I felt my mom’s hand on my head; she was
gently trying to wake me up. She had waken up to make sure that I don’t sleep
in, even though she had gone to bed well after midnight. She called out my name
and asked me if I still wanted to go to the soccer game. I could barely answer,
because it was too early for me to speak. She gave me a gentle kiss on my cheek
and went back to bed. As I picked up the smashed alarm clock everything seemed
blurry to me. My eyes were getting adjusted to the dim light in the room. As I
got out of bed to get ready to leave for the soccer game at the beach, I was
starting to have second thoughts about going. I was debating myself to whether
to go to soccer or to get back in bed.
While eating an energy
bar, I took a quick glance at my watch and realized that it was 5:59 am. I (suddenly
remembered the guy who was supposed to give me a ride) remembered a flashback
of the guy who was giving me a ride telling me “ If you’re not in front of my
building at 6:00 am, I will leave”. Next thing I knew I was sprinting in the
middle of the street. “Good job Mateen! Right on time,” Farid laughed out
as I approached his car.
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| Photo Credit: Victor Daniel |
So, as we arrived to the soccer field at
the beach we started to stretch and warm up. Slowly cars started to arrive one
at a time with players getting out of them. By 6:30, we had started to play and
everyone had a chance to play at least once. Meanwhile, as the sun continued to
rise in the sky, we could start feeling its warmth. At 7:15, the weather had changed
abruptly; the sun was covered by clouds and strong winds, and the waves started
to get bigger and higher. All of a sudden we heard this great roaring sound in
the distance. At first we continued our game, but then I saw my friend John who
looked as if he had seen a ghost. He was looking out towards the sea with a
look of horror and disbelief in his eyes. He wasn’t saying anything but his
facial expressions signalled that something was terribly wrong.
