Contest entries for 15 for 15 (book).

Shelter:Jan 23-Domes, Jazz for Peace

Shelter

When “Jazz for peace” an organization, that raised funds through music, to spread peace, started building the domes up the hill, the townsfolk paid no attention to them.

It was a small town, one of the dozens spread along the coast, with a population of about ten thousand. They depended on the sea for a livelihood.

Fishermen left for the hunt, by early dawn. Before the Sunrise, their boats set sail into the deep, where shoals of a variety of fish lingered. Pomfret, Tuna, Salmon and an occasional Shark got caught, and by evening, the pier, displaying fresh catch of the fish, buzzed actively, selling for domestic and export purposes.

The town was thriving, peaceful.

On a winter morning,

Ranga set sail, a little early. By midmorning, he had enough yield, and turned back home.
It happened, when he was a couple miles from the shore. The breaker pounced on him like an old enemy. He was taken aback. His heart pounding, he rowed as fast as his energy allowed. After an hour, he noticed, he was no more nearer the shore, than before. His boat buffeted in the big waves. He lost hope of reaching home. Then, in two minutes flat, breakers rising to seven feet threw him ashore.

The weather turned malignant within minutes. Winds, of high velocity started blowing with a peculiar moan. Black clouds, like Hell’s messengers, gathered in the sky, turning it into a black dome. Rain began slapping down in great sheets. People ran helter-skelter, gathering their belongings from the pier, and headed home.

And then, there were no more homes.

All the humble dwellings collapsed, like the trees that were uprooted and strewn around. Great debris was all that was seen.

Here was when the “twin domes” became their rescue, their godsend. A number of people from the villages in the vicinity too, took shelter from the onslaught of the cyclone.

When he reached the domes, Ranga, to his great relief, saw his family among the rescued. .
He saw more people from low-lying areas, climbing the hill, some being carried in trucks and vans to the domes above.

Thank God! Someone thought of building these cyclone shelters!