Tremors

I was reading on my bed at late last night, when I suddenly felt nauseaus. My body was shaking and for a moment I thought that it was a sign of extreme exhaustion. I sat up a little straighter. The movement did not stop. In fact, it seemed to come externally. I looked at my bed with wide eyes and it was moving. I quickly got on my feet and by jove, the floor was shaking, too.

I heard my brother rushing out of his room and knocking frantically on my door. It was then that I realised that the whole house was moving and we have to get out - fast.

I opened the door. Only a few words were exchanged, "Felt the earth move? Let's get dad and mom out of here, too." We grimly ran down the stairs.

Didn't take much to convince my mom about it. I pointed to the unswitched-on fan hanging on the ceiling. It was shaking.

My dad was skeptical about the whole thing but followed all of us out of the house anyway. We stood for a moment gazing at our house and our neighbourhood. We saw one or two neighbours walking out as well. But generally, the surrounding houses were quiet - except for the barking dogs.

My brother and I still felt the earth moving under our feet, praying in our hearts for God's protection. We also wondered how bad the earthquake is this time around.

The earth movement stopped after a short while and we slowly got back into the house.

This morning, I read in dismay that about 300 hundred people were killed in Indonesia last night. Life goes on as usual in Klang Valley but for the families affected by the tragedy, their world as they know it has changed forever