Gray clouds cover the skies of London. Josh just woke up from being drunk last night, checked his phone, and saw that he was running late for work. As he did his morning routine, the news flash came in and caught his attention. There was a storm coming.
Josh never really liked the storm ever since he lost his home when he was a kid. Josh was halfway done buttoning his shirt when a piercing pain from his drunken night came rushing to his head. His chest suddenly ached as though he could not breathe. Everything looked as though they were spinning.
He heard the doorbell ring once, and in no time, somebody was helping him to bed. He tried to open his eyes to see who was there, but he could not recognize the face. He was blacked out and whacked out. Memories from his childhood assaulted his mind as he was out.
“Josh!” shouted his mom as they were about to evacuate the house. The storm has reached their home, taking away even the ancestral roof. Little Josh was finishing packing up his stuff till the window got destroyed and cut his left cheek. His mom saw what happened and picked up little Josh, then ran to the car as fast as she could. Arriving in the car gave them a breath of relief while Josh’s dad started up the car and drove to the evac center just a few kilometers away. Injured and terrified, Josh looks back to his house only to see that his home was no longer there. He looked at his frightened father, and suddenly his mom was shaking him. “Josh! Josh! Don’t do this to me!” shouted her mom. Her voice sounded distant...
He felt someone else shaking him to wake up. He opened his eyes slowly and his weird co-worker’s worried face was in front of him, shouting his name. He slapped Josh’s pale face and asked, “Why did you do it?”
“Huh? What did I do?” replied Josh. “You just overdosed yourself with the medicine…” says Amanda, the weird co-worker. Josh looked at the counter and saw the cases of medicine opened. “I didn’t notice that I was taking too many meds, but what are you doing here Amanda?” asked Josh. Amanda remained silent and just smiled at him with her red rosy cheeks. “You probably don’t remember what happened last night, but it’s okay. I’m already here,” she said in a soft voice. Josh tried to recall whatever happened last night.
A picture of him proposing to Amanda came to mind, all their co-workers clapping and cheering them. But another scene came flashing and it was his dad shaking his hand, saying “if you marry her, your mom won’t be able to come back to town.” Amanda laughed nervously. “We’re getting married tonight and yes, I love you too.”
The rain started pouring hard, the clashing of thunder was visible into the windowpanes of one horrified Josh looking blank into a stranger’s eyes.
