Just Too Little Time

You woke up on Sunday morning and saw the sun was shining brightly. After days being stuck in the house because of endless rain, you thought it was a perfect time to have fun outside. So you brought your kids to a new public swimming pool around your area and let them had fun there.  Not only that you also invited your parents and sisters along with their kids to join you so it became a one big family outing.

Everybody was happy, kids swimming with their fathers while mothers chatting under  a  gazebo by the swimming pool enjoying lunch from the pool’s cafe. It was a perfect family outing, until suddenly the weather changed. Rain started to fall. Some visitors ran into the pool’s building/cafe while some others, including your family, chose to stay under the gazebo instead. You thought everybody was already wet from the pool anyway so it did not make a difference if you got wet from the rain.

Then the rain got heavier accompanied by strong wind and thunders. Yet, you did not move from there hoping it would be over soon. Suddenly lightning struck  the top of the gazebo causing the whole heavy roof to fall on you and your family. You felt pain and started screaming for help then everything became black.

Next you woke up at the hospital. Like most of the family members, you were lightly injured. But your father lost a lot of blood because of a heavy wood that fell on his head, he passed away on the way to the hospital. Your mother had a broken leg and so did one of your sisters.

You could not help but blaming yourself. You felt like you were responsible of this incident as you were the initiator of the outing. If only you had known this would happen you would not have started an outing in the first place. You would not have invited them, etc.

I failed to imagine your feelings. Must be hard for you. You were happy when you left the house, but came home in grief…

***

People at my office have been talking about this since the beginning of the week. It happened last Sunday and the woman in the story worked at the same building as me. I don’t really know her because she works at different company. Just occasionally saw her at the lobby or cafeteria.

Yesterday I saw her in the building for the first time since the tragedy, she walked in slowly with bandaged feet. Me along with others in the lobby came to her to express our condolences. She still looked sad.

***

I remember when I was a little kid my mom used to usher us from the pool if there was rain. She said we could get cold. Our teachers also taught us to stay away from any open area, including swimming pool, when we started to hear thunder. Because after thunders there will be lightnings so we have to come inside a building. Staying under gazebo is not safe enough.

As we live in a lightning-prone area, this knowledge is actually being taught at schools. Well, at least when I grew up.

We never know when tragedy will happen on us, but if only we have listened to our teachers…