Dark Waves of Discovery

A tragedy, 3 lives, 2 families, and 1 God. A huge tsunami threatening to destroy. A story of how amidst the chaos, 3 individuals found security in their Savior, the one whose voice controls even the wind and the waves.

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Chapter 1: Opal Scott

I scurried through the airport, trying to keep my father in sight and still watch behind me for my younger brother, who, at the moment, was trying to take a picture of a giant elephant statue located near the baggage claim. “Kai!” I yelled in growing frustration. “Get over here! I can barely keep track of where you are and where Dad is as it is. I do not need you lagging behind again,” I commanded sternly as he came running over.

“Sorry, but that statue was so cool!” He remained positive and exuberant even though I was glaring daggers at him.

“Families stick together at airports!” I commanded, then grabbed his arm and literally pushed us through the swarm of people gathering around the baggage claim. Fortunately I could see our father up ahead, talking to a clerk. It’s not too long until boarding. I wonder why he isn’t closer to our gate, I thought to myself, but a glance at the sign over my head, which boasted flight arrival and departure times, told me that our flight had been delayed. It was 6:30pm, and our flight had been scheduled for 6:45. Now,  we were not leaving until 8:30. It looked like we wouldn’t be getting back to Hawaii as soon as we thought. I sighed in frustration. We were returning home after a few weeks in Arizona due to my father’s business. It sure did get hot here in the summer, but then again, so did our home. I smiled as I remembered our hike around the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  It was on the one day Dad had been able to take off from meetings. These musings were interrupted, however, when Kai decided to begin pestering Dad while he was still talking to the flight scheduling clerk. I groaned inwardly and dug in my backpack for a peppermint candy.

“Here,” I told him. “Let’s do some sudoku puzzles together while you suck on this.” I held out the candy, and Dad sent me a grateful but slightly annoyed look. I knew that while my energetic 12-year-old brother hated the waiting as much as I did, he also enjoyed doing sudoku puzzles.  I grabbed the blue book boasting the title of “Challenging Sudoku” and handed it to him. He popped the candy into his mouth and took the book from me. After a few puzzles, he sighed.

“Opal! You’re supposed to be helping me and not looking at the phone!” he said.

I frowned. I had been texting my twin sister Elizabeth on my phone, and not at all paying attention to him.

“I’m texting Elizabeth,” I said.

“I want the phone now,” he stated.

“Fine. I can’t see why Mom and Dad don’t just give you one.” I handed him the device. Elizabeth and I both had phones, but Kai didn’t, and our parents expected us to share with him. It seemed like he used my phone more than I did, but I understood why my parents were reluctant to give one to him. Elizabeth and I hadn’t gotten phones until our first year of high school. I grabbed my backpack and propped it up behind me in the chair, tucking my feet up under me.

“Tell me when Dad is done,” I told Kai. He nodded. I fished around in my bag for my book and opened it to where I had reluctantly left off— chapter 32. Though the story was interesting, I found my eyes wandering off the pages, and my thoughts were a million miles away. God, I mused, are you here, even in this crowded airport? I know you are, and yet sometimes you still feel distant. It’ll be good to get home. When I’m home, I can feel you in the solitude, in the family and church fellowship. But here, you somehow seem so distant. 

“Opal!” Kai shoved the phone screen directly in front of my startled face.

“Huh?” I squinted my eyes, trying to see. “What? Kai, stop shaking it, you’re holding it way too close,” I snatched the phone from him. A navy blue banner across the top of the screen read “EMERGENCY NEWS ALERT.” What? Why is he looking at this? I wondered, until I saw that underneath this flashy banner, bolded text read: “Huge Tsunami Threatens to Destroy Much of Hawaii’s Coast.” I gasped. The tiny map at the bottom of the screen showed that our home would be in the path of the giant wave — If it came. My mother and sister, and our house. Is that why all the flights were delayed….?

“Oh no…” I gasped.

To be continued from another perspective!