Dark Waves of Discovery

Story by: MiyaK

Chapter 4 – Opal Scott

The threads holding my world together were coming undone faster than I could have predicted.

“What do you mean?!” I exclaimed. “No! Dad! You cannot just go flying back to Hawaii to help Mom and Elizabeth and leave Kai and I on our own, on a completely different flight. There has to be another way! Please!”

“Opal, I have spoken with the agent regarding this two times now,” Dad replied, running his hand through his slightly graying hair. “He told me that the flight we were supposed to be on was canceled. The money we spent can be transferred to one seat on a flight leaving at 9:30 for Hawaii tonight, and to help fly Elizabeth and Mom to Dallas, Texas.”

“Why Texas? There’s not a flight coming here?” Kai broke in.

“Yes, but our credit for this canceled flight carries over to that one. It’s frustrating, I know, but it also seemed our only option.”

“So Opal and I are flying to Texas ahead of time? But why?”

“Because it’s the most economic location for us to all fly to and meet each other,” Dad frowned, his dark eyes creased with worry.

“Dad! You. Can. Not. Leave. Me. Here. Alone. With. Kai,” I was almost in tears. My whole life, my home and half of my family were on the verge of destruction. I couldn’t just stay here and act as babysitter any longer. “Please Dad! Let me go and help them. We need a parent with each group of kids.”

Dad signed deeply. “Think, Opal. Is flying on your own that much better than staying here with Kai? I’m just nervous to have you travel completely alone.”

“Yes, it is. I want to know that I’m helping. I’ll be fine. Dad. This is the best plan. Please!?”

“Maybe neither of us need to go back. Maybe I need to spend extra on a flight to Portland, or Miami or anywhere else where more than two seats are available. I wish we didn’t have to fly anywhere; we’re already stateside anyways, but every flight from Honolulu to Arizona is booked full, so Mom and Elizabeth couldn’t meet us,” Dad began to pace back and forth in front of the seats Kai and I occupied.

“Dad. I need to go back. To help them, but not just that. I need to go back for me. I need to say,” I paused, fighting the lump in my throat, “to say goodbye.”

“Opal…it’s my home too, you know,” he looked away.

“Kai needs you. Please, may I go back instead?”

I knew Dad would disagree. I knew I was the more adventurous, more outgoing, more flexible twin. I knew I was expected to be able to do things like this no problem. I usually did. I usually could.

Now, I couldn’t.

I just couldn’t. I was afraid of being alone and caring for my brother. Something stood in between the part of me that was adventurous, that led me to push through my hardship, and me. It felt like a wall of water. Water – something that would’ve given life, instead salty, disturbed, and built up to destroy my home. Water was for tourist pictures. For water glasses. For 60% of my own body. Not for destruction. But now, right was left, and up was down. The world was confusing.

Oahu was my home. And my home shaped me more than I knew. My home – which had become a part of me, was about to destroy me, by being destroyed itself.

I had to go home. I had to find the peace I craved. To connect with a God I’d only truly found in familiarity. As adventurous, driven and spontaneous as I was, home was my safe place. Home was what gave me the heart to be the person I was. It was the only place I truly felt like I could find God, and sometimes even the only place I could connect with my family in our hectic schedules. I had to adjust my heart when I was there so it wouldn’t be so hard when I was gone. When home was gone.

I swallowed a lump in my throat.

I couldn’t lose my home, not without a goodbye.

Not without addressing the parts of me that were made of its beautiful memories before they destroyed me.

It sounded silly, but I didn’t necessarily care about the possessions. I needed closure.

“Dad. Please,” I said.

Dad studied my expression, then turned to gaze out the large windows. The silence seemed to stretch for miles.

“Fine,” Dad seemed to realize that he couldn’t break my resolve. “I have to go switch some things around again. In that case, Kai and I are leaving for Dallas in an hour. You’ll need to wait at this gate until boarding, which is at 9:20.”

“Oh, Dad! Thank you,” I breathed, a wisp of a smile fluttering at the edges of my mouth. “I promise I will help them as much as I can. I promise.”

Dad wrapped his arms around me in a hug. “Be safe Opal.”

“I’m scared. I’m scared,” Kai repeated over and over.

I patted his shoulder. “You’ll be fine. I’ll make sure to pack some of your things. Listen to Dad, okay?” He nodded solemnly as our father made his way through the jumble of people to the desk of a flight agent. Her weary expression and sigh when she saw Dad did not indicate any joy on her part about the switch, but I didn’t care. A few minutes later, the tickets had been reprinted. I was going to Hawaii.

“Give me hourly text updates while you are waiting,” Dad instructed, being the overprotective parent as always. I rolled my eyes, but though I outwardly resented it, I secretly felt secure in the knowledge that both of my parents wanted to do everything they could to ensure my safety. “Kai, I guess it’s time that we head across the airport to our gate. Come on. Opal, please be careful. I’ll be praying for you, Elizabeth and your mother more than you know,” He hugged me again and gave me an encouraging smile. “You’re strong Opal. And Philippians 4:13 says you don’t have to do it alone.”

“Thanks, Dad. For everything. Oh, what have I gotten myself into this time?” The reality of my decision had started to set in, and my father’s tender warning caused me to fight tears. The events of the evening, in addition to what I knew was to come, had put my emotions on edge.

“Opal, are you sure you want to do this? We can switch places. Or not go back home at all,” he offered quickly.

“No, I need to help Mom and Elizabeth. I-I-I need to go home.”

“If you’re sure,” he hesitated, still ready to give me a way out.

“I’m sure.”

“Okay,” Dad glanced at his watch, then reached for Kai’s and my hands. “Let’s pray before Kai and I have to leave.”

“Here?” My brother glanced at the bustling walkway and crowded seats surrounding us as we stood near the boarding area of a flight we were no longer on.

“Here,” my father bowed his head and closed his eyes. After Kai and I had done the same he quietly began. “Dear Heavenly Father, today has brought an unexpected turn of events that none of us could have ever predicted. With the tsunami coming quickly to possibly destroy our home, and the homes of many others, we are all feeling a bit anxious. And we all hope that you’d spare our family and home from the destruction we know a tsunami can bring. But God, I also know that your plans are larger than our wishes. And I’d like to entrust the future of the Scott family’s lives to your care. So if the wave must come to our home, let it be for the good, as you’ve already promised in Romans. Please Lord, protect Opal as she travels, and allow our home to be secured and evacuated from in time. Please keep Elizabeth, Opal and their mother in your protective hands as they travel to reunite with Kai and I. Please give us all safe travels, and give us peace of mind to accept your plan. Thank you for the  warnings and the opportunities we have to evacuate and prepare unlike the many surprise disasters that have occured elsewhere. And again Father, please be with us, and give us all courage to face the days ahead. In your name, Amen.”

“Amen,” Kai and I said quietly in unison. I squeezed thier hands, then we all turned to gather our small pile of luggage. After a flurry of hugs and admonishments, Kai and Dad turned to walk to their gate.

“Love you!” I waved as they disappeared into the crowd. My eyes filled with sudden tears at the enormity of what I had just decided to take on. “I can do this,” I breathed. Then, I reached for my phone to call Mom. Dad probably hadn’t notified her of our new plan.

*

Ring! Ring! Ring! The phone had been vibrating for about a minute now, and I was getting worried. How hard was it for Mom or Elizabeth to answer? “The caller you are trying to reach at 808-794-4612 is not available. Please try to reach them another time, or you can leave a message after the tone,” the automated voice came over the tiny speaker and into my ear. Frustrated, but also worried, I walked back to gate F57 and sat down, hugging my backpack to me. I next tried Dad’s phone. He picked up on the second ring.

“Opal!” His panicked voice was surrounded by terrible static. “What’s going on!? Are you okay!? Oh, oh, I knew leaving you there alone was a bad idea!”

“Dad. I’m fine. But I can’t seem to reach Mom and Elizabeth. I’ve called them both twice now, and I have called the home phone. I’m trying to let them know about our change of plans.” I responded.

“Well, Mom is probably still in a meeting, even if she is working from home. As for Elizabeth…” his voice trailed off. “Let me try to call her.”

“Wait,” I said. My phone vibrated in my hand, and I smiled when I saw the caller as Elizabeth. “She is calling me right now. I will call you after I’m done talking with her.”

“Okay. Tell her about our new plan.”

I hit the button to end my conversation with Dad and accepted Elizabeth’s call.

“Elizabeth! What is going on? Why wouldn’t you answer my call!?” I exclaimed.

“I should ask you the same thing! We have tried to call Dad several times and he hasn’t answered. Mom is getting really worried, especially after I told her about the tsunami,” she cried.

“What were you doing when I called then?!”

“Mrs. Staton from down the street is warning everyone, as if we haven’t already heard with all the sirens, and Mom and I were helping her load her most valuable possessions and supplies into her car when you called. The poor lady was just beside herself with terror. And more importantly, when are you guys returning? Or are you returning at all?”

“Oh!” So Dad didn’t call after all. “Wait. Let me explain. Put it on speaker phone so Mom can hear this too. So there has been, well, a bit of a change and I’m now—”

“Hold on!” She cut me off. “Before you start, are you guys still coming back here tonight? Has Dad arranged for Mom and I to fly back there? And if so, when is the flight?! I am so confused!”

“Dad spent about half an hour talking to the agent, and then now they are already across the airport waiting to board their flight to Texas. He hasn’t had time to call you, but let me try to explain as well as I can,” I said.

“Texas?!” Exclaimed Mom, who had apparently been listening in and was near hysterics. “What!? Opal! Do you mean to tell me that your father left you alone in the airport while he goes and reschedules his and your brother’s flight to Texas instead of here? And where are you flying to? Washington D.C., I suppose?” Her last remark carried a degree of sarcasm.

“Well—”

“We’ve got a tsunami that we need to prepare for. Evacuate for. What is your father thinking?! I don’t see the reason for flying to random places, if they do not at all help the situation!” she continued, after cutting me off.

“Guys! Calm down. Our flight back to Hawaii was canceled.”

“Why?” I heard Elizabeth mutter, but didn’t bother answering that question. I needed my family to listen to the plan, which was what really mattered.

“So the agent gave dad several options. He could either get a refund, or transfer credit to other flights. Dad chose the second option, meaning that you will be able to fly to the mainland —Dallas, Texas, to be exact— on Wednesday, at no cost to us. There’s only one seat left on a flight leaving out for Hawaii this evening, and Dad also decided to use our credit there. He was originally going to fly back out and help you guys secure our home and evacuate, leaving me and Kai on a flight to Dallas so we could meet you guys on Wednesday,” I paused to take a breath, hoping that Mom wouldn’t immediately shoot down the new plan of me flying instead of Dad. “And I wanted to go back instead of him. I—I didn’t feel comfortable with Dad leaving Kai and I alone. And I want to go back, to help you guys, to see our home at least one more time. The flight leaves at 9:30,” I blurted out before Mom could say anything. “And Dad agreed that yes, I am going.”

“Opal,” Mom breathed. “You can be so stubborn sometimes. I mean….,” she sighed. “I guess this is the best plan.”

I exhaled in relief. “Okay. We need to plan. You guys need to pick me up at the airport this evening. How high is the wave supposed to be? I assume we will need to pack almost everything we have time for, or store it away somewhere safe.” I paused to take a breath. “It won’t destroy the whole house…right Mom?”

“One question at a time,” Elizabeth broke in, obviously trying to change the subject. “Let’s start with your question about the height of the wave. The weather announcer said it was supposed to be 100–130 feet high; this estimate being based on the severity of the earthquake in Japan. All coastal homes are predicted to suffer severe damage, if not destruction,” her words became softer and softer as she spoke, reflecting the pain I knew she was experiencing. I felt the heartbreak too. Our home…..

*

At exactly 12:39 AM, the huge jetliner touched down on the familiar runway at the airport in Honolulu. The jolt awoke me from my state of semi-consciousness, and immediately, adrenaline surged through my exhausted body. I snapped the book I had been reading before I had taken the unexpected nap shut, and stuffed it into my bag. As I pressed my nose to the window, and gazed out at the blinking lights of the airport, I wondered if Dad had booked a flight for me to come back to the mainland. He certainly will, I assured myself. When it came my turn to disembark, I hurried out into the aisle from my seat with a final glance back behind me to make sure nothing lay left behind and forgotten.

Hurrying past what seemed like thousands of people waiting for baggage I for once was glad that Dad and Kai had taken my suitcase. Two terminals later, with exhausted feet and a barely functioning brain, I spotted Elizabeth’s dark hair and Mom’s worried gaze. Rushing forward, I ran to them.

“I’m so glad you made it safely,” Mom hugged me. “Let’s get home. All of us need to go to bed, especially you Opal,” she remarked, noting the dark circles under my eyes.

I nodded. As Mom navigated the car through the silent streets on the way home, I tried to find the comfortable position and overwhelming sleep that I had felt on the plane, but my mind instead swam with thoughts. I had already said goodbye to Kai and Dad, but at least that was temporary. I would have to say goodbye to so many other things, and so many other people — and maybe this time, it would be permanent. Our home. Our friends. Our school. Our neighborhood. Our daily routine. Our—oh no! Our cat! How can we take her with us? How can we take our whole lives with us?! We can’t! Tears not caused by anything that had happened today but rather things that I feared, and hoped against with all my mind, spilled down my cheeks.

God, where are you now? After all, I came back to find you, didn’t I? I can’t do this. I can’t. 

No. You can’t. But I can. And I will help you. 

His voice came to my thoughts, louder than the tsunami news on the radio. Never before had something been impressed on me so clearly.

How can you help me if I hardly know you? If I hardly know where to find you, God? 

Find me? Child, I’m inside you when your heart is open. I’m around you. I’m in this crisis, believe it or not. 

In this crisis? Father, how is this your plan? 

What you see now isn’t how this ends. 

I felt like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Pleading with God to spare my home from tragedy. To take the cup.

I know this might end well, but must I bear it? I can’t. I’m not ready in any way. Spiritually. Mentally. Physically. 

You can’t. But I can. I am. 

And I knew then that I’d keep trusting, keep trying, even when God was distant. Even when my surroundings gave me the illusion I couldn’t find Him. Because the plan of salvation involved my Savior giving up his home, to become homeless. And more than his home, he gave his life.

A ridiculed and dying Man hanging on a Roman device of torture, forsaken by his Father, rejected by the ones He came to save, would have a hard time seeing beyond the shame, sneers and suffering. But maybe He did. And I know He persevered. For me, and millions of other flawed people.

The same strength that helped Him persevere was available to aid me. The Giver of this strength wanted to live in me. I hadn’t ever thought of it like that, but it gave me a strange peace to do so.

“Oh God, I need your strength,” I whispered as the car pulled into our driveway.

I was still tired, distressed and confused; perhaps even a bit angry. I still didn’t understand.

But sometimes, it’s in the hardest moments that we finally admit we can’t, and acknowledge that God can.