april 2024 Short STory

“Make sure that every fish gets enough feed. You’ll need to disperse the pellets a bit more to not concentrate them all in one spot. Here let me show you.” Grabbing the satchel of fish food, the foreman sowed it as if it were seeds in a field, and the worker watched intently as the fish gobbled up their meal.

“Each of these salmon will fetch nearly two-fifty to three-hundred dollars a fish, so we have to make sure none of them accidentally get released or escapes from our net pens. We got an earful from biologists when they discovered farmed salmon mingling with the wild stock and spreading fish lice to the other salmon.”

As the new recruit looked out to the inlet they were standing by, he noticed something floating in the water. “Fred, what’s that over there? It’s floating in the water.”

Getting in a boat to investigate the flotsam, they paddled to the object and found out it had some Asian writing on it. It seemed to them it was some sort of vending machine cover, with pictures of bottles and cans resembling refreshing drinks being sold.

Tadashi put in three hundred yen into the soda machine and took out an ice-cold can with his favourite carbonated drink. Despite the high sugar content, he figured his exercise would burn off the extra calories hence, there was no need to be alarmed.

Walking among the busy streets of Sendai, Tadashi spent his day off work browsing several electronics shops, checking out the newest videogame consoles available on the market. Recalling the highly competitive game between him and his girlfriend yesterday, Tadashi was thankful for finding a girl that liked gaming just as much as he did. Although he would never admit it, he was accepting of the fact that she was actually a better player than he was. Entering an airconditioned mall, he suddenly felt the vibrations of the ground shaking, and the lights in the mall flickered on and off before finally giving out.

“Emily, don’t go too far into the water, okay? John, could you keep an eye on your daughter, she’s going to go too deep.”

“No problem dear, I’ll make sure she’s okay.” Wading over to his troublesome daughter, he put his hand on her shoulder, ushering he to get back to the shallows. 

The entire English Bay was full of suntanning people and tourists, all eager to enjoy the sun beaming down on them from above. The push and pull of the waves created a relaxing sound as many beachgoers laid down and were lulled to sleep.

Seeing his daughter holding an object in her hand, John asked if he could take a look at it. “Whatcha got there Emily? It looks like a transformer robot toy.”

“Daddy, I find in water. Robot!”

Taking a closer look, the transformer was rusting from the salt-water exposure and was stiff when attempting to change from car to robot form or vice versa.

“Why don’t you show mommy what you found okay?”

“Mamma, look! Toy robot!”

“Kenichi, I told you many times now. Put away your robot or I’ll throw it away for you. Did you hear me young man?”

“Yes ma,” Dejected at not being allowed to play, the boy put his transformer robot into his knapsack and followed his mother out of the bullet train station.

Holding onto his mother’s hand so as not to get lost in the sea of people which was typical of a busy work day in Sendai. Kenichi remembered when father had bought the toy robot for his fifth birthday, and he recalled how happy he felt after waiting patiently for a year on his wishlist. 

Walking past many people in suits and formal attire, Kenichi watched as the traffic policeman directed vehicle traffic at the jammed intersection. Waiting with his mother to cross the road, they looked at all the flashing billboards bombarding them with advertisements for the latest craze on TV or some gimmicky must-have product.

Suddenly, screams could be heard everywhere as glass and bricks felled down from the many office towers looming above them. Kenichi could only watch in horror as the tall buildings swayed in the air, seeming to dance with disaster. 

Grabbing her son and rushing to the nearest cover from the falling glass, they huddled inside a noodle shop and watched as the earthquake rattled their home.

“Hey! Watch this!” Paddling towards a large wave coming towards them, Alan stood up on his board as he rode the wave in perfect timing and balance. 

Clapping her hands at his skill, Amy shouted her cheers to her boyfriend, clearly impressed by his surfing skills. Drying themselves with their towels, they headed to the hotel in downtown Tofino to change into dry clothes before going for one last walk along the shoreline. Planning to head back to Vancouver the next morning, they figured they would visit the beach one more time.

Wearing a khaki shirt and shorts, Alan decided to wear something comfortable, while Amy donned a wind breaker and pants, clearly more sensitive to the cold ocean breeze. 

Looking out towards the setting sun, something caught Alan’s eye on the shore. Racing over to it, they were both amazed to find a small speeder bike, in the sand. While rusty and clearly in need of repair, they marveled at the stickers on the body of the bike, with Japanese characters which none of them could decipher. 

Putting one last sticker on his bike, Kento had decided to get one that would bring encouragement to himself and others, saying ‘add oil’ as if to keep going no matter what. Speeding along the highway and weaving in and out of traffic, he stopped by a corner store and removed his helmet. Grabbing a small bag of chips, he loaded it into the saddlebags behind his bike and raced back home where he knew a nice hot dinner made by his wife would be awaiting him. 

Parking his bike alongside the road, he took his helmet inside and instantly smelled the delicious broth being boiled in the kitchen. Hugging his wife and kissing her head, he took off his leather jacket and hung it in the closet next to the foyer. 

“Let me guess, we’re having udon noodles with fish balls and tofu?”

Smiling at her intuitive husband, Sakura simply smiled and nodded her head in acknowledgement that her husband was right. As she was going to set the dishes, suddenly the house began to shake, and Kento immediately grabbed his wife and they huddled under the dinner table as pots and pans spilled off the countertop and stove, unleashing their contents in a huge mess. Frightened of the house collapsing, they could only watch as Sakura’s hard work was spoiled and wasted on the floor of the kitchen.

Getting a message on his phone, Kento realized they needed to get to higher ground, as the authorities were warning of a possible tsunami headed their way. Grabbing his wife and running uphill, they tried to get as far as possible from the sea, which was already honing in on them several kilometres away, gathering momentum and threatening to engulf anything in its path, including Kento’s bike. 

Florence sped along the sea wall on her pedal bike, and she was careful to avoid the pedestrians who always seemed to get in the way of cyclists. Ringing her bell for the umpteenth time, she shook her head in disbelief as a family strode across the road, hogging the entire pathway. Stopping to wait for the family to move, she looked over at the water and saw something shiny among the rocks. Getting off her bike and walking over, she found a stainless-steel watering can, with the initials H. A.

Picking it up, she looked inside and marveled at how shiny it was, wondering where it had come from.

Hiroto Abe watered his plants for the second time that day, as it was a hot summer day threatening his flowers with dehydration. Using his favourite watering can, he had etched his initials on the bottom after his last can was stolen from his porch nearly a month ago. He was almost sure that his neighbours behind him had taken it, and indeed on several occasions he could see them using the identical can watering their vegetables.

Taking care of his garden and indoor plants took a large part of Hiroto’s day, but having been retired, he had plenty of time to enjoy his hobby, growing a variety of flowers and vegetables. Not only did the plants need watering, they also had to be pruned and checked for parasites or diseases.

Turning on the radio, he suddenly felt a shaking in his greenhouse, and he rushed to keep his plants from falling to the ground. After several minutes of intense shaking, Hiroto could hear on the radio that everyone in Sendai was to be evacuated to higher ground because of the threat of a tsunami. Grabbing as much as he could before rushing out of the house, he hobbled on his cane towards the evacuation assembly area. Taking one look back at his indoor garden, he rushed to get to safer ground. 

Tadashi raced towards any shelter he could find as glass from the upper floors of the mall came crashing down, breaking into thousands of foot stabbing shards. After the initial shaking, he decided to rush outside with everyone else and they watched as emergency crews worked to reach the injured and trapped. Sirens were wailing and a loudspeaker was blasting away warnings for people to stay away from the shorelines and to move to higher ground. Tadashi joined the swarm of people, all rushing uphill away from the ocean. By the time they reached about two hundred metres above the sea level, they looked back and saw what was coming their way. A large tsunami was speeding towards them, crashing into houses and cars and sweeping them away. Thankfully they were just high enough that the tsunami did not reach them, but they watched in horror as the less fortunate were swept away with the water.

“Kenichi! Hurry come here! Stay away from the entrance!” 

As the boy went back to the safety of inside the noodle shop, they were frazzled and frightened when the power went out, leaving them in the darkness and with dishes and bowls spilled everywhere. Many people were heading outside to survey the damage, and it was a miracle that none of the high-rises had collapsed, a result of rigid building codes implemented by the country.

Calling her husband, Kenichi’s mom assured him that they were safe and they decided to meet up back at home as soon as they can, but with the transportation infrastructure offline, it would be some time before they could get home.

Thanking the noodle shop owner for offering them shelter, they walked out and were amazed at how silent and dim the city was, without its neon glow and flashing lights. Every advertisement billboard was blank and people were simply standing there, not moving as they normally would on a busy work day.

Kento and Sakura made it to the refuge area and graciously accepted some bottled water and packs of dried, ready to eat meals. Looking out the window at the carnage below them, there was no doubt their house was a total loss and that it would take them weeks if not months to recover their belongings and to build a new home.

Patting his wife on her back, Kento reassured her that everything would be okay and that they still had one another to support each other. 

Hiroto Abe also reached the area of refuge, thanks to a police officer that picked him up in his cruiser and drove him to safety. Resting his sore back and sitting in one of the few chairs available in the evacuation centre, he took a moment to rest and realize what had just happened. In his seventy years of living, never had he experienced such an earthquake, and so much destruction that occurred in the aftermath. Looking over Sendai, he was saddened to see that an entire city had been wiped out by water, the ocean reclaiming the land for itself. Trucks and cars were floating in rivers, and entire houses were drifting with the surge of waves. 

Thankful that he had made it out alive, he also knew that as a people, the citizens of Sendai would rebuild, and would be more prepared for the next time an earthquake strikes.

The End