A Shower of Death

                                          When I arrived in Indonesia, I couldn’t believe my eyes.  What was thought to be a relatively calm region was now a home for chaos and disorder.    I arrived on a helicopter and stayed circling the area when the whole thing started.  Around 7:00 am, in the distance of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island was a monstrous wave.  What caused the wave was an earthquake below the waters surface in the Indian Ocean.  The tides at the ocean started to grow bigger and bigger and soon each tide was a huge wave, ready to cave in.  I can’t express the thoughts that went through my mind.  The thoughts of horror and sadness crept into my mind as I watched from above.  I felt like I was going to be sick as I watched people clinging to the docks and standing on cars, trying to do anything to escape the wrath of the water.  The first wave crashed into an innocent house sending wood in every direction.  People tried to get out of the way but in any direction they turned something was going to happen to them.  Eight minutes later, the first wall of water was gone.  The town was halfway destroyed.  Everything at the coast of the water was eliminated.  Dead bodies were floating in the water, the bodies of people who didn’t make it out.  There was no sound except for the cry of families missing loved ones.  I watched as my sadness turned to despair. 

                                           



                                          The next wave came, mimicking the first one.  It soared over the debris as if it had control, and it did.  The water took everything.  Homes, trees, even bodies.  I watched as the water turned pink, then red, and soon maroon, as the blood of innocent victims were washed away.  I saw things that I didn’t think were possible.  I saw a handicap old man trying to swim away with the strength left in him, knowing that he would die anyway.  In a matter of seconds he was gone, only to be found at the core of the wave.  The water level raised fast, as more waves came.  I couldn’t see what was happening because the waves were so high.  When the waves disappeared, everything I remember seeing was gone.  Birds fled the area, flying to a safe place.  It hurt me knowing that some people didn’t have a chance like those birds. 



                                        I got a call on my radio a few minutes later.  I didn’t have the heart to talk to anyone while lives were being taken.  I sat quietly and watched as wall after wall of water came.  After all, sitting there and watching was the only thing I could do. 



                                     

                                        The last wave was the worst.  It was the highest, and the meanest.  The remaining people watched as the wave drew nearer.  I watched from my helicopter and across the distance the last wave came.  It roared as it moved across the ocean.  It seemed as if the calm water moved out of the way for this wave.  The wave carried along the water near it to help it do its job.  Calm water had no choice but to go.  A second later the wave crashed into the remaining buildings.  Parts of the town were swept up with the storm while other parts went flying on impact.  Minutes later the wave backed away and didn’t come back.





                                        What seemed like forever was only really a few hours of chaos.  When I knew it was safe I landed and walked on the deserted land of the old town.  Trees were broken in half.  Dead, wet bodies were lying in places unimaginable.  Piles of debris covered areas in mass quantities.  Pools of water left by the waves were engraved with the blood of dead victims.  I walked and looked at every person I saw.  Even though they were dead, their faces still held the expression of grief.  I walked around a little farther into the city and saw a few people, still alive.  There faces were the most beautiful thing I saw in the city, for they were the only thing alive.  I was happy that there were survivors, not many though.  I still was sad.  I couldn’t take looking anymore.  The town sent off a feeling of despair.  I walked back to my helicopter and sent a message of help.



                                        Within 24 hours help was here.  Food was brought to the remaining survivors.  Aids were brought to help restore the cities to their original ways.  Debris was cleaned up.  In a few days, you could see the earth again.  Dead bodies were cleaned up also.  I was happy that people wanted to help.  But I was still sad.  So many people died and being a witness to what happened makes it worse.  You never really understand unless your in the middle of it, and I was.