Let Go

Let Go

A short story by Kristin Limerick

It all began like a dream, the day of June 22, 2010, a dream that would quickly turn into a nightmare. A day that would change everything and leave nothing the same. This is where Olivia and James Barlowe’s story begins.

June 22, 2010, began something like a fairytale. As the sun rays streamed in through the blinds, of yet another beautiful day in the almost heaven-like town of Pa Tong, Thailand, Olivia woke to the sound of a splash in the pool just outside their cabana window. Olivia, waking, turned to her side to face her husband, James, the absolute love of her life, whom she had married not two weeks before. Olivia, smiled tenderly as she gazed at her husband’s charming, soft, and sweet face, and quietly reminisced of their joyous wedding and ethereal honeymoon. Feeling an overwhelming sense of love, she gently ran her fingers through his hair, trying not to wake him, remembering the first time the two had met.

It was a stormy day, the first time Olivia met James Barlowe. She was making her weekly trip to the retirement home where her father resided, when she met the man she would spend the rest of her life with. After an extremely pleasant visit with her father, Olivia began her departure to the parking lot where she had left her car in the torrential downpour. Waving a cheerful goodbye to the front desk ladies, Olivia opened the door and was greeted with a gust of wind and a sheet of rain, soaking her from head to toe. Annoyed, she swiped her stringy, wet hair from her face and made her way across the puddle-ridden parking lot. Arriving at her car, Olivia pulled her purse from her shoulder and shoved her hand in looking for her keys. Olivia, becoming quickly restless, as the rain gushed down, stomped her foot as she continued to search for her keys.

“Why can’t I find them?” she obnoxiously wailed.

Just as she was about to give up and head back inside, she noticed that the barrage of rain had ceased. She slowly tilted her head upwards and saw a black umbrella shielding her from the downpour.

“Enjoying the weather?” the man at the end of the umbrella asked with a chuckle. Turning to face him, she saw a man with a sweet demeanor, kind eyes, and an extremely charming smile.

Blushing, she answered sarcastically, “Oh very much so. Don’t know how much help the umbrella will be seeing as though I am already drenched, but thanks anyway.”

The man simply smiled and said, “I do what I can. And the name’s James.”

That’s when she knew she was done for.

Olivia, sighed faintly at the thought of the story that had changed her life for the better and as carefully as she could, got out of bed, leaving her sleeping husband behind, wrote a note telling him that she was headed to the beach for a quick run before breakfast. Opening the door of their tropical-themed cabana, she inhaled the sweet air of the salty ocean and gazed at the crystal blue sky as a gentle breeze sifted through her long, auburn hair. Smiling, she headed toward the white sand beach, which had already been covered with vacationers claiming the finest spots on the shore. Olivia, maneuvering through the crowded beach, eventually reached the glassy, transparent water, where she listened to the roar of the rolling waves before taking off at a brisk pace down the seemingly never ending shore.

After a quick two-mile run, Olivia decided that it was time to head back to the cabana. She began the journey home taking long, slow strides up the beach, watching as children built sandcastles, teenagers rode waves, and people laid stretched out enjoying the early-morning sun. “Another perfect day.” Olivia thought to herself as she made the turn to head up the beach, back to the cabana resort. That was when she heard a low roaring. Olivia, curious, turned around and found that the beach had quickly turned silent. Following the crowd, she began to make her way to the waterline when she found that where the water had been not minutes ago, was gone. Faced with reefs exposed, sea-life revealed, the ocean floor dry, Olivia knew something was far from right.

“Look!” someone shouted.

The beach turned their heads toward the man who was pointing off into the distance. Following the direction of his finger, the crowd confusingly looked out at the ocean. A wall-like, one-hundred foot high, surging wave was seen by every eye. It was silent for a moment more as the reality of this nightmare situation set in.

Then as if in a movie, a sound erupted from the beach as people cried the warning, “Tsunami, tsunami!”

A panicked energy broke out all across the ocean shore and people, leaving everything behind, swiftly turned to run.

Olivia thought of only one thing, James. She knew she had to get back to him. She joined the stampede of frantic tourists and began to navigate her way up the beach. Hearing the roar of the tsunami wave increasing in volume, Olivia knew that she did not have much time. Reaching the opening of the beach that led to the paradise town of Pa Tong, the crowd broke off in different directions. Olivia headed off in the direction of the cabana resort at a dead sprint. As she ran she could feel the atmosphere change. She watched as people came outside, curious about all the commotion, and watched as their hearts dropped and they realized what was coming and the life-threatening situation they were soon to be facing. That was when the sirens went off.

Olivia and James’ cabana came into view and Olivia picked up the pace as she screamed, “James! James!”

She could hear the water crashing onto shore, she could hear people screaming, she could hear pounding feet as people ran, but all she wanted to hear was the voice of her husband.

As she neared the cabana, she saw James opening the door, she began to cry at the sight of him, “James! James!”.

His head jerked in her direction and his eyes opened wide and he shouted, fear thick in his voice, “Olivia!”

Olivia’s body thrusted forward at the sheer force of the water. The wind knocked from her body, she could hardly think. All she could feel was the current of the water as it threw her up, down, and sideways. She could feel the debris slamming into her body as she sliced through the dark, dangerous waters. The adrenaline was keeping her from feeling the pain, but it was not keeping her from feeling the fear. She desperately tried to gain some sort of control and was violently thrashing at the water in hopes she would manage to reach the surface. She began to realize that she was swiftly running out of air and had no other choice but to swim as hard as she could. The thought of James came into her mind and it gave her enough strength to make the last couple of kicks to break through the surface.

Her head emerged and she gasped for air. Quickly replenishing her lungs, Olivia took a deep breath and began to look around to get some sort of sense as to where she was. What she saw was unlike anything she could have ever imagined, she was faced with total and complete devastation. Treading water, she began to look for something to hold onto, knowing that she had to conserve her energy. She started to surf through the debris-filled water and saw glasses, beach balls, books, hats, everything that indicated a normal day that had turned for the worse. Knowing that there was no time to dwell on what had happened, she spotted a log bobbing along the top of the water. Filled with determination she began to forcefully swim, slowly making her way to the log.

After swimming for what felt like hours, Olivia fiercely latched onto the log and was able to relax. Gradually, she lifted her head from the log and truly took in her surroundings. She looked out across the black water and saw very few buildings still standing from the catastrophic wave. She looked out across the once beautiful Pa Tong and instead saw cars floating rapidly down the current as though they weighed nothing, houses ripped from their foundations, and people lifelessly floating across the top of the water. Olivia, struck instantly with a surge of emotion, began to cry out and scream, disbelief swarming within her as she could not understand how such a horrific event could happen. That was when she realized that she was completely alone, isolated. Skimming her eyes across the expanse of her location, she was faced with a silence she had never known before. A silence filled with a reminder of the loss and wreckage of the past hour. A silence that could be heard for miles. Trembling, Olivia looked hopefully around once more and suddenly registered that James’ was nowhere to be found.

“James.” she mumbled softly under her breath.

“James.” she cried louder with the realization that he was not near.

“James!” she screamed with exasperation at the absence of his presence.

Nothing. All that answered her was the roar of the water carrying her further and further away from the one she loved.

Clinging to the log, Olivia began to think. She knew that she had to fight and she could feel that James was not dead, but out there fighting to get back to her. The thought of James’ washed away the feeling of fear and replaced it with determination and an unwillingness to back down. She knew that the log would not suffice her needs much longer and that her current situation would demand for something sturdier. Scanning her surroundings, she saw a building about a hundred yards away that peaked just enough above the surface of the water. Smiling, she turned the log and kicked her feet hard in the direction of the building.

Not long into the journey, fatigue set in as Olivia fought the vigorous current. The heaving breaths of Olivia grew louder and louder as she advanced. Directing the log through the thick debris, she saw that she was about half way and continued trudging along. Due to the monotonous action of her current endeavor, Olivia let her mind wander to the only thing consuming her thoughts and fueling her fire– James. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted when she ran hard into the building she had set out for. Letting out a victory shout, Olivia released the log, plunged into the water, resurfaced, and commenced the climb to the top.

Olivia, reaching for the first hold, was stopped by a low rumbling sound that was barely audible over the rushing current. Filled with a bit more urgency, she began to climb with quick intention. Making little progress, Olivia continued to slip from the drenched holds of the building and frustratingly let out an irritated sigh. Set on reaching the top, Olivia continued to climb when suddenly the building began to shake and she was thrown from the side into the rushing water beneath.

Olivia slapped the water and emerged instantly. That was when she heard the same sound she had heard that morning on the shore, the roar of an angry ocean. She was not far from the surface and had already initiated the ascent to the top when she was pulled brutally backwards by the current at a lightning speed. Startled and disoriented, Olivia flailed against the wild current as debris pummeled against her. Her heart pounding with fear, she ripped her arms with the current and made her way to the top.

Coughing water from her lungs, Olivia took short, shallow breaths paralyzed with shock. Unaware of what had just happened, she surveyed her surroundings. She saw water to the left, water to the right, water to back, and the decimated town of Pa Tong a mile away to the front of her. Wrecked with discouragement, Olivia stared hopelessly at the unreachable town, when she noticed red staining the water around her. Puzzled, running her hands through the water, Olivia gradually began to feel moderate throbbing in her right abdomen. She guided her hands to the location of the pain and felt a cold, hard metal-like object piercing through her stomach.

“Oh no. Oh no.” cried Olivia through a stream of tears as she began to understand the dire state of her situation.

“Oh no. Please God, no!” sobbed Olivia as the pain grew deeper and deeper.

“James. James. No! No!” Olivia hysterically cried as the edges of her eyes became spotted with black.

Fighting to keep afloat, Olivia remembered that day in the rain when she had first met James. She remembered their first kiss and the first time they said I love you. She remembered the day he proposed and the moment she knew there was no one else made for her in the world. She remembered his dark, compassionate eyes that looked at her and the rest of the world fell away. She remembered the joy she had felt when she said “I do.” to the man she would grow old with and that was when she knew that he would understand.

“I’m sorry James.” she whispered as her body relaxed and she let go.