with Diane can be strained at times, her and Diane have bonded over their intense connection to helping animals.
"That's impressive. All Katie can talk about is how she is missing her favorite TV shows." Katie is one of Hanna's good friends. They normally hang out after school but since the storm hit on Thursday, they have only spent one day together since both Katie's and Hanna's families are busy volunteering with the post storm efforts. In addition, the neighborhood is riddled with downed power lines, concrete and nailed in pieces of wood. This isn't the environment you allow your kids to play in. Especially at night, the town looms in darkess, like a post apocalyptic war scene, with no electricity for miles. This separation from Katie has caused a boatload of anxiety with Hanna, as she seems to be depressed since the storm hit.
Of course, when Hanna heard "TV,", she immediately started lamenting about how she missed watching all of her Saturday night shows. It was Diane's job to rein Hanna in at this point, stating, "C'mon now Hanna, the tv will always be there. What's important is that we have each other."
"But I don't have Katie," Hanna said while fighting back tears. Hanna is at an age where being without her friends is like being denied air to breathe, and Diane understood this. But there seemed to be nothing she could do. Hanna went back to mopping and Ethan followed Diane back into the main office area. He looked back at Hanna and said quietly, "You know, Margery is bringing Katie to her grandparent's house inland. They have electric and heat, and (looking at Hanna) most importantly, tv. It wouldn't be an issue to take Hanna too."
Diane thought for a minute. While she normally doesn't agree to things concerning Hanna without her husband's consent, she knew that Hanna LOVED Katie's grandparents, and they were a safe, warm home up in the countryside away from this craziness. Also, Hanna and Jack had increasingly been fighting due to Hanna's restlessness and inability to understand the sheer permanence of the storm's effects. Staying at the grandparent's home would provide a much needed respite for everyone in the house.
So, Diane agreed. She then told Hanna of the plan, and advised her that they were going home and packing her an "away bag" for a few days. At first, Hanna was confused; "sleepovers" were not allowed on "school nights" and while normally this is the case, there would be no "school" of any kind until the electricity was turned back on.
A few hours later, Jack returned from his 16 hour shift as a police officer. Diane could tell that these long days were wearing on him, and she was careful to tread lightly around him. But there was only so much treading one can do in the household.
Jack started in with, "Where's Hanna?" Diane stated, "She went with Katie to Ethan's parents." Jack simply nodded and went upstairs to change. Diane followed him and asked him about his day. "Fine" is all she got out of him. "Just fine, Jack?" asked Diane."Really? You don't look fine. Want to talk about it?"
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, ALRIGHT??!! I've had a VERY STRESSFUL DAY!!!" and slammed the door. Diane fought back tears, grabbed a lit candle and went to make dinner. Thank goodness for little miracles like gas stoves and ovens. Diane went to use the last of the meats since, they can only keep so long with ice, and made a beef stew. While she was cutting carrots for the stew, Jack came down with a very hardended look on his face. Diane couldn't look at him for the moment; she was still upset for being yelled at over asking such an innocuous question.
"I'm so sorry, Diane. I don't mean to be so upset with you. I....know you had a bad day too." Diane, still busy cutting vegetables, was hardly unmoved by Jack's weak attempt at emoting.
Jack then went into the doorway and started to fall down. This normally stoic man was pushed to his limits and needed a release. As soon as Diane heard him fall to his knees, she ran over there to catch him. Jack just started to bawl into Diane's arms. This strong man, also covered in sweat, mud and dirt, was also having a hard time adjusting to "the new normal" - looters trying to rob houses in the area affected by Sandy; people left without homes, cars, even clothing; the inefficiently of government in getting the necessary supplies to people. Diane sat there, holding this powerful man who was reduced to tears from the stress of his job.
And she looked up at her husband and said, "In spite of it all, somehow this all feels normal."
This is all I have for now. I do want to work on the story later. Or, maybe incorporate it into a larger story. But, these are the moments I cherise. The kind where I am sitting, thinking about something, and a story comes flowing out of me like a river.
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