I gritted my teeth, turned, and ran toward the visitor center.
To reach it, I had to cross a long stretch of boardwalk.
The wind was so fierce I could barely move. I clung to the railings and dragged myself forward, step by step.
Overhead, the canopy panels were ripped away one after another. They crashed onto the stone path and shattered.
An old ornamental tree was torn out by its roots and slammed across the path, blocking the only way through.
There was no other route. I had to go back to the rickety wooden cabin.
By then, half its roof had been torn off.
Rain hammered straight into the living room, and the water was rising fast.
Gritting my teeth, I could only turn back and huddle inside that battered cabin.
The wind had ripped away more than half of its flimsy roof.
Rain poured into the living room. Water on the floor was already ankle-deep.
With nowhere else to take shelter, I ducked into a corner of the bathroom.
At least there were three solid brick walls and a concrete slab overhead. They offered a little protection from the wind and rain.
But nothing could keep the water out. It streamed through the gap under the door and cracks in the plaster.
Soon it covered my ankles, then rose up my calves.
I curled into a ball. My entire body shook with cold, my head rattling and my teeth chattering.
Just as I felt I couldn't take any more, the phone in my pocket began to buzz.
It was Hugo.
"Enid! Are you okay? Where are you?"
The moment I answered, he began sobbing into the phone.
"I'm fine." I clenched my jaw, trying to keep my voice from shaking. "Have you all found somewhere to stay?"
"Yeah. We're at a hotel in the city where they're putting everyone up. It's really warm. There's water and thick blankets, and they even made hot soup for us..."
He sounded more miserable with every word and started crying again.
"Enid, I'm scared. How are you going to manage all by yourself?"
Crash!
A deafening noise erupted overhead.
The small section of wooden roof that remained was ripped away by the wind.
Freezing rain and icy gusts struck me full in the face.
I screamed. My grip loosened, and I nearly dropped the phone into the water.
"Enid! What happened? What was that noise?"
"N-nothing. Just a few tiles falling off the roof..."
The signal began cutting in and out.
Hugo's voice broke into fragments.
"Enid... can... hear...?"
Then the connection steadied a little, but there was only one bar left on the screen.
I heard him crying out to Mom.
"Mom! I think the cabin's collapsing! You have to do something! Get her out of there!"
Then I heard Mom's indifferent voice.
"If she can still talk on the phone, she's perfectly fine. Always making a fuss over nothing."
By then, the water had risen above my knees.
"Mom! This isn't a joke! Didn't you hear how loud that was? Enid—"
"What could happen if she stays put? If she can't handle a little test like this, the real world's going to eat her alive sooner or later!"
In the background, Dad mumbled, "Maybe... we should find someone to go back and check..."
"Who asked you?"
One sharp retort silenced him.
Then Mom told Hugo coldly, "That's enough. Tell your sister to hang up. Wasting money on calls in the middle of the night."
I sat in the icy water without a word.
It had reached the tops of my thighs.
The last signal bar flickered in the corner of the screen, as if it, too, were taking its final breaths.
Aksara