‘A New Start’ is a part of my ‘Nameless’ series where I don’t include names of any character, place, organization and other such nouns. This is to avoid the unconscious stereotyping that comes with the names. My stories contain no particular religion, race, society or culture. They contains just humans doing the human things.
The room was dark and cramped, power was out for five hours now. The only source of light was a dim flickering lamp post outside her window. Her power backup had given up hours ago. Sweet smell of soil had been replaced by a mild stink as the relentless rain entered its 16th day. Weather was catastrophic all around the country. There was continuous News of floods, waterlogging, and an ever-growing list of causalities. The rich were inconvenienced, the poor terrified, and the Government was overwhelmed. She was none; staring at the ghostly shadows on her wall, made by the periodic lights beaming through the window and the fan, a smile was stamped on her face. Her consciousness was undoubtedly outside the four walls of her small apartment. The temperature was below her comfort level and the thin cover that was blanketing her body was pretty much useless. She was still laying there ignoring the thick blanket lying on the chair, too tired and lost to move, or maybe lazy. Who could blame her though, she deserved this slothfulness.
Having a job for which you are passionate for is a blessing. Having a passion for a men-dominated industry as a woman is a different game. It tires you down and wears you off pretty quickly. There must be barely any –ism she hadn’t endured in her three years of work life. And none of her mental abusers went unpunished! She was made of metal, the strongest of them all. With passion, she also had the gift of a sharp brain and a fierce personality. Her perseverance was finally paying off: a well-deserved double promotion, transfer to the head office, and a massive pay hike. Many colleagues of equal and higher stature, who were skeptical of her skills and often used to mock her, would be now reporting to her. It was not easy though, even the interview process was suspiciously longer and filled with questions judging the absence of the Y chromosome in her. But it was all done now, left behind as a grey memory. Tomorrow is the day when life will be different and better going on.
Just think about it! A dedicated team that would be working on your dream project under you, an office with a greater number of women, enough time and money to spend on self-pampering, and maybe she would move to a bigger house in a better locality. The phone and laptop batteries were already dead, she managed to get the cozy blanket around her, and there was no more need for late-night researching and studying. Sleeping sounded like a weird yet good idea considering she wanted to be fresh and active tomorrow.
It has been one hour and sleep was nowhere to be found. The reason was not the loud thunderstorm which was now more or less just white noise, but the wicked sleeping cycle her sleep-deprived body was trapped in. It was ages ago when she last slept before 3 AM, sleeping before the date change was not easy for her. There was no denying that the pouring-gloomy weather, accompanied by the absence of Sun for so long causing a severe drop in temperature, was also affecting the mental health of not only her but everyone. The tension of reaching the office was also a factor. Roads were in pitiable conditions overflowing with water. The new office was within walking distance but there was no way her clothes would survive the journey. The dirt she was going to collect on her body was an additional nuisance. It was going to be a hell of a task, which is why sleeping early was a necessity. She grabbed her purse, took out a medicine leaflet, and popped a pill. Taking a sleeping pill was not a good idea but effective.
It was still raining. The Sun was out there above the thick sheets of monstrous clouds. She checked her vintage golden wristwatch on the side table. It was the first thing she was going to change; into something more golden and maybe with some bling. There was a stronger stink in the air as if it penetrated the wall and now made its home inside. 08:46 AM. Reporting time was 11 AM. She still had time to get ready, prepare two sets of clothes and as a first, have breakfast before leaving. Her batteries were charged and she was ready to roar.
Before her feet could touch the floor, sleep vanished from her eyes as her pupils dilated to their maximum capacity. It was more than the stink that had penetrated the walls of her house. The water was almost touching her knees. Few of her things were floating, many were lost inside the dirt-filled opaque liquid. As soon as she could believe what was happening, she charged through the water. ‘Save whatever you can, find the source, and get it sorted!’ Adrenaline was already flowing through her veins; she was not going to let this disastrous day go any worse. This was her day and she was not a weak soul.
It was more difficult than it looked like. Her feet were in pain because of getting bumped on things that were not supposed to be there. She could feel all kinds of things in the water and was just moments away from throwing up. Damage was intensive, source of the culprit was still unknown. All the sinks were dryer than the floor and the water didn’t seem like flowing from the bathroom.
Has it ever happened to you that a very strong and dark realization hit you and you try to forget it but it was too late? So, you just stand there wishing to wake up from the nightmare. It just happened to her. She was standing still, staring at a particular object floating in the water. Time was moving slow. It was not hers, neither were many other things floating around. Then another realization made it worse. The water was not flowing out of the washroom because it was not flowing at all!
This was impossible! The nearest water body was a couple of kilometers away. It was barely a water body either; for most months of the year, it used to be as dry as a desert. Even during the rainy season, the water never rose above a few meters and the flow was never strong. Yes, for the past few days it was above the danger mark causing floods in nearby areas but even there, it barely touched a few inches. It was not possible at all. She turned towards the door; her answer was on the other side.
It was all brown. Not the ground but the layers of water that were covering it. She was standing in a sea that was stretched till the horizon. There were no expressions on her face, just a creepy blank emotionless look. Her eyes were trying to find any sense, dodging the dead bodies in the water. There were a lot of them! There were also few boats that were used in the said water canal when there used to be enough water in it. Some people on them were wearing life jackets, some were not; all as emotionless as her.
‘What are you doing here?’ a voice broke her shock coma. Accompanying it was a loud sound of the engine that she was not able to hear until then. ‘Are you OK?’ the same voice repeated. It was a young guy on a boat with a few others. She didn’t reply, there were no answers to these questions. ‘Did you realize just now? What were you doing all this time?’ the guy looked scared. She stared back towards the infinity, trying to find a shore. ‘I was sleeping.’
‘What?! How is it…’
‘I took a sleeping pill in the night’ she intersected still looking away.
‘This is a dream, right? Maybe a lucid one. I get them often. This one looks way too real and I am scared to pinch myself. It is a nightmare, right?’
The face of the boy was not scared anymore. She was expecting an answer, a positive one, as if it mattered because she was an optimist not delusional. He just stood there, staring back.
‘This is not possible; I live on the first floor!’
That boy’s expression didn’t change. She wanted them to change, she wanted it to be an illusion. There was just water. In his eyes, in her eyes, everywhere! She moved forward towards the balcony railing which was now just a steel separation between her and the boat. The water around her moved and moved the still fully spread curtains and the balcony door which she forgot to close last night. She looked below, trying to find the colorful swing set in the garden that was just in front of her balcony. It was her biggest nemesis till yesterday. Children can be loud, when they are playing, they are deafening. The constant clamor was the biggest reason she wanted to shift to a high rising floor. It was all silent today. All she could see was a shape but it was indeed still there. The swings were in motion, might be used by the souls of the beings her eyes just barely ignored?
‘Can I use your phone? Mine is discharged.’ she was unable to make eye contact.
‘No use, all telecom services are down. There’s no signal, no internet, nothing. I don’t have the satellite phone with me. I am as disconnected from the world as you are.’
The answer was followed by a pin drop silence.
‘Take all the essentials you can find and shift on higher floors. The water is not receding and clouds aren’t looking like they are ready to give up anytime soon. Every drop is now going to add up. Once it starts raining, your house will be underwater in no time. I have to go now.’ he said as the boat left.
What are essentials? Laptop, phone, academic certificates, clothes, food, or water? Her laptop and hard drives contained everything digital she ever had, only a small part of it was online. But were they worthy of the rescue? Maybe in the second round to the house, if she still had time. What about the documents? They would barely make any heat if burned. The newspaper bunch beside them was more usable to start the fire. What was important were the dry clothes, food, and water. It was all about survival now in this apocalyptic situation. It was the apocalypse, is this how the world was going to end? What about the places near large rivers? What about her family that lived on the ground floor in her hometown? How vast is this newborn sea? How deep is it going to be?
She was staring at her work desk dumbfoundedly. Her laptop, tablet, kindle, and other important products were lying organized over the table. One and a half drawers were above water, the rest were buried. She couldn’t recall what was there but it was something important. Everything on this desk was important, till yesterday! On the side was lying a thick faux leather folder with all her documents. Ideally, they should be in the lowermost drawer but she needed them today. Above it was a bunch of forms she filled with her imported pen, reserved only for important occasions. Just some pieces of paper with ink that didn’t mean anything anymore. Beside it was a bag of compostable bin bags. Why was it here? She just couldn’t remember. She picked up the bag, pulled out a fresh green-colored garbage bag, and rushed towards her wardrobe. The forms on her desk slipped in the water, the ink slowly smudging. Few pages were already swallowed down; few were floating, waiting for the same fate. It’s not like she didn’t notice, it’s just she didn’t care now.
One after another she pushed dry clothes in the trash bag. Undergarments were most important, warm clothes, all the glamourous things were left aside and comfortable yet durable wearables were stuffed. This bag then went into her huge trekking bag. It was waterproof but why to even take the risk. Packed food is unhealthy but has a longer shelf life, whatever was left untouched in the fridge was first quickly stuffed in her body, then remaining in the bag. All the cash she could find, wet or dry, was retrieved and stored safely. She knew which door was to be knocked in her building. Rain was back. The water level was now above her knees. She was going to come back again and again until it would become life threatening.
She could have taken the better-paying 9 to 6 desk job she was offered. She could have compromised and stayed silent every time she was pulled down in her workplace. She was not going to die without fighting, she was not meant to be drowned.
