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Today we are featuring Inklings Book Contest 2020 finalist, Daniel Zhu! Daniel finished 5th grade this past school year. The story he submitted is called “The Earthquake: A Tale of Loss, Love, and Life.”  Daniel told us that his favorite thing about the piece is the restoration of a broken relationship. He said, “Before the earthquake, the brothers’ relationship was full of cracks, like the ground during the earthquake. But the earthquake brought them together, because they knew that there was no way they could survive without each other, and mended the chasms in their relationship. While the earthquake tore the family apart, it also put a long-lost relationship back together, and even expanded it by adding their godparents’ family into the brothers’ friendship.” 


 

Prologue

“Fred! John! It’s time for dinner!” the mother called to the children playing on the field from inside the house.

“We’re coming!” they replied in unison.

As the family sat at the dinner table, the children chattered excitedly about their day.

“Mom!” the younger one, Fred, said excitedly, “You won’t believe what we saw today!”

“What did you see?” the mom asked.

As the excited chatter continued at the dinner table, the Hawthornes seemed like any other family. The children were naughty, the parents were caring, and food was being dropped on the floor.

Yet great destruction awaited the family. No, not a shattered china plate or a cracked crystal bowl. Not a tree that was being cut down or a telephone pole being broken. It was going to be one of the worst disasters man would ever see. But it would also strengthen a bond that would be weak and in need of healing at the time.

It’s a story about an earthquake, both physically and emotionally. The ground will crack and great devastation will come. The ground will shake, and so will the brothers’ relationship. But after the earthquake, the ground will heal, and so will the brothers. Then, even the darkest future will seem bright, and it will bring hope, unlike anything they have ever experienced before. For with love, anything is possible.

Chapter 1: When Everything Went Wrong

“You may not be able to control all of the events that happen to you…” — Maya Angelou

“Leave me alone!” shouted John as he slammed the door to his room closed right in Fred’s face.

Why does he always have to be so grumpy? Fred thought, both dejectedly and grudgingly. I was only trying to ask if he wanted to play a board game with me! Tears welled up in his eyes as he entered his room. It’s not fair! Where is the old John? The one that always laughed, the one that always wanted me to be happy, the one that always stood up for me? I miss him!

He still remembered the first time he felt the effects of his brother’s change and growth into a teenager. Two years ago, he had knocked on his brother’s door, eager to play with him. He had begun to think of all the things they could play. His is eyes were bright with excitement, a big smile plastered on his face.

But the thrill was wiped out when John said in a grumpy voice, “Leave me alone!” 

These were the exact same words he had just told him a few seconds ago.

But since an incident three years ago, Fred had already guessed this would happen. It was John’s elementary school graduation ceremony, and Fred and his parents were there to cheer for him. Unfortunately, Fred accidentally brought along the wrong celebration poster to raise up, which embarrassed John in front of all his classmates. Although John seemed to have forgiven him, Fred knew that things would never be the same between them.

The deterioration continued until their relationship was nearly completely severed. But, however hard Fred tried to be mad at John, he knew that he still loved him and that he would do anything to help his brother return to his old state.

At dinner, everyone came down to sit at the dinner table and began to eat… except for John.

“John!” Mom called, “Dinner’s ready! Come down and eat!”

“Go mind your own business!” John snapped from his room upstairs. “Mom, don’t you think I’m old enough to take care of myself? I don’t need your assistance!”

After hearing what John said, Fred just couldn’t keep it in anymore. It was as if he was a pot of water on the stove; the water kept boiling, and even though he had tried to cool the stove, he was finally on the brink of evaporating.

He burst angrily, “Why does John always have to be such a stupid nitwit?! Why does he have to take his anger out on us, when we didn’t do any harm to him at all? He’s so–”

“Relax, Fred,” sighed Mom. “When people become teens, they all experience this. John is no different.”

He knew his mother wanted to mean what she said, but as Fred left the table, he saw the tears that were beginning to form in his mother’s eyes, and he knew that they both wished that the old John could come back.

Why couldn’t he? Fred thought both dismally and angrily. Is that really so much to ask for?

After finishing his dinner silently, he slunk into his room and shut the door in despair. Will the old John ever come back, then? He didn’t think so.

 

Chapter 2: Lost and Found

“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.” — Henry David Thoreau

The next day, Fred spent all morning thinking about what had happened yesterday at dinner. He felt both depressed and melancholic, because his heart ached for the old John. He was also annoyed and furious because the teen version of John always made his family members downcast or angry.

At noon, Mom came into Fred’s room. “Sweetheart, it’s time for lunch!”

Still thinking about John, he mumbled, “Okay,” and got out of his room.

At lunch, John came down, but only to grab his food and take it to his room to eat.

“John, why don’t you eat at the dinner table with us?” Mom called.

“I’m too old for family!” John retorted, then slammed his door shut.

A smell of stinky socks and stale gum drifted out of John’s room as he shut the door and Fred pinched his nose. And he said he could take care of himself, Fred thought jokingly. But then he realized that John had rejected his offer to help him clean his room, all to keep him away.

After these thoughts passed through his mind, Fred couldn’t keep what he was thinking about any longer. He angrily fumed, “Mom? How can you stand John when he’s acting like such a jerk?”

“I can answer that… with a story,” Mom said slowly.

“Go ahead,” Fred said, dejectedly chewing his broccoli. “It’s not like it’ll make a difference.”

“When I was nine, like you,” Mom began, “My brother, Jack, who is four years older than me, also had teen problems. He isolated himself from the rest of the family and often refused our assistance. At that time, I despised him and our relationship was frozen until when I was eleven, he was forced to help me on a big school project since my parents were on business trips. Helping me brought out his old patience and kindness, and although it was a slow process, I realized that his old self was coming back. And I was right. We began to grow back together, and now, he is one of my best friends in the world! The lesson? People don’t lose the goodness inside them: they just have to find it again.”

“So?” Fred said pessimistically, “It’s not like that will happen with John.”

“The universe will decide.”

Fred shook his head, still not convinced. But, little did he know, this lesson would change the course of his and John’s lives.

 

Chapter 3: Family First

“Family is always first.” — Nick Cannon

Not long after, Fred found Dad enthusiastically reading a letter from the mailbox. “Look at this!” Dad beckoned Fred to come over.

“What is it?” Fred asked.

“I’ve been invited to participate in the National Golf Tournament in Tallahassee, Florida!” his father, who was a professional golfer, replied ecstatically. The letter shone with hope and pride. After all of his father’s hard work practicing golf, he was finally recognized!

Fred reread the letter over and over again, drinking in the good news. They could make tons and tons of money, and even become famous! “That’s great!” Fred replied energetically.

But on the day of, disaster struck.

“Hello? Are you the organizer of the National Golf Tournament? I’m sorry to tell you that I can’t come. My wife is terribly sick, and I want to stay with her. I apologize for any inconvenience. Thanks, and bye!” When Dad put his phone down, he looked down in the dumps. Seeing the grief-stricken look in Fred’s eyes, he said downcast, “I’m sorry, Fred. Mom has been running a very high fever that remains undiagnosed, so I’m afraid I can’t participate in the NGT.”

“But why would you give up such a precious opportunity to become famous?” Fred questioned, “Plus, you could make hundreds and thousands of dollars if you get a high score! And Mom can be taken care of by Mrs. Plutarch. She’s an awesome doctor, isn’t she?”

“One day, you’ll learn that family is the most important thing, even more important than fame or money,” Dad said, smiling reluctantly. “You should always put family first.” With that, he walked into Mom’s room with a few pills and a dejected face.

Fred had never seen his usually cheery dad like this before. He had always encouraged them to leave the worries behind and look to the future, even when it seemed like nothing good would happen.

This must be a terrible blow to Dad, Fred thought, feeling deeply sorry for his father.

When he entered his room, he thought about what Dad had said about putting family first. Can I really put someone like John before a chance to win a national competition and become famous? Part of him thought that he would do anything to help his brother, but another part of him thought, If he never cares about us, why should we care about him? We should give him a taste of his own medicine! And these thoughts filled his head for the rest of the day. Although Fred often wavered between both sides, he knew he would eventually have to make an ultimate decision about John. What he didn’t know, however, was that that decision would be a matter of life … and death.

 

Chapter 4: Earthquake Alert

“There is a lot that happens around the world we can’t control.” — Jan Schakowsky

“Bzzz! Bzzzzzzz!”

“Mom, the phone is buzzing!” called Fred.

Mom quickly ran down the stairs, picked it up and turned it on. “Oh, no! It is a MyShake alert! It appears that there is an earthquake heading for San Francisco! Our family is in danger, we have to tell Dad!”

“Guys, the situation we’re in right now is pretty bad,” Dad said seriously, with a wild look in his eyes. “It appears that this earthquake is level 8.5 on the Richter Scale. This hasn’t occurred for around two centuries, which means…”

Everyone knew what it meant. It was obvious; there were police cars all over the place, and there were crazed shouts and yells from around the neighborhood.

“What should we do?” Fred asked, scared.

“Oh, stop panicking, you fools!” John snorted. “It’s probably a false alert!”

Everyone stopped. “What makes you think that you know more than the professionals?” Mom retorted. “Our lives are on the line here, and even if it’s a false alert, it’s better safe than sorry, John!”

“Oh, yeah? What about the time the ‘professionals’ said that there was going to be a hurricane and there was really just a small rainstorm?”

“John, just because it happened once, doesn’t mean that will always be the case!”

“Well, you’re not a professional. What do you–”

A piece of the roof fell off.

“Quick, Fred and John!” Dad frantically called. “Out!”

Fred motioned to his brother to follow him but realized he had been separated from them when the first rock fell. What should I do?

He saw Mom and Dad slow down to look back. “Fred! Quick!”

With more and more debris raining down, Fred could only hope that John could really take care of himself before turning to join his parents. But just as he started running, his pants got snagged on a piece of debris. Although he eventually freed himself, he saw his parents getting farther and farther away.

“HELP!” Fred cried. He saw Mom and Dad, just out the door. “MOM! DAD!”

His parents heard Fred’s distress call and ran towards him. “Fred!” they shouted. “Don’t worry, We’re coming!”

Suddenly, right when Fred thought he was saved, a big chunk of rock from their hilly backyard fell in between Fred and his parents. He ran over to the rock and began pounding on it. “Mom!” he cried desperately, “Dad! MOM! DAD!”

No, no, no! Fred thought miserably. He tried to ram the rock with his shoulder, but all he did was make a tiny crack in the rock and cause his shoulder to throb with pain. How am I going to get back to my mom and dad?

He felt fear grasp him and his mind clouded with pain, despair, and anxiety, but the sounds around him were still crystal clear. The sirens, the shouts, the rumbling of the earth. All signs that he was probably going to die. So, he did one of the least sensible things that a person could possibly do in the case of an earthquake. He jumped out of the house through a shattered window and ran.

 

Chapter 5: To Save…Or Not to Save

“You have a choice. Live or die. Every breath is a choice. Every minute is a choice. To be or not to be.” — Chuck Palahniuk

The only word that could form in Fred’s mind right now was, “Run!” And that was exactly what he did, although pain was still coursing through him after jumping out the window. From earthquake drills at school, he knew that running was the exact opposite of what he was supposed to do, but his mind was blank. He wanted to run away from this horrible life full of troubles into the peace of heaven. He wished he could leave his mortal body and turn into an angel and fly away. But he knew that now was not the time for him to depart from the world.

Why, God? Fred thought, Why must you fill our lives with troubles?

Then, as if in answer, his mom’s words echoed in his mind, You don’t lose goodness: you just have to find it again.

He thought, The world hasn’t lost its goodness: I just need to find it again. Feeling a new surge of comfort and energy, his head felt less foggy and he slowed to a jog, but he was still careful to avoid the cracks that were still forming, though not as consistently, in the ground.

Suddenly, a wave of anxiety hit him. What happened to Mom and Dad after I ran?

He stopped and all of a sudden, he heard someone crying, “Help! Help!”

When he ran over, he found it was not Mom nor Dad, but John! Should I help him? he thought, eyeing his brother warily. After all the misery he’s caused our family?

The decision became even harder when he saw Mom and Dad were already in the distance. If he rescued John, he would lose sight of his parents and might never see them again, but if he ran away, John would die. Even though he was tempted to catch his parents as soon as possible, in his heart, he knew what his parents would want him to do, to “let John find the goodness within himself again” and “put family first.” And although Fred felt obliged to rescue his parents, he also wanted to be loyal to his parents and do what they wanted him to do.

He reached for his brother’s hand and heaved him up. While Fred was quite strong, John was rather skinny, so Fred was able to carry John on his back.

“Thank you,” John mumbled before passing out.

The only thing that Fred could think of to say to John was, “That’s the first time you’ve said ‘thank you’ in months!” That thought didn’t make him bitter, but happy, because he realized John might be becoming his old self again, starting with this small phrase. He is finally beginning to find himself again, Fred thought to himself.

Finally, an exhausted Fred, with an unconscious John on his back, reached an emergency Red Cross shelter. Depleted of all his energy, Fred collapsed to the ground, and immediately he was attended to by Red Cross nurses who set him on a bed with John on the neighboring one. He promptly blacked out.

 

Chapter 6: Questions, Questions, Questions

“Asking questions is the first way to begin change.” — Kubra Sait

Fred yawned and got up groggily. He looked around the strange room and saw John in the bed next to him. He was stunned for a few minutes before he remembered the nightmare that happened yesterday.

“John, are you awake?” Fred asked.

“What for?” John mumbled.

“I need to ask you some questions.”

“Bring it on,” John said, his eyelids drooping.

Fred thought John’s acceptance of his questions meant that he was reverting to his old self, so he went on. “Why did you want to be independent from us so much?”

“I would rather not answer that, but since you rescued me, I guess there’s a debt I need to pay,” John replied reluctantly. “After you guys embarrassed me at my graduation, even though I know it was an accident, I simply didn’t want to risk having you around. My friends started to judge me a lot, and it really destroyed my personality. I guess I should be sorry.” He sighed.

Well, that was a new take on it! Fred was about to turn around to say, “it’s okay,” when he saw John look longingly out the window.

“I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing. I really miss them.”

That question got Fred worrying too. How did he forget about his parents? Then he remembered. He had let go of his parents so he could rescue John. However, he didn’t regret that decision. He had gotten a lot of his brother back, and that was enough comfort… for now.

But Fred then realized that he had barely done anything without his parents. Most of his school homework and projects, food, and many other things were only done with the help of his parents. Will things ever be back to normal?

 

Chapter 7: Sad News

“Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.” — William James

After trying to call, ask around, trying to find his parents, and even desperately trying to force information out of others by threatening them and throwing tantrums when he couldn’t find any clues or hints as to where his parents were, Fred had no choice but to restlessly scan the death reports for the earthquake in the newspapers the Red Cross gave them. He hoped that his parents’ names would not be there. When he didn’t see their names, his heart lifted, and he was the only one in the shelter (besides John) that wasn’t mourning a family’s death. Everyone else’s eyes were puffy and red from crying and were hunched over, making even the young refugees look like old, poor people.

Yet, right when Fred thought he had hit the jackpot, he began to feel scared when he read a line at the bottom of the newspaper: Two unidentified bodies have been found near the house 1532 Walnut Way.

That’s our house, Fred thought anxiously. Could those be Mom and Dad’s bodies?

His suspicion was confirmed when images of the bodies were displayed. What’s more, it showed that Dad’s body was found near the boulder blocking Fred from reaching his family, and Mom’s body was found near the crevice that John was stuck in. Then that means… that means his parents had died trying to save them!

Tears streamed out of Fred’s eyes, No, no, no! This can’t be happening! Fred refused to accept the fact that his parents had died. He looked at the pictures again, trying to make them look like someone else. He tried to make the address on the paper look like a different address. But, in the end, he had to accept the truth. Mom and Dad were dead.

Fred felt like he had just been dropped into a pit of despair, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t reach the hope at the top of it. Why does this have to happen to me, of all people? Why did my parents have to be taken from me? What will I do without Mom and Dad? Will I be put in an orphanage? Will I become homeless? Will I be left to die? Mom, Dad, please come back! These desperate thoughts made him feel helpless and he cried even harder.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Is something wrong?” John asked, more curious than worried.

Fred turned around and grabbed John’s hand frighteningly, tears still gushing down his cheeks, “Mom and Dad are dead!” he cried.

That one sentence shocked John into silence. He gave Fred an appalled look, then retreated to his bed and slumped on his pillow.

A few minutes later, Fred could hear muffled sniffles and loud breaths coming from John’s pillow. He felt sorry for John since he was never able to apologize to his parents in person. But, he was somehow comforted a little bit that he could share his grief with his brother. At that moment, he knew he was not alone.

Chapter 8: Breakfast

“Nostalgia is a powerful feeling; it can drown out anything.” — Terrence Malick

After hours in silence, the brothers’ stomachs began to rumble… loudly. Fred and John headed to breakfast, an aura of melancholy still surrounding them. After getting their oatmeals, they sat down at a table.

When Fred ate a small scoop, a sudden wave of nostalgia engulfed him. This is the oatmeal Mom used to make! Thinking of the picture of Mom’s dead body, Fred couldn’t control the sudden wave of tears coming out of his eyes.

“Is this about our parents again?” John asked gently. He had realized that, if he couldn’t make it up to his parents, he could at least make it up to his brother.

“It’s just… it’s just this oatmeal; it reminds me so much of Mom,” Fred sobbed.

“It’s okay,” John said, trying to reassure Fred, even though Fred knew he was trying to reassure him as much as he was trying to reassure himself.

“No, it’s not!” Fred insisted dejectedly. “I miss Mom and Dad! Plus if our parents are dead, who’s going to take care of us?”

Much to Fred’s surprise, John said solemnly, “I will.”

Even though Fred wasn’t totally reassured, he was grateful that John was there for him… like the old one always was.

For the next hour, Fred was staring at the images of his parents from the newspaper. His eyes were sore, and his head was drooping. John seemed to notice this.

“Hey, little bro,” John said, “You’re thinking about Mom and Dad again, aren’t you?”

The way John addressed him as “little bro” surprised Fred so much that the only word he could make out was, “Yeah.”

“Well, even though it might seem as though I don’t care about Mom and Dad as much as you do, I do. And you need to know that we’re in this together.”

Seeing his conscience-stricken look, Fred knew that John genuinely meant what he said; they were in this together. He felt comforted that the old John, the caring one that always hung out with him and was very considerate, was finally coming back. Fred had finally managed to grasp the hope at the top of the pit, but not without John’s love and caring spirit for his brother.

 

Chapter 9: Saved!

“We need to look to the future. You can’t come up with new things unless you constantly forget the past.” — Andrew Lau

On a rainy and gloomy day in the Red Cross shelter, Fred spotted a couple walking out in the rain. They seemed oddly familiar. Fred searched his memory banks for the woman’s freckled face and blond hair, and the man’s white skin and black hair, and suddenly, it all clicked together. These were his godparents, Mr. and Mrs. Myers! Fred ran over to them excitedly.

Both his godparents simultaneously gasped, “Fred!”

“Why are you here?” Fred asked curiously.

“When we found out that there was an earthquake, we were very worried and tried all we could to reach your parents. But we are very sorry–” Mr. Myers paused sadly, then he said, “We got here as quickly as possible once we found what happened to your parents. We’re here to take you back to our house! We will take care of you and your brother!”

The death of his parents struck Fred once more. “I wish they weren’t dead,” he murmured downcast.

“We all do, don’t we?” his godmother replied. “Don’t worry. We already signed the adoption form for you and John.”

At that moment, he felt relieved that his godparents were there to look after him. “Thank God! I have to tell John!” He felt like all the weight that he had been carrying around had been lifted from his shoulders when he ran to John.

“John, our godparents are here!” he said eagerly.

“Really?” John’s eyes widened with surprise. “That’s great!”

We’ve been saved! Fred thought in his mind. We’ve been SAVED!

He enthusiastically led the way back to their godparents. As he got into their godparents’ car, he felt like he was leaving so many things behind. But he also knew that he was starting a new life and that he needed to stop worrying about the past and focus on making his future a bright one. Mom’s words echoed in his mind: Your troubles are there to make your good times better. With that, he smiled and got into the car, his new life beginning with a fresh start.

Epilogue

Fred, John, and their godparents’ children, Anna and Linda, sat at a table upstairs, laughing and talking while playing Catan. As Fred moved the robber after rolling a seven, he looked at Anna with a smug look. “I’m cutting off your source of brick! HA!”

Anna whined, “That’s not fair!”

John laughed, “Come on, little bro. Why do you bully innocent girls?” This made all of them burst into laughter.

“Boys and girls, it’s time for dinner!” Mrs. Myers called kids from downstairs.

“We’re coming!” the four of them replied.

As the day progressed, the brothers and sisters played many more games, talked about more things, and laughed more at each other’s jokes. The Myers seemed like any other cheerful family, except… they didn’t have a blood relationship. Fred and John were brothers, but their “parents” were actually their godmother and godfather. But did that change anything? No, it didn’t. The brothers got along with the parents, they got along with the sisters, and they got along with each other. This is normal… isn’t it? It isn’t. Many teens often have relationship issues, so how are they so close?

The earthquake. They lost their parents in it and mourned for many, many days. But, before the earthquake, the brothers’ relationship was full of cracks, like the ground during the earthquake. But the earthquake brought them together, because they knew that there was no way they could survive without each other, and mended the chasms in their relationship. While the earthquake tore the family apart, it also put a long-lost relationship back together and even expanded it by adding their godparents’ children into the brothers’ friendship. That was the fate destined for the Hawthorne brothers.

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