WA 2, Draft 3: A City Not Forgotten

The news could not portray the magnitude of it all, watching the water rushing in, the people screaming on top of their houses, and even the people dying. The images showed the hardship the people were enduring and the sadness they were suffering, but what laid ahead for all of the people was hard to imagine. This city was more than just a place to visit, it was home.

A few months after the storm, around Christmas time, driving through it was hard to tell that this place had once been home to many people. Trees were bent in every direction, few cars were on the road, stop lights did not work, houses were crushed, cars were sinking into the marshes and the emptiness of it all was enough to bring tears to one’s eyes. When driving down a deserted street once full of life, the realization struck that this was more than just a hurricane, it was a monster. The doors were marked with different symbols letting rescue workers know whether there were still people inside. One particular door was marked with a one, one dead. Thoughts of where these people were, what was going to happen, who was going to help them was a nightmare.

It’s an emotional subject for many that have lived there, are living there and even for those who have just visited. That’s because this lively city was the heart of life. It doesn’t take long to realize that these people are much more open and friendly then people you might ever meet. Just standing in a store someone may come up and ask you to help them with their cell phone and end up telling you their whole life story; it’s possible. It's hard to imagine where these people are, how their lives have changed, and what will happen to the city that everyone knew and loved.