𝐓𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢 (𝐊𝐨𝐠𝐚 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

01

‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

I was walking home after school when the first earthquake hit. Buildings shook and the people around me collapsed to the ground. Japan was home to many earthquakes but this one was out of the ordinary. I recovered from the aftermath and continued on my journey. My family would be there and checking on them was my priority. After making it half a mile or so my phone began to blare with a weather alert reading 'EARTHQUAKE WARNING'. It must've been a late warning. 

Seconds later an earthquake stronger than the previous brought me to my knees. Buildings began swaying as the streets cracked in half. In just a second everything had been destroyed. Trees tumbled over, hitting the people on the ground; cars crashed into each other; homes and businesses crumbled. Everything had changed so quickly. By this point, my adrenaline kicked in and I started on my way back home in a sprint. My family could be one of those crushed in the debris and I had no way to contact them. Arriving at my house and seeing everything destroyed pained me. All of my belongings had been crushed by the earthquake. How would we and many others financially recover from this? Now I was lost and alone.

"M/N, F/N"

I cried out hoping they could be nearby. Shoveling through the debris left me empty-handed and relieved. To be honest, finding their corpses would've brought me more closure than not finding them at all.  Walking led me to a makeshift camp filled with concerned citizens. Names of those who were dead or missing left a bad taste in my mouth. Searching through the crowd was unsuccessful and I had just about given up for the day. Suddenly a girl around my age collapsed to the floor and I hurried over to check on her. Tears streamed from her eyes as she looked up at me.

"Hey, everything's gonna be okay. I'll help you look for your family while I look for mine."

"Thank you, it's just. What if I can't find them?"

"We'll just have to try."

She nodded and I held my hand out towards her. We decided to stick together and look. A set of lights led up a hill and would be the next closest place to check. They led up a hill not too far away from us. Pointing it out, to the girl I now knew as Ayumu, she gasped.

"Those lights! My dad used to put those up around our house. He has to be up there" I expected her to leave me behind after finding proof of her family's survival but instead, she grabbed my wrist and dragged me along with her. The lights stood out from the debris and felt like the light at the end of the tunnel. After running for a bit, we made it to the top of the stairs. Ayumu left my side and ran to a man who was clearly her father. I was still hopeful that my family could be here too. The only person I recognized was a boy named Koga. He was the kind who you wouldn't notice unless you looked for him. I had always noticed him, I just didn't have the courage to speak up.

"Koga right? Nice to see you."

Removing his headphones and looking up at me he nodded. I decided to sit near him and he scooted over a little to give me space. It wasn't awkward but more of comfortable silence. More people began stumbling up the stairs in search of relatives. Ayumu at this point reunited with her mother, brother, and father. I was envious of them. They had all been reunited while Koga and I were by ourselves. They wouldn't have to travel by themselves, they had people to confide in. I felt like I had nothing. Everything had changed too quickly. 

The city now looked like a painting. A work of art depicting a post-apocalyptic world. One you'd never wish to see in your backyard. Suddenly, a string of cell phones turned on and cell service was restored. I quickly went to take out my phone but the battery had died. Of all the fucking times this had to happen. Koga looked over my shoulder and lent me his phone without saying anything. It was subtle but it meant a lot. After multiple missed calls I returned the phone.