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                                                                              A Long Way Home

                                                                                By: Morgan Britt

Everything I knew, everyone I cared about gone. I felt like no one could understand because everyone I saw had at least one person still in their lives. I had no one. The tsunami wiped out my whole family, I am the only one left. Everyone started traveling farther inland. The tsunamis are getting more deadly and are able to reach farther inland since Greenland’s ice sheet has melted and made the water level rise.

I need to start traveling inland, but I was too upset. For days I just sat in a ball hugging my legs sobbing and repeating “they’re gone.”. I know I need to get out of our town, or what used to be a town, but I need to know if anything is left in my house. Or what’s left of my house. I ran home and found it destroyed, very little left. Most of our thing’s were washed away. I decided to salvage what I could.

Most of what I could get was old pictures that weren’t washed away. Some nearly just fell apart from the water when I picked them up, but some of them I was able to dry off and keep them. My tears flooded my eyes when I saw all of us. My mom, dad, my brother Jason, myself (Stella), and my little sister Tori. I needed to stay alive for them, I know it’s what they would’ve wanted.

I started walking away from my house. It was the hardest thing I had to do. Just leave all the memories and leave it behind. You don’t know how much I wanted to go back and lay on ground and just wait for the next tsunami to come or just starve to death. But I kept going. I kept walking and I found some bottles of water that were washed away from houses, stores, etc. I grabbed them and used my jacket as a bag to hold everything I had.

I had water, I know I will survive at least a week longer. I need to find food but that isn’t my main priority at the moment. First water, done. Then food, I don't even know where to start with that. Finally shelter, that would change daily and wouldn’t be easy to find.

It was getting dark so I decide to get some rest and I looked around for a couple minutes before seeing someone.

“hello?” The guy looks over

“STELLA YOU’RE ALIVE!” The guy yell and runs over and practically tackles me

I recognized him the second he say my name and cling onto him “SETH!” He was my best friend since preschool, we’re juniors now.

He hugs me tightly “I’m meeting my family inland, or who’s left. At my cousin’s house. Where are you headed?” He ask.

I sigh and look at him “I don’t know. No one is waiting for me.” He holds me tighter and picks me up “I’m so sorry. You’re welcome to travel with me and stay with my family.” He says “If you want to that is.” He says

I cling onto him “Thank you.” He smiles and holds me protectively

I smile and lean against him, eventually falling asleep as he walked. I woke up the next morning. The sea water level had risen, it was like the water was following us, no matter where we went it was always there.

I stand up and stretch and wake Seth up “Come on. We have to move.” I hand him a water bottle “Be careful with how much you drink. I only have four and I don’t know how long this trip is going to take us. We can check where there used to be stores and see if any supplies are left.” He nods and wakes up drinking a bit. I drink some water then start walking to where my family used to go shopping “Tell me if you find anything” I say to Seth. Seth nods then starts going through the wreckage.

We looked for about twenty minutes. Seth found some more water and bags of almonds, I found some cherries and cereal. I washed off the cherries and put everything in my bag.

“Let’s get going” he says. I nod

“Here. It’s harder to go on with an empty stomach” I hand him a couple cherries and almonds

He quickly eats them “thanks.” I nod and eat the same amount I gave him. We continue to walk for a couple hours. Seth drops to the ground blacking out.

My eyes widen and I run to him “SETH!”

I try to wake him up then checks his pulse. I sigh in relief when I knew he was alive, I grab a water bottle and pour some on a cloth and put it on his forehead to cool him off. I sat there waiting for him to wake up till night, I ended up falling asleep clinging onto him.

He wakes up and groans his head hurting “what happened?”

I woke up when he moved and hugged him tightly then punches his arm “you scared me!”

He laughs and messes up my hair than stands “I’m fine” he says

“come on let's keep moving.” I huff than nod

“You’re going to be the death of me.” He sighs “unless global warming gets to me first.”

A week later. We had been walking for what seemed like days  on end. We finally start to see a town in the distance “Seth! Look!” I point to the town then start running towards it, his eyes widen and he follows. We hadn’t seen the water catch up to us in a couple day, so we thought we were in the clear. We run as fast as we could towards the town. Seth sees his family and runs to them and hugs them tightly, all of them crying. I stop and look around frantically hoping that someone from my family made it here.

All the sudden I feel someone grab me sobbing and hugging me tightly and saying “You made it!”

I could tell it was a male voice that I recognized “JASON!” I spun around and hugged him tightly crying “did anyone else make it?” I try to say but it came out in a mumbled mess.

Luckily he understood “I don’t know, last I heard was mom way trying to get the rest of the family here, but she was supposed to be here three days ago.” He cries. I sob and hug him tightly clinging onto him. Jason calms himself and tries to calm me down “hey, at least we’re safe for now.’ he rubs my back.

I calm myself and sigh “I guess, let’s just keep looking for the others.” And we went off looking for the others.

Days had passed before we eventually came to term with the fact they probably didn’t make it. Jason sighs and hugs me tightly “Looks like we’re the only two left.” I cry a little and burry my face in his chest “Looks like it.” I cry.

Months later we had our own little apartment, with the pictures that I could save from the house hung up on the wall. I was sitting on the couch and looking at them. Jason walks over and sighs “we can just hope that they are alive somewhere. But either way we’ll all be reunited again.’ I sigh and lean against him “I guess you’re right.” He smiles “I’m always right.” I laugh “suuuuure.” We both laugh.