“Severe flood in Orissa! 200 people dead!” flashed the television news announcement. Jeeva was watching Live Music, her favorite channel. Seeing the flash at the bottom, she switched the channel to DD News.
House roofs had become boat in the flood. A woman was carrying her child in a basket on her head and wading through the water. Toy boats of household utensils were floating in the floodwaters. A baby was crying upon seeing the ocean inside her home.
Jeeva switched back to her preferred music and relaxed herself on the bed, remote control in hand, and increased the volume of her favorite song.
Her lips were murmuring “Oooh…la…la…la….”
Suddenly she jerked upon hearing loud cries from outside.
“Flood, flood…. Run away….”
“Come to the roof top!”
“Oh! My child!”
“Save me… Please….”
Jeeva tried to run upstairs, but the water was pulling her with its strong hands.
“Save me… save me!” Jeeva cried, but no one was there.
She beat her hands up and down. Hit the ground with full force from her legs. Waves of water lifted her up and down.
Suddenly, she got struck in between the branches of a tree. She balanced herself on the tree and caught another branch to climb up.
From her safe place, Jeeva could see a child about to drown in the distance. Jeeva shouted ferociously, “A child is going to drown! Please anyone go and save her! Save that child! Save her!”
Realizing that there was no use to her yelling, Jeeva jumped in the water and grasped hold of a wooden flat boat floating by. She drifted along with the wood and fluttered near the child like breeze, using her hand as oars.
She reached out to the hand of the small girl and lifted her onto the boat.
Again she smacked the water with her hands and progressed towards the balcony of a two storyed building; that’s how high the floodwaters had risen. She and the child were safe at the top of the building.
Unfortunately, Jeeva lost her balance fell into the deep flood. Her head pierced through the water’s surface.
“Oh God! Oh God! Please save the child at least. I will be happy with you if you save the child from the flood.”
Jeeva closed her eyes reluctantly in the water.
“Bang!”
Jeeva’s head hit on the ground.
Jeeva woke up with heavy pain on her head as she has fallen out of her bed.
She smiled at her mother sheepishly, as she realized that she had just had a dream.
The DHAN Academy 