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Suddenly It Split Into Three Whirling Masses of Destruction...

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Early this morning, Mari woke up hungry. This entire week, she's been up at 5AM famished. We give her a bottle and she'll pass right out. Since Don is in training, he was out running, so Mari joined me in bed for her early morning snack. Immediately afterwards, she snuggled in tightly and fell asleep. I didn't need any extra persuasion, I was off dreaming again. This time, it was too real, though.

I was sitting in our office boardroom having a meeting. We were talking
about a current project and such. No big deal. In the boardroom, we have this
large window that I do my best to sit with my back towards it, because I find
myself looking out too much. This time, I didn't make it to the meeting early
enough, so I was facing the window. The sky was gorgeous, but I was asked a
direct question. I was so wrapped up in the conversation that I didn't look
outside. When I paused to look out, there it was. I gasped and grabbed Richard's
arm. His eyes followed my gaze and he quit talking for a moment, then proceeded
to calmly say, "We need to get out of here now!" I jumped up and ran down the
hall. I hollered at Jenna and said, "Get your things! Don't ask, just go NOW!" I
pointed out of the window and she looked. These beautiful, puffly black clouds
began to drop in the distance. I sprinted to the other side and grabbed Deidre
and Laura. I asked them about Xochitl and they said she'd already left for the
day. I told them about the sky, all in a matter of seconds. We ran to stairwell,
where I left them to run up the stairs. I needed to tell the guys! I passed the
window again, on my way up and saw this huge funnel cloud drop from the sky so
gracefully violent like a spider falls from the silken web strand. My heart
raced and I ran into Tom. "Tornado! Exit now!" By this time, everyone had poked
their heads out and we could see it creeping closer to us. Before I hit the
exits, I saw that it had given birth! It had suddendly split into three whirling masses of destruction. A tornado family, angry and hungry. I could see the flashing lights of firemen and rescue crew in the distance. I heard the sirens as I took the stairs two by two.

I didn't know what to think. I didn't really know where to go. Why was I
going down the stairs? This is what we do in case of fire, but what about a
tornado? We didn't practice that! I didn't read the manual for that. What if the
building collapsed, do I really want to be stuck at the bottom. In any case, I
made it down and ran to the 1st floor bathroom. Surprisingly, there were only a
couple of other women in there with me. We huddled together, quietly, shaking,
and praying.

And then I woke up. Heart racing so fast, I was certain it would wake Mari. Before me stood my beloved, about to kiss me awake. I nearly shrieked, but I swallowed and my morning voice, cracky and sore, I told him my nightmare. He just stroked my face and said, it was just a dream. It's ok. I calmed down, but I can't shake that image. So big and beautiful, but dangerous. And now I'm looking up instructions of what I need to do in case of a tornado!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Duck and cover, my friend. Duck and cover. If you like I can stop up later and show you the best way to shield yourself from flying debris should a tornado strike. In elementary school I recall spending 20 minutes in the girls bathroom in such a position due to a tornado. Good times.

Thanks for saving me from the tornado. A true friend never leaves a man behind. Er, woman.

Jeev said...

You better share the information on what to do in case of a tornado. Of course we Oklahomans are pretty much used to it.

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