Lucky

The table is swinging.

Wait a second. My mind sent out signals to my whole body to feel it again.

Yes, the table swings.
I have felt this before. The feeling is familiar.

No one seems to notice. Only me.
What is this 2-storey house made of? Wood? Will it collapse?
Where is the Sales Assistant? Will they think I am crazy if I just run straight out from the bridal house? I looked straight to the entrance and grabbed the handle of my bag.

OK. OK. If things go wrong, get the bag, aim for the door. That's my plan.

She is back. Thanks for going through the package. I will get back to you soonest possible.

I grabbed my bag and walked straight out from the bridal house. My phone rang.
"Hello, KLCC has earthquake! Everyone leaves the twin towers!"

I knew it! I knew I was right!

I felt the same swinging few years back in my 22nd floor bedroom during one of the Indian Ocean Tsunami aftermaths, and this is just the same.

Apparently there was a 7.9 magnitude earthquake at Sumatra and I felt the shake at about 6.30pm. I called my mom. She didn't feel anything on 22nd floor but people in my office were told to evacuate the building --- what to do, the office building is probably one of the oldest in town.

We always get to know about natural disasters that happened from all over the world, and most of the time, we felt it from the aftermath of the neighboring countries. However, they are never near. A country that has no earthquake, no hurricane, no typhoon, no volcanos, etc. We are a lucky bunch.

We are lucky but that's when we never get the knowledge of what / how to do when it comes to surviving a disaster. Ignorant is when the water retreats and disappeared from the beach front, people became curious and walk on the dried sand out to the ocean, not knowing that monstrous waves are heading their ways, and will swipe them off their lives in a split of second.

I remembered the news of the whole village been saved from the force of nature by a little girl who was taught in school --- when the ocean disappears, it just means that the water will come back in double/ triple the amount. The villagers listened to her and evacuated up the hill. True enough, their homes were swiped away later but they were still standing.

We have been blessed with the best location that doesn't have any volcanoes, not only that, we are surrounded by the neighboring country's thousands of islands. She has been protecting us all these while.

I wonder, will we always be this lucky...