Never Forget You

An hour later, we had reached the coast of B.C. The damage there was just as extensive. I looked out the windows in shock of it all. Large steel buildings were still standing, but boats had crashed into the piers and rode upon the land. Far below, I could see people making their way further inland, getting away from the growing waves. We landed in a large field, a golf course I think, next to what looked like a large building filled with medical personal, but parts of it were missing, debris everywhere. On the other side was a growing community of tents.

"If you are wounded, please proceed inside the gymnasium! If you are not, then go around back and they will assign you a tent!" One of the soldiers told us, as he helped each of the six of us that were inside down. I kept my grip tight on Cyrus, he laid his head against my chest, an arm around my neck, and the other gripping my necklace. I followed an older woman around to the tents, wincing with each step. My feet were starting to burn, as I found it harder to push my legs to keep moving. Although it wasn't as loud as earlier, I could still barely hear over people yelling orders, or calling names.

A woman in uniform came up to me, eyes sympathetic as she eyed the docile child in my arms, and asked me my name. "Gia Alexiou." I spelled it out for her as she wrote it on the clipboard. When she asked his name, I hesitated for a moment, before I replied "Cyrus. Same last name." I figured it would be too much trouble to try and get his last name out of him. If he even knew it. Cyrus looked barely four years old.

"Thank you, follow me, please." She started walking down the row of tents. "We're trying to put everyone in sections for now, to make it easier to find someone should it be needed. Mothers and elderly to one side, and men and women to the other. You'll be in a tent with most likely two other people, until we get everything sorted out more clearly. It won't last for long. Thankfully, the other Canadian provinces have been sending us aide, making this a bit easier for everyone. It's unfortunate though, that California also suffered an earthquake just as bad. All along the coast line, we were hit." She stopped in front of a tent. "Here you are. If there's anything you need, like first aid, or such, find an officer." She smiled at me. She was so clean, while I bet I looked like I just got finished with a mud fight. "If you need to wash, there is a pool with showers just down the road." She said, pointing to the right. "Might be full, but it's worth giving it a shot. Inside the tent, you'll find a bag full of emergency items." With that, she walked away.

I turned, and entered the tent. It was fairly large. Enough to accommodate the three cots laying side by side. An older woman and a middle aged woman were already inside conversing. It stopped when I entered, I nodded a hello before sitting down on the far left bed.

"Oh my goodness. You poor thing! Look at you. You're covered in cuts and bruises. And your poor child. He looks terrified. Here." The middle aged woman handed me a wet cloth she had in a bucket, which I took and started to dab at Cyrus' face. The dirt only barely starting to come clean. "Oh dear. Looks like that just won't do. Ah, Ms. Kilary, would you mind excusing me for a moment? I'll just take this young lady and her child to the showers." The older woman smiled, dark green eyes passing over me with a light smile on her face.

"Oh no, it's alright. Really. We'll go in a bit. They're probably full." I protested. Or rather, it was my body that protested. After finally sitting down in a relaxing spot, it didn't want to get back up. A cough started to bubble in my chest, as I tried to clear my throat.

"No no. It's no trouble for me. You'll feel so much better after you're clean. Trust me." She smiled so warmly at me. "Call me Ms. Honey, my dear." She said, as she grabbed my dark green duffel of emergency items and pulled me from the tent. "Your names?"

"Gia, and Cyrus." I replied, shifting him in my arms, and dabbing the cloth on his nose. A ghost of a smile on his lips.

"This used to be a swimming pool area, so there are more than enough showers here. Although the lines," She gestured to the 20 or so people in each line for the men, women and handicap bathrooms, "are long, it goes quite quickly. It became an unspoken rule that the handicap bathroom is used by only the elderly, and those with children. I'm not entirely sure why, perhaps due to the fact that the stalls in the women's and men's are quite small and unaccommodating to more than one person?" Ms. Honey explained. "Are you here all alone?"

I swallowed a sob. "We came from Galliano island. My mother was killed during the quake." My voice barely steady.

Ms. Honey looked at me sympathetically with her wide, soft brown eyes. A stray came loose from her greying bun. "That's terrible. I'm so sorry. It was just me in my little house near the coast. But, the ocean has taken it back." Her voice mournful.

When we reached the showers, the line for the elderly/mothers was short. 10 people, including the mothers with children. A woman in front of me was juggling a baby in her arms, and the two rambunctious children running around her. Two boys. She looked completely exhausted. "I'll be back at the tent. You do remember how to get back?" Ms. Honey asked me. I turned to her.

"Yes, thank you so much." She handed me the duffel and wandered away. The woman turned to see me walk up behind her, and smiled.

"It's as if the earthquake never happened, the way these two are acting." The woman in front of me sighed.

A ghost of a smile on my lips, I nodded at the two laughing children. A sound that sounded so foreign to me now. After all, was it not the screams and cries that continue to echo in my ears, along with one voice begging me to save her child?

"Allie." She said, holding out her hand. I reached mine out and shook it, taking notice that we were both caked with dirt and when our hands gripped the other dirt crumbled off. We both looked up and smiled at each other.

"Gia. And this is Cyrus." She hunched down slightly to look at the boy.

"Hi there, little guy." Cyrus acted as he always did, turning his head away and burying it in the crook of my neck. Allie took no offense.

"These two are Nickolas and Sam. Both are mine. But this darling here, is Catarina." She shifted the baby in her arms, to let me have a look. The baby was sleeping soundly, long dark eyelashes stark against her pale cheeks. "She's not mine, but my...best friends. Her mother didn't make it. I'm her godmother." I reached out, and lightly let my finger touch her cheek.

"Cyrus isn't mine either." I blurted out. "His mother was dying, and I was the only one around. I'm taking care of him for the time being."

She cocked her head to the side. "Strange. Because he looks just like you. And that necklace of yours is almost the same shade as his eyes. I wouldn't have known the difference." I smiled at her, before another cough bubbled in my chest. This time, I couldn't stop it and had to pause to cough multiple times. Leaving me almost breathless. The coughs shook my body as I struggled for air. Allie looked at me worryingly. I waved her off. "It's the dust."

The line moved quickly, and before long Allie and her three children bid me goodbye and entered the room, the door closing with a click behind her. Inside I could hear the two children laughing, and squealing. 20 minutes later, she exited, Her dark brown hair ruffled and wet. She looked completely different from when I saw her last. I guess the dirt and mud really does mask a lot. Because what I didn't notice was a long scar from her left temple down her cheek to her chin. She smiled at me. "I’ll catch you later, Gia."

Bidding goodbyes, I let myself into the shower room. I first set to work on washing Cyrus. Dirt and mud were caked on him. Inside the bag, I found little bottles of shampoo/conditioner mix, two bars of soap, a comb, two small towels, two facecloths, medium sized plain green pants, small green shirt, socks and a wool green sweater.

I used two bottles of shampoo/conditioner on Cyrus, making sure everything was clean, then proceeded to wash the rest of him with soap on a facecloth. Even though the water was starting to turn a little cooler, it did the job. When he was all clean, I had him sit on the bench while I set to work on myself. Three bottles is what it took to clean the gunk from my hair, and at least half a bar of soap and serious scrubbing to finally see my own skin again. My cuts stung when they were exposed to the soap and water. I glanced down at my stomach, to see a long red mark on the skin. I remembered that the plank had hit me there. I gingerly touched it, and winced at the pain. After it was all off, every last mud chunk, twig, dried blood and tear, I shut the water off and slipped my undergarments back on. My black tank top wasn't a complete disaster as I slipped it back on. Along with the green pants, and I tied the string to make them tight around my waist, rolling them up once.
I took the outer bandages on my feet off, since they were soaked and completely dirty, but left the makeshift bandages and tape holding the cuts together. I counted at least five on each foot, and they were started to bleed through the tape. I put on a pair of socks. I pulled the t-shirt over Cyrus' head, and it fell down to the floor. He looked up at me.

"That looks silly, doesn't it?" I lightly poked his nose. A slight smile on his lips. I rolled a ponytail off my wrist, and bunched the shirt up, gathering it up like a ponytail and tied it. Thankfully, under his jeans, he was wearing swimming shorts. I cleaned the mud off his shoes, and slipped his socks and shoes back on. "Don't you feel better now? We're all clean." I asked, as I finished packing everything back up into the bag and lifted him into my arms. He nodded, his arm wrapping around my neck, and the other holding onto my necklace again.

As we stepped outside the bathroom, and let another person go in, I was finally able to take a look at my skin. My once flawless skin was marred with nicks, and cuts. The gash on my left arm was sore, but didn't bleed through the bandages thankfully.

When we made it back to the tent, Ms. Honey handed me a water bottle. "There now. Isn't that so much better?" I smiled at her, setting the bag on the floor by my bunk and sat Cyrus on the bed, letting him drink from the bottle.

That night, Cyrus lay curled against me. His breathing steady. Sleeping. Eyes fluttering occasionally. But I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my mother’s hand. Saw her floating by. 'She must hate me.' I though. 'She hates me for leaving her there. Not putting her body in a proper place. Or even burying her. I just let her stay there. Among the rubble. I'm a terrible person. Terrible.' Thoughts swam through my mind, refusing to let me sleep.

I got up, shifting out and away from Cyrus. The night air still buzzed with chatter form the military and helicopters. I slipped out of the tent, the air outside cooler. Near the gymnasium, large football lights lit up the area. Bright enough to be an artificial sun. I rubbed a hand against my eyes. I knew I was tired, but the images…

"Can't sleep?" I turned to the voice, which belonged to a boy no older than I was. I shook my head. "Yeah, me either. I don't understand how anyone could sleep really. There are still aftershocks going on, and I'm way too wound up to even consider sleeping." I walked over to him, where he sat on a bench between two tents. He shifted over a bit and I sat down beside him.

"Images of all the dead bodies won't go away. And every time I close my eyes, it's all I can see." I breathed out. "And all I can hear is people crying out for help." My eyes lifted to the sky. I couldn't see the stars, like I could back on the island. Too many bright city lights hid them from me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him staring. "I know. It's all I see too." He replied, running a hand through his brown hair.

"I've lost too many people." And it was true. "And I was powerless to save any one of them."

"Yeah. My mother, father, and my two younger sisters and brother. Even my dog." He let out a humorless laugh. "They all died, because they were having a camp out in the living room. I had a giant fight with my parents over something dumb, now that I think about it. My siblings took my parents side. I knew I was wrong in the fight, but I still wanted to be right. Even my dog took their side. So, I went to my room. Alone. I figured I needed to cool off, by going for a walk. But, just as I was going through the window, the quake started. They all died. Together. And here I am. The only one left alive." He shook his head, leaning over to put his forearms on his knees. "The last thing I said to them was 'I hate you. Sometimes, I wish you were dead.' Now look where that's gotten me." Another humorless laugh.

"There's no point in beating yourself up over this. You can't change what's happening. You need to...adapt. Move on. Accept what has happened." He didn't answer, my voice lowered. "By the time I registered the quake, my room was already crumbling down around me. When I made it to my mother's room, she had already been crushed and pinned to the bed." He looked over at me. "She was the only family I had. Then, when I got myself out of the house, water pushing the house away. My mother's body finally dislodged itself, and floated along with a wave that came." I couldn't fight the coming tears. "I watched. I sat there and watched. Her body floating away. Finally catching on another house and being pushed against it by d-debris." My voice started to catch. I cleared my throat. "And I should have gone over to her, and saved her. I could have done something. She could have still been alive. It's my f-fault. I wasn't in time to get her out of the house. Why me? W-why was I saved? But instead, I s-sat there and watched. I couldn't bring myself to s-save her." My voice grew in loudness, my vision blurry. I felt his hand on my back, before he pulled me to him.

I cried into his chest. Loud, heaving, wrenching sobs. This boy I barely knew, but we were already connected in more ways than one. I sobbed, and he did too. We sat there crying wishing we could go back and save the ones we loved. Wishing we could just go back.

-----
When the sun started to rise, I got up, and bid Taylor a goodbye. After we stopped crying, we shared stories of our favorite memories and family moments. We talked, and talked. About everything. We found comfort in one another, to know we weren't alone. And we desperately needed human contact. When our world had been engulfed in darkness, there was still a little light struggling to stay alive.
Cyrus had started to sit up, rubbing his eyes when I entered. "Good morning, Cyrus." My voice low, as to not disturb the other two sleeping occupants. He reached out for me, as I took him in my arms. "Are you hungry? Let's go find something to eat." He nodded, snuggling under my chin. "Did you have a good sleep?"

He mumbled a yes. And I took it as a good sign. For this was the only real word he'd said since yesterday. "That's good. Maybe, if I can, I'll find you a toy. Or find somewhere you can play. Would you like to go play?" My thoughts going back to Allie and the two boys. I walked down the pathway, and it had quieted down considerable, but as we grew closer it started to get louder again. I could see more people coming in hurt and bandaged. Some on stretchers. I tried to shift Cyrus so he wouldn't have to see this. It was already bad enough he had watched his own mother die before his eyes.

I paused at the entrance to the tent community, looking out at the scene of bustling people in front of me. "The tsunami's took out a couple islands. People were found washed up on shore." A young woman came up beside me, taking a drag of a smoke from her thin hand. I noticed her nails were long and red. "They're saying that Vancouver island is barely surviving. The tsunami hit sometime last night, nearly drowned the entire island. So, it must means that the other islands are most likely beneath the ocean by now." Her smile was emotionless, it didn't reach her faded green eyes. Her blonde hair pulled back in a braid. "Stella." She held out a hand, as I shook it.

"Gia.” I replied. "But I hope my island survived. It's my everything, all I have left." My voice low and steady, despite my churning feelings.

She looked at me. "But you have your son? That should count for a lot, right?"

I shook my head. "He isn't my son. I'm his temporary guardian. I'm carrying out the final wishes of a dying woman." Cyrus hid from Stella, his hold on me tightening. "Sorry. He's wary of strangers."
She smiled. "It's fine. I was just about to go grab some food. Come with?" She asked, dropping her cigarette to the ground, and stamped it out with her flats. I nodded, and followed her past the gymnasium/hospital to the road. People were all coming and going. "Where they serve food is just down the road. In a field. Apparently, we're in a golf course. They thought it would be large enough to accommodate the survivors, but there's been more damage than expected. I heard that there’s at least 8 other tent communities in the surrounding area. Many people from the islands and on the coast." She explained to me, as we weaved our way through the coming and goings of the crowd. "They’re trying to find places further inland. They don't know if there'll be more tsunami's that'll come up on shore here. Who knows. We might even have to be relocated." The dirt road was long, as trees and tents surrounded us. "Anyways, they set up some tents in the field down there. They've got hot dogs, and other quick, easy to make food."

The air started to warm up, as I set Cyrus down to walk by himself. His hand gripping mine. "Do you like hot dogs, Cyrus?" He looked up at me and nodded. "I'll make sure to get you the best one there." I shook my hand a bit, and smiled.

"So, do you have family here on the mainland?" Stella asked, rubbing a hand over her eyes.
I shook my head. "No. My family has all lived and died on my island. My father died young from cancer, and my mother...well..." She held up a hand.

"No need to explain. It's alright." She paused. "My mother told me that I have aunts and uncles here on the mainland, but I have yet to find them. Or them to find me. My parents were both killed by a rogue wave that hit our island when we were escaping the coast line. They were washed out to sea and never came back."

"I'm sorry."

"Well, what's done is done. Call it an...act of God, or rather a cruel joke. But they're dead and I'm alive. And if my mother were here, she'd tell me to suck it up and keep moving on. I have to keep living. Because the sun is going to continue to rise, and she told me to never let myself get caught in the past."

The 'mess hall' as it was so proclaimed, was indeed, large open tents side by side. Steam emitting from some, the overwhelming smell of greasy, cooked food set my stomach growling and my mouth watering. Two days without food.

After Stella, Cyrus and I had a plate of food, we made our way to a picnic bench. Cyrus attached his food, as if he afraid he wouldn't eat again. "Slow down, Cyrus. If you're still hungry after this, I'll get you another one, ok?" He looked up at me, and proceeded to eat slower.

"Do you think you're going to be okay? Trying to survive with a child?" Stella wondered from the other side of the table.

I'd taken a bite, and thought over the answer as I chewed. "Well,” I started, swallowing. "I'm all he has right now. If I gave him away, it would only scar him. To not only see his mother die in front of his eyes, but to be ripped away from someone entrusted to take care of him? Would that not cause problems later on in his life? But, if other legitimate family came around, I would give him to them. Because I don't have the right to keep it. It would be unfair to him, and to his family." Cyrus had stopped eating to look up at me, confusing danced in his eyes.

"No." He told me, gripping tightly onto my tank top. I smiled down at him snuggling him into my side.
"It's alright. I won't leave you. I'll be there." I stroked his light brown curls. "Here. How about this Cyrus. Will you be a big boy, and take care of this for me?" I pulled back, and slipped Alex's necklace off of me, and hung it around his neck. "This will protect you, ok? As long as you have this, you'll always be safe." He looked down at the necklace, holding it in his hands, before smiling. The first real smile I'd seen. I started to smile back, before my lungs started to burn and I was launched into a coughing fit.

"H-hey, are you alright?" Stella got up, her eyes wide. I tried to wave her away, but the coughs impaired any coherent movement or thoughts as I tried to focus on getting the coughing to stop and air back into my lungs.

"I'm fine. It's the dust." My voice was hoarse, as I glanced down at my hand that I had coughed into. Little specks of blood now covered my palm, like the last time it happened.

"...right." Stella said skeptically. I quickly wiped my hand on the bench seat, trying to remove the color from my skin. "Anyways, you have a way with him. Or kids, in general? If that's the case, then there's this make-shift daycare here. They could use some volunteers. I was debating whether or not to go down there today." Stella polished off her food, and sat back, sipping on water. I gulped some water down too. Trying to wash away the tang and iron taste from my mouth. Trying to wash my new secret away.

I gave Cyrus the half of the hot dog I couldn't eat. "You think that it would be ok?" I pondered. It would give me something to do during my days. Plus, if it's located in an opportune area, I'd have a good vantage point of seeing who comes into this tent community. I would be in the midst of it.

I smiled at her. "I'll do it."