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composed and took care of him. Theodore stood frozen and confused
at the incoherent sounds all around him. Drowsiness filled his head
and his vision blurred as tears engulfed his eyes, until they gushed
out on his dusty and slightly bloodied face. Suddenly, he mumbled
some rambling sounds and grunted as he dragged himself back toward
Angeline. She grabbed him by the left shoulder and held on
to him as they steadied themselves during the first aftershock. They
both bawled out an elongated “woyii!” and Angeline crossed herself
as the violent shaking subsided. To her surprise, Theodore who
hadn’t spoken for over a month erupted into non-stop chatter about
the bodies of his beloved great-grandchildren, crushed underneath
the slabs.
“Theo, what are we going to do?” Angeline cried out as she held on
tightly to her husband who carefully cradled his broken right elbow.
Angeline remembered what she had quickly forgotten —how strong
Theodore once was—as he leaned his body against her when the second
aftershock shook the house.
The frail back stairs stood lopsided like a bent accordion. Angeline’s
timid steps inched like a toddler's, and with each creak of the planks,
a chord of fear struck at the center of her heart. She had to make her
way to the adjoining collapsed house and hoped, just hoped, that everyone
would be safe and perhaps standing outside. Maybe she would
find them a bit dusty, or bruised, but safe; Angeline wanted for them
to be safe. As she stepped out from the back door and rapidly surveyed
all the collapsed houses, she immediately thought of the apocalypse.
All of the block-built houses that she had seen erected over
the years were on their knees, including those of her two grandsons’
families who lived on the first and second floors. She sobbed while
her body moved slowly like an animal facing its slaughter. Angeline
rocked her body back and forth. Her face made uncontrollable grimaces
as disturbing images flashed and snapped in her cortex. Then,
with a sudden and loud crash at the top left side of the house, she
grabbed her head to stop the shooting needle-like pain that pierced
the inside her of skull.
Sylvain / Angeline's Fragments
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