Lilies and Hurricanes II

Everyone in Amania was now inside the hurricane shelter and were all finding a little corner to tuck themselves in while they waited for the storm to pass. Hannah was the only one still on her feet because Garin wasn’t there yet and she worried.

“Hannah, relax. I’m sure Garin will be fine. He’s a strong man, I believe he will make it out there,” Nina, Abu’s wife said consolingly.

“I know he’s strong but do you not hear the wind outside? Even parts of this shelter have broken apart since the storm started and it’s only going to get worse. He’s in trouble, I feel it,” Hannah lamented with a hand on her chest.

She could hear the boom of thunder and feel the intensity of the rain and all she could picture in her head was Garin laying in a ditch somewhere, drowning, screaming her name, hoping she’ll come and help save him. The smell of the rain encased her senses and reminded her of the nights they spent in the unforgiving ocean. She remembered all the things they had suffered and all times they nearly died but didn’t because of Garin. His strength, his desire to live, his love, his willpower, and his perseverance was the reason they survived. She knew she owed her life to him and at that moment, she made her mind up.

“I need to go find him,” She muttered but Nina heard her.

“No, you can’t go out there, Hannah,” Nina said and tried to hold her back from reaching the door.

“Hannah, stop! If you go out there, you will surely die,” Abu said as he moved over to her.

“My husband needs my help. I can’t just sit in here and do nothing,” Hannah said.

“Going out there won’t solve anything,” Fara put in, “What if he found a safe place to hide from the hurricane? What if he’s alright and you go there and put yourself at risk for nothing?”

Everyone grunted in agreement with Fara’s statement, trying to get her to listen and not go outside. They didn’t understand the strength of Hannah’s bond with Garin. They weren’t feeling what she was feeling so they couldn’t understand.

She could feel him in trouble. She could feel his heart beating a lot faster than usual. She could feel how cold his skin was. She could feel his ragged breathing and the pain in his foot. He was in trouble and she knew it.

“Garin is not alright. I have to go,” She ran for the door.

“Stop,” One of the Elders ordered, “you cannot leave this shelter, Hannah.”

“Just try and stop me,” She replied.

At that same time, a coconut tree got uprooted by the powerful wind and fell on the top of the shelter, partially breaking through the roof and into the ceiling. Everyone began to panic as they felt that the shelter would not hold. Mothers were grabbing onto their children, children were wailing and weeping, while the men got to work to try and minimize the damage so the building would hold.

Hannah saw this as the perfect distraction to sneak away and go find her husband. With everyone focused on the tree, she slipped out the shelter door and ran into the storm to find Garin.

Nina turned back around and saw that Hannah had disappeared and she called out to Abu. He ran over to the huge door and considered running out to find Hannah before she got too far but the wind and water changed his mind immediately he felt them on his skin.

He closed the door instead and locked it. He turned over to his wife and gave her a look; a look that meant Hannah and Garin were on their own and only the gods could save them.

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Garin held on to the roots of a large oak tree, clinging on for dear life as the winds tried to blow him away. He had a piece of tree impaled into his right leg and couldn’t walk.

The rains fell so strongly, bringing huge floods along with it that were also trying to wash Garin away. He was losing his grip on the roots and he didn’t know how much longer he could hold on.

When he thought it couldn’t get worse, it did because Zarif appeared before him to mock his situation and annoy him a little.

“Well, what do we have here? You don’t look so good brother,” Zarif said with a smile.

He stood firmly with his feet planted into the ground and the winds could not carry him off. He bent over to Garin’s height and sat down beside him.

“I wonder how long you’ll be able to hang on to those roots or how long this tree will hold out before the winds pick it out of the ground. What would you reckon? Two, three or four more minutes?”

Garin stayed quiet and continued holding on. He didn’t want to waste his energy exchanging words with his brother and also, and he was determined to survive just so he could find his wife and make sure that she was alright.

“Oh, would you look at what you’ve become? You’re here, at a point between life and death, the wind and the water threatening to pull you away and all you can think about is that damned angel,” Zarif said in annoyance.

He could read Garin’s mind and his determination to find Hannah and make sure she was alright was irritating to the demon. He couldn’t understand why Garin was so willing and is still so willing to put her needs before his, her life before his, her wellbeing before his. It didn’t make any sense to him.

Garin remained silent and another wave washed over him and he almost lost his grip on the tree. Zarif loved what he was seeing, he loved how much of a hard time Garin was having and just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, it did.

“Well, well, well, would you look at that?” Zarif said as he looked ahead, “I guess you’re not the only one in this weird relationship who puts the other person’s needs and safety before theirs.”

“What are you talking about?” Garin asked.

“About two miles away, your beloved angel is making her way through the storm, screaming your name while trying to find you,” Zarif said.

He could see that far ahead because of his demon powers but Garin couldn’t because he was a human now. He looked up ahead but all he saw was the rain and he couldn’t see anything past it.

“You’re lying. She’s not out here. She’s back in the village with everyone else. She’s safe in the shelter and you’re just trying to get me to abandon my only chance of surviving this hurricane,” Garin said in denial.

“Please, Garin, I wouldn’t joke around about something so serious but if you need me to show you, I will,” Zarif used his powers to enhance Garin’s vision so he could see ahead.

Zarif was telling the truth now, he could see. Hannah was in the storm looking for him and she wasn’t doing too well either. She was being thrown around by the wind like a ragdoll and if she was out here for a little longer, she could die. Garin couldn’t stand seeing her suffer all because she was trying to save him so he decided to find the strength he needed to fight through the pain of his impaled foot and brave the elements to save the love of his life.

“There he is,” Zarif said in excitement when he saw Garin trying to get to his feet.

“Get up, Garin. Find the will to get moving so you can save her,” Zarif said condescendingly.

Grain paid no mind to him and finally managed to stand erect. He was still holding on to the tree but in order to save Hannah, he would have to let go.

He took in a deep breath and let go of the tree, limping into the eye of the storm for his love. Zarif smirked after Garin ventured forward and watched him intently. He vanished into the abyss, certain that this time, Garin would not survive.

“Hannah,” Garin screamed at the top of his lungs as he powered through the storm.

He couldn’t see anything ahead of him and was moving blindly in the rain. Lightning struck a nearby tree and almost hit him as well, but he was lucky to not have been too close to the tree. He kept moving with his hand over his eyes so he could see better but it didn’t make that much of a difference.

From out of nowhere, an uprooted tree flew into Garin’s path and headed straight for him. He didn’t see the tree on time and before he could react or duck out of the way, the tree slammed into him and knocked him down.

He was badly hurt and could barely keep his eyes open because he hit his head hard against a rock.

“Hannah,” He whispered before his eyes went shut.