35. Chapter 35
Chapter 35
ELLE
O h, how I wished I could mope in my van like I had two days ago. It just went to show that whenever you think things are bad, they can always get worse. Well, for me, things got a lot worse.
After chatting with Becky that night, I fell asleep. At dawn I woke to my van ankle deep in water. Thankfully, everything valuable was up on the shelves or table. Everything except my phone, that is. I had left my phone on the floor, as I was too bummed to get out of bed the night before. Well, it had soaked in the water for who knows how long before I woke up.
The last forty-eight hours had been a nightmare. The first day of the floods, I’d done several kayak trips back and forth from Mabel to the emergency shelter they had set up in a large hall on higher ground. Each trip had taken a grueling two hours. At least I managed to get all my belongings out safely. My phone was the only casualty. One of the old ladies serving at the shelter offered me a small bag of rice for my phone, but I suspected it was way past rice. I’d have to get myself to a store to buy a new phone once the floods settled. Becky normally called me every few days, so I was grateful she had called me hours before the flood. At least she wouldn’t be worried right now.
On day two of the flood fiascos, I’d used my kayak to help others get their belongings. It was all hands-on deck, and the entire community chipped in.
At the end of a second day of kayaking heavy loads, exhaustion invaded every cell of my body. My muscles ached, and I tried to conjure up some hope about the future as I snacked on one of the protein bars they’d handed out for dinner. One positive from the last two days is that I was so busy I didn’t have a moment to think about Gray. Thank you for small mercies, God. I sat against the exterior wall of the wedding venue—turned relief center and watched the moon rise. It was too stuffy inside, so I was sitting out here until I was ready to sleep on the small uncomfortable mattress inside the hall. With the lack of activity, thoughts came rushing back. I longed for the sweet moments I’d had with Gray before we fought. Gray would have helped me shoulder the burden of figuring out this mess. Instead, I was all alone. Please heal my heart, God.