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 Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 1:57 pm
Anaru 1
The water stretched out before them, dark and endless. The swamps of Elehun bled into the open sea here, where the roots of the mangroves clung stubbornly to the shifting land. Anaru sat cross-legged at the end of a rickety dock, watching the slow ripples lap against the wooden beams. Her father sat beside her, legs dangling, fishing rod lazily propped in his hands. The line barely moved. Neither of them minded.
She let the quiet settle between them before she finally asked, “What happened to them?”
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 1:57 pm
Kalpana 1
Kalpana didn’t look at her right away. He felt the words settle over him like a heavy net, catching on the edges of his thoughts. He hadn’t expected the question, though maybe he should have. His fingers drummed once on the wooden dock before he exhaled. “You mean my parents?”
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 1:58 pm
Anaru 2
Anaru tilted her head toward him, her green eyes expectant. “Yeah.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 2:00 pm
Kalpana 2
Kalpana adjusted his grip on the fishing rod, his easygoing posture stiffening just slightly. “They, uh… well, they were out on the water when the storm came in.” His voice was light, like he was telling a story that didn’t really belong to him. “A big one. Bigger than anyone thought it would be. It swallowed the shore before they could get back.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 2:01 pm
Anaru 3
Anaru watched his face closely. His voice still had that usual lilt, the casual ease of someone spinning a tale—but there was something under it. Something heavy.
“Did you see it?” she asked.
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 2:01 pm
Kalpana 3
Kalpana hesitated, his grip tightening. He forced out a laugh, though it didn’t land the way he wanted. “I wasn’t there, kiddo. They were out on their own that day.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 2:01 pm
Anaru 4
Anaru frowned. “And you couldn’t do anything?”
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 2:02 pm
Kalpana 4
He swallowed. “No one could.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 2:02 pm
Anaru 5
Anaru looked back out at the water, lips pressing into a thin line. She tried to imagine it—the wind howling, the rain lashing down, the waves dragging everything under. It was hard to picture when the water was so still now. “And after?” she asked.
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 2:02 pm
Kalpana 5
Kalpana exhaled through his nose, his smile dimming. “After?” His voice was quieter now. “I went looking for them.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 2:02 pm
Anaru 6
Anaru tilted her head. “And you found them?”
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 2:02 pm
Kalpana 6
His fingers tapped against the wood again, but this time it was slower. “Yeah.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 2:03 pm
Anaru 7
She waited for him to keep going, but he didn’t.
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 2:03 pm
Kalpana 7
Kalpana kept his gaze fixed on the horizon, watching the distant specks of birds skimming over the water. He could still remember it too clearly—the way the floodwaters receded, leaving behind wreckage and bodies tangled in the roots. His parents had always been strong swimmers, but it hadn’t mattered.
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 2:03 pm
Anaru 8
Anaru shifted beside him, unsatisfied with the lack of details. “Did they look—”
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