Mika (Part IV)

For those who missed the earlier parts, here are the links
Mika - Part I
Mika - Part II
Mika - Part III

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Mika reached the grandfather first, almost out of breath.

"There's ... there's ...", she fought to regain her breath, half out of shock and exhaustion. "there's a huge wave about thirty feet high headed here ... please take your wife and get to safety as soon as possible ... I will get your little girl .... go!"

"But ... but ... how can I go without my lil' girl ...", said the old man, almost in tears.

"Please sir, get going ... you have to believe me ... I promise I WILL get your child back for you.... GO NOW please ...and FAST"

The grandfather made his way back as soon as he could taking the grandmother along with him. Mika turned around to see where the little girl was. She was swimming in the water about sixty feet away. The girl had moved further into the sea with the retreating tide.

Mika started sprinting towards her. As she raced towards the girl, she looked to either side to see if there were other people on the beach. She could see some boys playing cricket some distance away, she waved to get their attention. She screamed at them, "BIG WAVES COMING! GO BACK! GO BACK!" They could not understand why she was screaming like that. She pointed at the sea and then continued to scream.

She had almost reached the girl. The little girl on hearing her screams had turned back. Mika looked at the sea beyond the girl. She could see the water line on the horizon rising at an alarming rate.

"Oh bloody shit!"

"Come on", she grasped the little girl by her arm and they began to run towards the shore.

"Don't look back! Just keep running!"

They were about forty feet from the shore when the sea breeze suddenly stopped and she felt as though the ocean's breath had stopped for a moment. Mika glanced back as she was running, the wall of water loomed like a skyscraper. The stopping of the breeze probably meant that the wall had reached it crest and it was going to unleash its fury at any moment. She ran harder, the breeze started again, this time it was from behind her. Their shadows on the sand before them grew dimmer and dimmer. She knew that the moment had come. They were about a yard away from the end of the beach when the wave hit them. It was about ten feet high and it swept both of them off their feet. The waves engulfed them with enormous force but she did not let go of the girl. As they were swept along, her head banged against something hard. She instinctively engulfed her free hand around the object. It was round and rough. She did not let go of it. The wave lost its force and the water became still, only just for a moment, and then the water began to recede and take a lot of things along with it. The receding waters started gaining more and more force but Mika still held firm onto the object. Slowly, the water level receded and they began to float towards the ground. Finally, the wave deposited them flat on the ground.

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Mika and the girl lay still for some minutes. Mika gradually regained her senses and glanced in the direction of the sea to see if any more waves were to come. But it looked as if the tsunami had lost its fury. She looked up the object she had held onto. It was a coconut tree. Most of the leaves of the tree had been washed away by the fury of the wave.

She sat up and looked at the girl. The girl was lying to her side facing her. Her eyes met Mika's and she gave a weak smile. Mika could still see the shock in her eyes. She lifted the girl and hugged her. The little girl started to cry.

"It's all over... don't be afraid ... we are going home now .. come on ...", Mika comforted her.

She got up, the little girl still held fast to her. She carried her slowly towards the road. The little girl's grandparents who had been taking refuge in a compound nearby came out. When they saw Mika, they came running forward.

"Oh .. Thank god ... Thank god .... you both are safe!"

She deposited the little girl in her grandma's arms. The girl took a while to release her hug on Mika.

"We .. we don't know how to thank you .. you were sent by God to save us ...", said the grandfather.

"Oh .. no problem sir .. I'm glad I was able to help .. take your little girl home ... she needs a good rest to get over the shock ... "

"Thank you, akka ..", a little voice said. It was the little girl.

Mika kissed her. "Hey, go home and have a nice sleep. Then you can go and play with your friends. ok?"

"ok", blinked the little girl. The color was returning to her soft chubby cheeks.

"You have some cuts on the head .... will you come to our house and put some ointment for it?"

"No, problem sir .. I will immediately attend to it .. you go ahead .. my house is just here .. bye"

The old couple gave her a joint hug. "We will never forget what you have done for us".

The grandparents left with their granddaughter, looking back from time to time and waving at Mika.

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Mika tiptoed into her house. Just as she was about to go up the stairs. Her mother came out of the kitchen and caught sight of her. She noticed the cuts on Mika's face.

"Mika! What happened? You have hurt your face and you're dripping wet as well!"

"Mama, there was a tsunami just a few minutes ago. I was on the beach.."

"Oh my god. Thank god you are fine. Wait here."

Mika sit on the sofa. She rushed to the bathroom and brought a bucket of water mixed with dettol. She bathed Mika's head wound with a wet towel. Mika winced on the touch.

"It seems to be just a superficial wound but anyway you cannot say anything about head injuries .. we will go immediately to the doctor after you dry up a bit."

"Oh mama, I think it is just a light wound .. it doesn't pain much .. no need for a doctor"

"No way, we must go .. only then will I be happy"

"Oh! .. right ... but not immediately ... let me dry up and take a bit of rest and we can go in the afternoon"

"Umm ... ok ... but if you feel anything uneasy, let me know and we will go to the doctor immediately"

"Ok mama, sure"

They went upstairs to Mika's room. Mika's mother helped her undress and get into the shower. The hot water helped a lot to subside the tension in her nerves. She came out refreshed from the shower and got into the dress that her mother had kept ready for her. Her mother then brought a hair dryer and started giving her long hair a good drying. Mika's brother came out of his room with sleepy eyes. He too had not known what had happened in the morning at all. He peeked into Mika's room.

"Hi Mom.. Hi Miki ...", he noticed the long cut on Mika's forehead. "hey, what happened? where did you get hurt?"

"Oh Arun! There was a tsunami in the morning .. and Mika was at the beach!"

"Oh shit!... you all right now, miki? want me to take you to the doctor?"

"No daa, I feel fine ... I just want to take a good rest to get over the shock ..."

"Oh okay ... yeah, you need a good rest ... "

"Right Mama, my hair's quite dry now .. thx a lot .. now let me take a nap."

"Ok dear"

Mika lay on her bed and her mother nicely tucked her in into her blanket and gave her a peck of a kiss on her forehead and then left the room.

"Come on Arun, let Mika have a good rest"

Arun gave Mika a reassuring smile as he left. "Sleep well"

He closed the door quietly behind him. Mika was left all alone in her room. She looked a while at the ceiling unable to close her eyes. Then, the exhaustion and then the hot bath took their toll. She drifted off into a deep sleep.

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A beeping sound roused her out of her sleep. Another SMS! What did this have in store for her.

She realized it was still in the pocket of her wet dress. She got up and took the cell out of the pocket. Somehow, the cell was still in a working state. This must be some usual message, she thought. Every message could not be as significant as the last one she had received. She opened the message.

The message was short :
S.O.S, neo

Continued at Mika - Part V