Week 31 Year 1 - Monday, May the 21st 2012
Emergency wrap up
If you can wrap up a piece of 500 words within an hour, you’re on the right path to becoming a good writer. Try writing something every day, on anything that takes your fancy. That’s easier said than done, especially if one has a whole lot of priorities to manage. Though I didn’t ask for it, I want to thank my anonymous friend for the useful advice. And what better way to enact it by improvising my weekly story.
The time on my mobile phone says it’s 4:08 am, Sunday the 20th of May 2012. But I know it is 3 minutes ahead of time, so it would be 4:05 am. I wake up. Something is wrong. My whole flat is shaking and this terrible deep rattling noise feels like a punch in the stomach. It’s an earthquake. But not like any other earthquake. A couple of very strong lateral movements put me on the alert. I perceive a high risk situation. I grab my mobile and check the time. It is dark outside. My cat is sitting on the edge of the bed, looking out of the window. Poor thing, between SUB and I, it probably thinks it’s our extraterrestrials friends landing. Not so love, get ready to evacuate. I grab the first thing that lies next to my bed, a track suit. As I put it on, my first thought. Shall I get out immediately? I stand there another 3 seconds or so. Silence is restored, and the house stops rocking. The whole thing lasted some 15 seconds, a time frame I am very familiar with, as I frequently refer to for a quick check of the average heart rate per minute.
Later in the morning, my perception of the time elapsed revealed to be correct, as official sources state the whole thing lasted 20 seconds. This means it took me roughly 5 seconds to wake up and realize what was happening. That was lucky. Many are those who slept right through it, check Facebook updates for confirmation. Within another 12 seconds I was dressed and ready to go. The cat’s bag is right by the entrance, my mobile phone, keys and notepad are in my pocket. I hesitated for another couple of seconds – “shall I get out now?” - Just then the whole thing came to a stop. Hesitation can kill. But I don’t believe I would have given it much longer. Another couple of seconds and I would have walked out. Luckily I have no more red fish! Apart from Nemo and Doris, but those two are in my notepad, which is always by my side.. It would then have taken me 10 to 12 seconds to run down 4 flights of stairs. Out in the streets and safe! The question is, how long before a killer earthquake shakes the building down to its foundations? Are 40 seconds enough to avoid the worst?
487 words. I’d like to suggest some basic emergency measures, in particular for those who have kids and elderly people at home, but I have run out of words. It took me 52 minutes to wrap this up.
Ps. since I also have to translate everything, it usually takes much longer and the word count may vary. The original text is in English.
Note 1 - about SUB ref. Monday, December the 5th 2011 "About a Druid and his mushrooms"
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