The girl gasped for air while walking through the current at a knee-high level, enough to hinder her footsteps. Her house is close to the most damaged location due to the broken dam—in the city's center, almost in the northern area. 

Her mind keeps raging while she is sweating profusely. The air is humid and unpleasant, enough to make someone stressed enough and hurriedly go away from Tantoris. However, Arisa ignores that as she tries to get closer to where the flood's current doesn't flow so hard.

 

"Haah…hah…"

 

She found debris that seems safe to sit on. After about half a minute of catching her breath, Arisa resumes her walk.

 

"Help…! someone, please help! Someone got hit by the rubble!"

"Mom, come here quickly! Let's follow the evacuation route!"

"Mama! Where are you? Mama…!"

 

Arisa had never experienced anything like this in her lifetime. Her mind has been thinking of a million scenarios since she doesn't know what to do in this dire situation. Is being silent and leaving the search for her family to the authorities the best choice she can take now? What if it turns out that Johann still can do something hazardous one more time again?

 

"No… I have to find them myself. Everyone, including the police, is very busy and definitely can't afford to search everyone…."

 

Only we can save ourselves in these conditions. I can't rely on others.

 

Finally, Arisa arrives at her house, yet what welcomes her is unfavorable. Her house is wrecked since it's crushed here and there. The roof is barely there. And she can see a flow of current that enters the house and flows out in other parts. 

Arisa's chest hurts witnessing the state of her house. She went inside in a hurry and opened the door, which fortunately was not severely damaged.

 

"Dad! Mom! Tirto! Vanilla!"

 

Her voice dismissed the silence that had previously dominated the ravaged house. The flow of the flood water that just passed through the living room, family room, and out between the doors near the kitchen took Arisa's attention for a moment. On the other side of the house, the walls had broken down. She swallowed her saliva and immediately aimed the flashlight at her surrounding side that almost collapsed. Arisa then walks over to the place that she considers to be safer. 

The darkness inside the house and the faint light from outside almost make Arisa not recognize this place anymore.

No voice heed her call. Only the noises of some furniture shifted slightly due to the continuous flow of the flood current.

The strange feeling that creeps into Arisa's heart makes her really uncomfortable. She tried to catch her breath a few times before continuing to walk. Aided by the flashlight from her cell phone, Arisa swept her eyes around the house to look for the potential survivor.

 

"No one is answering… how about on the second floor?"

 

Her footsteps finally free from the current the moment Arisa steps into the stairs. She walks through the dark stairs in search of signs of the life she hoped for. The flashlight pointed to the bedroom doors, each closed tightly. Thankfully, there was no significant damage on this second floor.

Arisa's slight hunch tells her to open the door of her sister's room. When she steps in and lits up the room with her phone, she sees two figures shivering in the corner.

 

"Tirto?! Vanilla? Is that you?"

 

The trembling figure moved slowly. When Arisa turned off her flashlight and got used to the darkness, they were really her two siblings. Arisa instantly feels all her anxiety in her chest gone and starting to tear up.

Arisa approaches Vanilla and Tirto, and they hug each other so tightly.

Arisa can't help but kiss the foreheads of her siblings, who are still in good health and without any harm.

 

"What a relief that you're all right… I'm really panicking earlier…."

 

The two of them didn't say anything. However, Arisa feels that Vanilla's grip on her clothes is getting stronger. Realizing this, Arisa gently strokes her adopted sister's back so that Vanilla feels safe again.

Arisa has found her siblings. But what about her past parents?

Her heart is beating fast once again.

 

"Do you know where Mom and Dad are?" asked Arisa carefully.

Vanilla and Tirto looked at each other for a moment before Vanilla answered her sister's question. "They were still on the first floor. Mom and Dad didn't come up to the second floor."

"…what?"

"Yes," Tirto confirmed. "Earlier we saw Mom and Dad helping us going up because the flood was very strong. Suddenly, something big hit the wall. The power went out and dust came. They were both gone when we called them."

 

And then, Tirto cried while calling his parents. Vanilla froze on the spot as she lowered her head. Arisa can only bite her lip and find out what to do now.

 

I have to find both of them.

 

She, who wears the ice cream hairclip, pats her sister's shoulder. She smiled bitterly as they both focused on his brother.

 

"You guys stay here for now, okay? I will look for Mom and Dad and call for help. Do not go anywhere since you will be safe here. I want Vanilla and Tirto to be good children, okay?" asked Arisa in a slightly hoarse voice.

 

As the two of them nod, Arisa quickly walks out to find where her past parents are. Her footsteps sink again as she reaches the first floor and struggles to get out.

Arisa frantically looks right and left when she is back outside the house. It happened that someone was evacuating his belongings from the flood near the girl, so she approached and pulled his arm gently.

 

"Sorry. Where is the evacuation route?"

 

He was startled a bit by Arisa's sudden appearance. However, he quickly responded and leaned his chin in the intended direction because his hands were busy carrying things on his shoulders.

 

"There. I'm also heading to the evacuation site. They said, the area around there was not too damaged and was not exposed to the flow of water."

"Okay, thank you!"

 

Arisa immediately runs with all her might, leaving the person still confused and breaking through the flood. Her mind remains fixated on one thing: looking for her parents. Hopefully, they'll both be there because her attempt to call Mom or Dad's phone is futile for now.

It takes a dozen minutes to reach a distance of approximately five hundred meters. Arisa witnessed how the impact of Johann's selfishness taking place in this city. Most were injured, and some were trying to save themselves. The police and firefighters are trying their best even though it's not much. Some of them wept bitterly because their families were missing or found dead.

Even though the world shattered without warning like this, a minor side of Arisa's mind wishes for the best. Even though her logic continued to say everything had gone awry, she still wanted to meet her parents without any harm in the slightest.

 

"Miss, are you hurt? You can immediately see the medical team if you have an injury. We happened that there are nurses and doctors here." A policeman who noticed Arisa entering the temporary evacuation area approached her.

"A-ah, no. I am here looking for someone. Do you know my parents?" asked Arisa almost in high pitched tone, while checking around a few dozen people there.

 

The policeman shakes his head when Arisa shows the picture of her parents. She frowned for a moment as she didn't know where else to look. Just when Arisa was thinking of leaving, someone who looked in his thirties and wore glasses approached to call the police. He talked about someone's medical condition and the possibility that they could move from here soon.

 

"Understood, sir. I'll try to see the situation first before we go. But, have you seen someone like this picture?" asked the policeman while pointing at the screen of Arisa's cell phone. He, who was called the doctor, narrowed his eyes before pinching the tip of his nose.

"…yes. I know," he replied.

"Really?! Where are they now?" Arisa butted in between their conversation.

"…follow me."

 

The doctor takes a breath and nods slightly as if sending a signal to the policeman to leave the two of them alone. Arisa follows him with her chest pounding hard since anxiety and hopes mix together because she doesn't know how her parents are.

Of course, she is hoping for the best.

 

Arisa arrives at a place where she sees several people, neatly lined up, sleeping beside each other. The others beside them looked devastated and shed tears while calling the names of those who closed their eyes.

When Arisa glances at the particular spot of the lined people, she sees two faces that she knows very well.

 

"… I'm sorry for you to see this," said the doctor quietly.

 

Arisa's cell phone falls as the screen breaks. Her legs lost strength suddenly, so she kneeled immediately. She couldn't get closer to check at the two of them. Her face feels hot, her throat feels choked, her tongue tastes bitter, the dizziness in her head is getting worse, and her heart is crushed.

As if the world couldn't get worse before her, a negative emotion she had never felt before permeated the most sensitive part of his feelings. 

 

"Dad… Mom…"

 

Since then, Arisa has forgotten how to fake a smile.