The Ink Well Prompt #73: "The meaning of my life"

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That day was exceptionally hot, the temperature was around 40 °C, unusual for the time of year. The birds were in an uproar, they sensed that something was happening and that very soon it was going to manifest itself.

Mariana and her friends were having fun as they used to do every time they left the university. She was a very extroverted, cheerful girl, with a beauty that attracted male glances and the attention of her friends. She studied medicine, not because she had a vocation but because it was a family tradition. Her father and mother were doctors and her maternal grandfather had also been one. He liked to dance, go to parties and gatherings where he had a good time with his group of friends. She enjoyed her free time very much. As she used to say "Life is only one and you have to live it without worries."

Mariana, Luisa, José Luis, Alfonso and Teresa went to the coffee shop on the corner to drink coffee, eat some delicious cakes they sold there and to chat. As they entered they heard a noise coming from the bowels of the earth, the ceiling lamps moved as if propelled by an invisible hand and the plates and glasses on the shelf began to fall. Shouts were heard and people began to run towards the exit.

“Let's get out!” Alfonso shouted, this is going to fall.

But they didn't have time and the building they were in collapsed leaving a cloud of dust around them. Under the rubble everything was confusion, fear and death.

Mariana had been left under a beam and was still alive, her friend Luisa was very close to her and further away, under a piece of roof, was the inert body of José Luis. Alfonso and Teresa were very close to what had been the exit, trapped between pieces of the construction, walls and the glass of the windows.

Mariana opened her eyes and instantly began to scream for help and the names of her friends. She didn't feel any pain and that was a good sign and she could move in the space where she was, she saw Luisa's body and grabbed her hand that felt warm.

“Luisa, please respond!.”

A very soft voice answered her. “Mariana I am afraid.”

“How do you feel, are you in pain?”

“I can't move and I can't feel my legs.”

Mariana tried to calm her down telling her that she was also very scared but that they were going to help them, that the rescue groups were probably already looking for survivors. The minutes passed and she tried to keep her friend awake, she knew she should not fall asleep and thought that at least she had learned something from the hours she had been in class without paying much attention to the teachers.

Alfonso had tried to move towards the exit, there he saw a light and heard the sound of people in the street. He began to shout in desperation. Next to him Teresa also made an effort to scream. Some people heard her screams and alerted the rescue team. They sent a dog specialized in search and rescue, which entered through the space left between the rubble, it was a shepherd dog named Ronco, four years old, with experience in saving human lives, which did not take long to find them.

Hours later, they were able to rescue them from the wreckage of the small commercial building where the cafeteria was located. Alfonso told the firemen that his friends should be nearby and to try to help them.

After two hours of work they pulled out the lifeless body of José Luis and three other people who had died, as well as Mariana, Luisa and another girl, injured but still alive.

The days after that powerful earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Ritcher scale were very busy for rescuers and health centers. The city had been badly affected, many buildings had collapsed and even though rescue groups had saved many people from being buried, others had died.

Mariana recovered quickly from her injuries, some cuts and a broken arm, but mentally she was still traumatized by what had happened, her friend Jose Luis was dead, her friend Luisa had lost a leg, her friends Alfonso and Teresa were well physically, but emotionally affected. She spent many hours in her room or in the garden, watching the plants and in the company of her dog Sofie. She moved away from her friends. Her parents left her alone, thinking it was the best thing for her and that in time she would get over it.

But time went by and Mariana became more and more introverted and lonely. She abandoned her medical studies and dedicated herself to writing. Her first novel "The meaning of my life", was published and was a publishing success.

A year after the earthquake, Luisa decided to visit Mariana, she had called her several times since she left the hospital and she had not answered and finally she had changed her phone number. She arrived at her house walking with a prosthesis and still using a crutch. Mariana, surprised to see her, welcomed her with a hug and could not help but cry with her. All those moments of anguish they had spent together came back to her mind and after that she felt a lot of peace.

“We have missed you so much dear friend”, Luisa told her. “Because you have been away from us. You saved my life at that moment, you gave me hope and I had not even been able to tell you how grateful I am.”

“I am so sorry Luisa, I wanted to get away from everything that reminded me of that moment, I felt I needed to reflect on what happened. God gave us another chance to continue living, but life has to have a meaning and I have understood it that way. The book I wrote is my reflections and an instrument to do other things. With the proceeds I have created a foundation to help children who have no family, for their education. And I would like you to help me... to work together. What do you think of the idea?

“Thank you very much Mariana! of course I am willing to help you, and I know that Alfonso and Teresa will be very happy if we meet again and you tell them about your plans.”

“You are absolutely right! I think it is an excellent idea.”

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