Harry was fourteen years old and resided in Wisbech. Harry lost both of his parents in a horrible vehicle accident earlier this year, leaving him an orphan with no other living family members. Harry was eventually taken in by social services and placed in foster care, which is when his issues began. His foster parents were kind folks who helped Harry in any way they could.
The months were difficult, but he gradually began to feel like he could live again. In his foster home, he wasn’t alone; there were other foster children, Cody, who was nine, Leah, who was twelve, and Teddy, who was fifteen and a bit of a bully. Teddy was wary of me ever since I demonstrated to him that I would not tolerate his bullying. He attempted to bully me until I knocked him out.
Today was much like every other day: breakfast, then off to school. Mary and Bob, our foster parents, would do the school run every day. We regularly listened to the radio, and Leah would sing at the top of her lungs. Suddenly, there was a lot of shrieking on the radio, followed by a warning message: “People of Wisbech, stay indoors and lock all doors and windows, do not open for anyone; this is not a drill. Mary turned the car around without hesitation and drove us home as quickly as possible. We could see the commotion escalating around us as people began to panic. We arrived home, closed all the doors as directed, and waited for further orders via radio and television. Mary attempted to call several people, but the phone lines were dead. We were all terrified, especially Teddy, the bully, who appeared to be close to cry.
Bob asked that we remain away from the windows and doors. We could hear sirens and booms in the distance but couldn’t figure out what was happening. It sounded like chaos out there. The noise seemed to be getting closer, and without warning, a storm broke out, or so we assumed. We soon heard a peculiar noise, which grew louder as it approached. Bob approached the window, and the rattling began. The blinds fell, and before we could say anything, we were slammed by a massive wave.
Everything became distorted, beginning with darkness and ending with light. I was choking, drowning, and unable to breathe. Suddenly, my body vibrated as I heard voices exclaim, ‘Open your eyes, you are fine, breathe.’ Apparently, I was knocked out by a baseball and remained unconscious for ten minutes. I was overjoyed that this was a dream and that I had escaped the horrible reality that only existed for me. I no longer felt like a lost boy, the fighting and aggressiveness within me seemed to disappear, something was different, little did I know how this would affect my reality going forward and all those around me…