The Earthquake

March 12, 2011 mailahug
Tags: earthquake, Japan, tokyo, tsunami

Imagine your husband catching the early morning train to sacrificially make his hour and a half commute to work each morning cramped in a rail car like a sardine. He makes that commute so you can live nearby your mom. Afterall, you are her only child and it’s important that she see her granddaughter everyday.

8.9, the fifth largest ever, biggest in Japan since 1900, and your husband is in Tokyo at work. Power’s out, phones are down, fires are blazing, radiation is a threat, and there are so many people missing from the earthquake and tsunami that you can barely catch your breath. And you’re waiting, waiting, waiting for a phone call, a message, anything to know that he is alive. The tears roll down your cheeks. Surely he’s fine, but it’s the scariest day of your life. You need him home with you and the baby.

You don’t really believe in God, or maybe you’re just mad at him because He allowed your mom’s best friend to die from breast cancer. So, you’re mad at Him, but you pray anyway. Maybe he’ll listen this time. He has to listen. Your husband has to come home.

All the trains are down and everyone is sequestered in their buildings in which they work in downtown Tokyo. They must be scared, too. Training for an earthquake was a common thing growing up in Japan. Earthquakes happen all the time. But this time, it was different. It just wouldn’t stop. And no one could think of what to do. Hiding under the desk was one option, running outside…no one could think. The roaring, the screeching, the churning…it just wouldn’t stop.

He has to come home.