13 Earthquake (2/2)
”You can't eat golabki,” her mother answers.
”I know, Ma; it's still morning.”
”Nie, Esme,” her mother said in a distinctive Polish accent. ”You are in America with your Ojciec; you aren't here in Poland ever since I died,”
”Died?”
”Yes,” her mother caressed her hair. ”Wake up, Esme.”
”Mom—Matka—”
”Wake up.”
”No—”
”WAKE UP, ESMERALDA!”
Esmeralda's eyes fluttered open, and then as she realized she was now awake, a literal head-splitting pain happened to have befallen her. She clutched the part where the pain originated, and when she withdrew her hand, there was a sinister red liquid right after.
Blood.
”Esmeralda!”
Esmeralda blinked several times, her blurring gaze gradually clearing up. She parted her lips when she sees a familiar face, bruised all over and clothes dusty with concrete powder.
”S-sam . . .?”
Samuel immediately sighed, and then smiled in relief.
”Goddamn it, I thought you're dead.” He says, and then hands her a ripped piece of cloth. ”Here. I'm sorry for the blood,”
Esmeralda blinked, and then wiped the blood off her head.
”Th-this isn't mine . . .?”
”It isn't,” Samuel answers, and then winced as he falls back to his knee. Blood dripped from his arm—
Esmeralda remembered.
When a dwindling pillar at that earthquake almost fell down on her, she was protected by Samuel. The two of them were thrown athwart the room, and then another debris fell, and Samuel's arm had protected Esmeralda's head, but the impact on Esmeralda's head sent her to lose consciousness.
”Samuel!” Esmeralda instantaneously crawls to Samuel and then sees he already had a cloth wrapped to his bloodied arm. Esmeralda trembles as she sees this.
”Th-this is my fault—” Esmeralda's tears started to drip nonstop. ”Samuel, I—”
”Hag, hold on right there,” Samuel exclaims.
”N-no! I'm so sorry—”
”Seriously, shh!” He hushes her and closes his eyes. ”Do you hear that?”
Esmeralda paused, wiping her tears sloppily with her arm. ”H-hear what?”
. . . eep . . . beep.
The sound of a beeper had stopped Esmeralda from sobbing; although faint, it was indeed the sound of the beeper from the HR.
Esmeralda immediately clicked hers—
”H-huh?”
”Don't bother,” Samuel says. ”It's broken.”
”No . . .”
”I don't know what happened,” says Samuel. ”But when I woke up, it's all destroyed.”
”That's . . . odd. . . .”
Esmeralda stares at her wrist and looks at the broken beeper.
”How is this . . . broken?”
”Probably a rock or something it,” Samuel says. ”Since my wrist hurts a lot. I don't know. It may be because of my broken arm.”
Esmeralda bit her lip and then sniffled.
”Th-they're not dead, right?”
”What? No,” Samuel says—a hint of the slight tinge of disbelief laced in his voice. ”No . . .”
Samuel stares vacantly in fear.
”They can't be dead . . .”
. . .eep . . . beep . . . beep.