The Holiday
Sam ran a successful specialist guitar manufacturing company in California, and had just spent the last three weeks in Japan, there was a lot going on right now regarding the expansion of this five S structure and how it could work successfully in any setting. He was looking at how he could make the concept work in his factory, to bring efficiency and effectiveness at the lowest cost possible to himself but needed to preserve as many jobs as he could at the same time, it was a task but he liked to challenge himself.
He smiled for what he was going to meet at home as he walked through the airport, collected his luggage and waited for a cab to get him home
Flashback
Mercy was on a months break from her music, she was so committed to taking this time out that she'd decided to give the Nanny and their parents a break and deal with their three children herself, she announced it was about time she did that anyway, seeing as she'd been on the road for most of their life already, she was missing out.
She'd first fell pregnant at 22 just after they got married, it was all planned, she worked all through pregnancy and gave each child just three months weaning before jumping back into work, hard.
She couldn't do any more time, she became irritable, emotional, basically a pain to live with, she got frustrated with herself for it, but there was nothing she could do to help it, she'd got the stage in her blood and everyone heard about it when she couldn't get on it. Sam demanded at least three months before they planned another child; she needed a proper rest after the babies, and she'd never willing taken long breaks in the 14 years she'd been in the business, so he was more than happy when she'd announced this one month break
He sat watching the road go by as he back filled into why she was actually at home in the first place, they'd both been angry that day, her because she was being asked to choose between her parents 40th wedding anniversary party and a gig in Hollywood for some benefit and him because she was no-verbally telling him she'd chose the Benefit over family, he'd had to send someone else in his place for an important meeting because whatever happened the children needed to be there
"I thought just once we could make the effort and go somewhere as a damn family" he'd shouted across the bedroom as they made ready for bed
"I've committed to this Benefit Sam how's it going to look if I pull out now?"
"Like you family actually matters" he barked back at her
"Of course my family matter and if it had entered my head it was the same day as Mom and Dad's anniversary I would never have booked it but it's done now"
"Sometimes I think I might as well be a single fucking parent family for all the effort you put into this" he hissed
"That's not fair" she snapped back
"You know I think Mom was right, you're never going to get this work home balance thing right, one is always going to outweigh the other and I can see which damn one"
"Why are you having conversations with Mom about me?"
"Maybe because you're hardly ever here to have one with about any damn thing"
"So now as well as neglecting my parents, I'm neglecting my children, your parents and my damn husband?" she rolled her eyes asking
"Neglect maybe a strong word, I didn't say that but..."
"My behaviour still merits conversations all over the place?"
It had probably come out a lot harsher than he'd expected it to because she cried herself to sleep that night, refusing for him to touch her to even try and make things better, she'd left the house the next day without speaking to him. After day three he took time off work and went to her apologised with flowers, the promise of a family holiday and assured her he understood the life they'd agreed for her and she announced she'd made plans to take a month off. He was jumping for joy inside but something inside him was telling him she wouldn't do it, but she did and he gave her props for that.
So their 13 year old son Malli, the girls Shanti 10 and Alli 7 were, for the first five days, up with the birds, downing a solid all important breakfast, driven to school by Mom, instead of the usual chauffeur, lunches were healthy and packed while evening meal was on the table, eaten and children were in bed by the time Sam came in at ridiculous o'clock, she was actually doing a real good job at, proving everyone wrong.
Then the holidays came and that routine went out the window, Sam didn't know who was doing what the children were running the roost and Mercy stood daring him to tell her she was doing anything wrong. He took solace in his work and frequently considered locking the study door to keep the rampage out, and all that was well before the end of the first week.
He laughed as he remembered the children zooming around the house like planes and Mercy trying to be authoritative telling them to stop, they were having none of it and she wasn't admitting defeat, laughing as she saw him watching with a smile on his face
Shanti and Alli were Daddy's girls to the core, anywhere he was they'd be there, bar work, Sam put it down to him being the main carer when they were younger and he'd hoped it would have worn off as they got older but it stuck. Mercy being there was a bit of a novelty for them at the moment so they were trying to capture every minute she was giving them, she looked exhausted, happy and in love all at the same time, he could tell if she'd got a clear choice she'd want to be at home with her children constantly
He loved paying attention to his family, but this was Mercy's time and she'd more or less warned him about keeping out of her business and who the hell was he to try to go against his wife's wishes, he loved his life.
So enough was enough four days into week one, the children were running the roost and he was going to burst and put things right if he stayed any longer, Thursday morning he overruled his executives and took the trip to Germany himself to hear about some improvements on production, his favourite topic. He'd found the detail interesting and on investigation heard the leaders in the field where based in Japan, he didn't hesitate, he'd got this thing in his blood right now, he got on the phone and had the conversation with Mercy, stressed the urgency, later that day he was making his way from Germany to Japan to hear about the ground breaking success on the use of the five S in their factories.
He'd been fascinated with their expansion on the Ford concept and how they'd mastered the art of transforming a fifteen hour process down to a 6.5 minute process by providing the right tools and training for staff to complete the task, he could do that, he walked away thinking as his mind started working on the detail of his action plan.
He'd been in Japan for two days, just planning his to do list when Mercy called "You need to come home, I need you" she said down the phone, he didn't ask any questions, he'd get like that sometimes when she'd been away, especially on their birthday week, he rounded up what he was doing and got on a plane home smiling as he envisaged, her standing there sexually frustrated while the children were running rings around her, because the only thing she'd have on her damn mind was him.
End of Flashback
He dragged his cases out of the cab and stood looking at his favourite place on earth, a smile on his face for what was waiting for him as he took his key out and made for the front door "Daddy" he heard before the key actually finished turning in the lock, it was obvious their Mom was doing their heads in, he laughed thinking he knew exactly what that felt like
"Guys" he smiled as stress melted away, the business man disappeared and he became Daddy and husband again, with all the places in the world he'd ever visited in his lifetime so far, and there had been a few, this one gave him the best feeling, he hugged his children giving and receiving kisses as he looked around for his wife. He frowned as he looked around the living room to see piles of clothes, bunches of toys and piles of papers all over the place
"Hi" he heard making his head jump as Mercy came out the kitchen, he smiled as he looked at her for a second, stood there with food all over her face and apron "I missed you" she smiled as her hands flopped down to her side "Give me a minute" she smiled turning to re-enter the kitchen, seeing he was engrossed in the children, she needed to clean up so she could touch his expensive suit
He'd heard her, but the children were jumping around shouting at him, demanding his attention right now, he smiled at her acknowledging her words before looking back down at the children firing questions at him, asking for information and making requests everything was coming at him all at the same time. He knew they wouldn't stop until they were empty or their Mom pulled rank and demanded his attention, their talking getting faster
"So can we?" Malli asked as all three suddenly stood in silence looking up at him
"What did your Mom say?" he asked looking down at them blankly
"She doesn't know, it's a surprise" Alli told him, rolling her eyes as she realised he hadn't actually heard anything of what they'd said, Sam looked back at the kitchen door his mind was on his wife already, it had been a week
"One at a time" he waved his hands at them saying trying to calm them down "I can't hear myself think" he told them as they waved him down to their level
"It's Mom's 35th birthday and we want to do her a surprise party, what do you think?" Shanti asked
"No" Sam giggled "You know your Mom can't stand surprises"
"Told you" Malli laughed at the girls, rolling his eyes "Both as boring as each other" he walked away telling his sisters as they followed him, all three gutted
"You did right, I really don't want a party"Mercy walked up to him bringing a smile to his face his hands going out to grab hold of her
"I missed you too" he smelt her hair, as he snuggled his face into her neck and stayed there for a while, his arms completely full of her and trying to get more in "God" he closed his eyes drinking her in as she lifted her head to grab his lips
"Hold that thought" she tapped his chest as she pulled away
"No, just a few minutes more" he pulled her back in, his eyes still closed as they stood just holding each other for as long as they wanted
"We were making birthday cakes" she walked away saying, when he finally loosened his grip on her
"I think you were making the cakes, the children were..." he laughed
They listen to me, sometimes" she laughed as she walked back to the kitchen
"Listen I was thinking of doing something different for our birthdays this year, how about we go on that holiday I promised, fly out on your birthday, celebrate the children's while we're there and do something for just us when we get back for mine, what do you say?" he followed her asking
"Book it" she smiled
The afternoon was fairly tame once the children got used to him being in the house again, Sam sat on the couch watching his world unfold in front of him as the children went upstairs to practice some performance they wanted to do after dinner and Mercy went to start the dinner. He took the opportunity to look around the room again, noticing no one had broached the clothes hanging all over the lay low in the corner, the papers scattered all over the dining table they were expecting to use any time now, and the expensive toys littered about like an obstacle course across the floor
"Okay" he got up smiling, as he took all the clothes off the lay low and piled them near the bottom of the stairs, kicking the toys as he went adding to the pile, creating a mound of stuff almost blocking the stairs, smiling as he took the papers off the table and scattered them on the pile, before going back to the couch, to grab his laptop and book the holiday
"Dinner" Mercy shouted a short while later, smiling as the house came back to life, with the children shouting as they came running down the stairs stopping as they got to the bottom step when they came face to face with a pile of their things at the bottom
"Mom" Malli shouted as they all stopped on the bottom step, all of them had what Sam referred to as their 'what the fuck' faces, in the privacy of their bedroom, when they were alone and laughing at whatever funny stuff the children had done throughout the day
"I said dinner" she shouted back "Come and get the cutlery and set the table" she instructed
"We can't get past" Malli shouted through
"Get past wha..." Mercy came out the kitchen, looking at the mess on the floor near the stairs before laughing "Serves you right" she looked at them saying "I've been saying it for weeks, you're lucky, I was going to throw it all out"
"Dad" Alli looked over at him hoping for some backing on this
"I'm not getting involved" he told them not looking up as he pretended to look closer at his laptop, Mercy looked at him and laughed, he'd started all this, but she was going to finish it
"Okay here's the deal" Mercy clapped her hands telling everyone "Dinner first, then put away what you want anything left is going to be thrown away" she walked off back towards the kitchen, coming back with dinner
"I have an announcement" Sam looked up telling them as they dived into desert "We're doing something different for our birthdays this year if you guys get this place looking like our home again in the next three hours, I plan on booking us a holiday" he told them smiling at Mercy as the children roared in excitement. At 9pm Mercy finally called bed, making Sam smile as they followed the children upstairs to inspect the rooms, locked the house down, set the alarms and went off to bed themselves,
"At last" Sam huffed as they closed their bedroom door "Do you want a drink?" he asked as he watched Mercy walking towards the bathroom
"Yeah bring it in" she smiled at him, stripping as she walked, turning the taps on as she sat on the side of the bath putting their usual fragrances in the flowing water
"How's it really been?" he asked rubbing her shoulders as she fell back into the relax
"I love our children, but they insist on giving me such a hard time and I know I deserve it, I've never really been there for them, I just hope they let up soon"
"You've always been there for them, they're taking the piss" he turned the taps off telling her flicking the water before stripping his clothes off, watching Mercy get in before doing the same "Don't be so hard on yourself, they're going to take whatever you let them, tell them you know their game and give them orders with consequences"
"Malli's just a little shit to put it nicely" she laughed "He's the worst at making me feel bad, everything I do he tells me I did it wrong but I wouldn't know because I've never been around"
"What?" Sam asked shocked "He says that?"
"Yeah, the girls are cute about it you know, Daddy lets us do this or do that, but you wouldn't know" she smiled "They've all got their handle and between them I'm getting battered" she lay on his chest letting the bubbles do their thing as she spoke "But I'm really glad your back, you're on my side aren't you?" she turned to look at him asking
"Always" he kissed her nose telling her "But don't think I'm going to sit back and let that happen, we're having some serious words tomorrow"
"But then they're going to think I can't handle things without you wading in"
"Then they're going to remember they have a Mother and a damn Father and that there's a line, all actions have a consequence"
"I guess" she moved some water about telling him, they lay there for a while before Sam spoke again
"Come to bed" he got up holding his hand out for her to grab, his body visibly ready for her bringing a smile to her face, she loved that look on his face, the one that told her he was about to fall in love all over again, he almost looked virginal "I've had these thoughts in my head for like a week, I need to get them out"
"That's totally fine by me" she smiled as he pulled her onto his chest, wasting no time in grabbing her lips
"I missed you" he let her go, stepping out the bath and watching her step out before he pushed her up against the cold tiled wall making her smile she loved this Sam, he was going to make so much noise, but she could play with this, she pulled away "This really isn't the time to tease Mercy" he told her as he watched her putting music on and walking towards her dresser "No, that's not happening" he laughed, walking over to her and taking the body cream off her before pulling her off the chair "Get on the damn bed" he almost threw her across the room saying
"Sam" she moaned her face smiling when she turned to look at him, he felt that smile travel all the way to his heart, melting away any anger he felt at her not giving in to him a minute ago, he loved this woman, and more importantly she loved him back
There was no foreplay, that had happened over the past week, he watched as she lay on the bed giving herself to him, her hands left the bed and slid down his back touching every tense muscle as she went feeling them relax and his behind tensing as he moved steadily against her, she pulled his head down to hers and kissing him
"Sam" she gasped as his need quickened, smiling as his eyes opened to look at her, she saw so many emotions in his eyes, love, passion, adoration, desire and even concern, she smiled as he looked at her like she was the only woman in the world, like the only two people that existed right now was them, the music filled the room for seconds before their noises overpowered it. He grabbed hold of her flesh and moved her faster against him, as their moans got louder "Mercy" he gasped "I ..."
"Sam" he heard and that noise burst the floodgates for him, he knew she was there he was too, he grabbed her bouncing breast in his mouth, pressed her against his hardness
"I love you" he let out with what felt like his last breath
"I love you too" she gasped her eyes open and focused on him as his hands held her to him restricting her movement they watched each other while their bodies jerked until relax came before she flopped onto his chest "God I missed you" she looked at him, grabbing his lips as she spoke
"I needed that to last forever"
"I guess I pick quality over quantity now a days" she smiled back at him "A weeks is much too long"
"You do it all the time" he laughed
"I know, but I don't want to anymore"
"What are you saying?"
"I guess I want to slow down a bit, well a lot really"
"Define slow down" Sam looked at her puzzled, this woman had made it her life's work to entertain, she knew nothing else, and now here she was after him being away for just a week telling him she wanted to change her life to what .. spend more time?
"I need to connect with my family, your Mom was right I've lost that balance, and I miss you, I dread to think how you feel when I'm away"
"I'm not going to argue against that"
"Thank you" she kissed him before he spooned her in his arms, his head resting on her neck as they spoke "Wake me up in the morning yeah?"
"Sure thing" he kissed her neck saying as they settled into sleep
The next morning he woke her up as he'd promised, she smiled as he fell back to sleep before she got up humming as she fixed breakfast for the still sleeping children and left it in the oven before going back upstairs to wake Sam up "Malli" Sam called as he walked into the bedroom with Mercy in tow "I need to speak to you son"
"Dad" he wined "Give me a chance to wake up"
"Get up" he told him his tone made Malli look up
"What's up?"
"What's up?" Sam asked him his face not pleased at all as he dared his son to ask again with his expression "Your Mom tells me, you keep making her feel guilty for working hard enough so you can have all this unnecessary crap in your own room, go to that expensive school you go to, have the damn holidays you go on two times a year, eat three meals a day and live in this beautiful house?"
"I...I didn't mean..."
"Did I tell you it was time to speak?"
"No Dad" he sat up in his bed telling him
"Any more of that young man and your life will drastically change, I won't have you disrespecting your Mom, do you hear me"
"Yes Dad" he sat looking between the two of them, Mercy's face showing tell tale signs of regretting telling Sam anything
"Now get up and get packed, we've got a holiday to get to, another one you're Mom's money's paying for" he grabbed Mercy's hand and made for the girls room, his voice considerably softer than the tone he used with Malli as he knocked their door "Shanti" he called through the door "We're coming in" he turned the handle, smiling as her head popped out of the duvet "Mercy will you got Alli?" he asked letting her hand go as he watched her walk through the adjoining door and come back with Alli a few minutes later "Morning sleepy" he smiled when she ran to him sitting on Shanti's bed
"Morning Daddy" she smiled looking sideways at her Mom
"And that's just what I want to talk to you girls about" he smiled at Alli saying "I don't like it one bit that you girls think you can talk to Mom any way you want and get away with it, I'll be really angry if Mom comes to me again telling me about you girls disrespecting her, hurt her and you seriously hurt me, she was here before the lot of you and I'm always going to be on her side, so..." he looked at them expecting an answer
"Sorry Mom" the girls looked up at Mercy singing
"Now get some clothes out and get packed, we'll be back to check once you've decided"
Five hours later they were fed, dressed and sitting in the first class section on a plane making the journey to a small Island near Kerguelen in the Indian Ocean "Mom" Shanti came walking down the Isle shouting "Malli won't play nice" she announced as Mercy tried to concentrate on the mess Alli was making as she sat between her and Sam
"Sit here" she got up looking at Sam as she moved to go sit by Malli "You need to treat your sister better" she sat next to him saying, smiling as he grunted and went back to his action movie
They finally got to Hotel Maryland set on the sea front a brand new complex, he'd heard about it when he was on his business trip Mr Hoo had stayed with his family and said it was amazing, and it was, everything was new as they made to complain about their ground floor apartment not being available only to find they'd been upgraded to the penthouse condo. They didn't need anything else, there was a mini bar, activities for the children and a nanny service, private pool, Jacuzzi, balcony and the view was stunning looking out over the blue sea mingling with the sky seamlessly.
The children went off to tour the hotel and find their clubs while Sam and Mercy got ready for some well earned pool time with cocktails. The evening entertainment happened as they ate and by 8pm everyone was ready for bed, they'd had a full day, they closed the day watching the lanterns being let off, people hugging as they stood watching them get smaller before clapping the end of day and retiring to their apartment. They put the children to bed, grabbed a drink and finally lay watching the beautiful full moon over the sea from the bedroom talking "Happy birthday Babe" he smiled kissing her before they fell asleep.
The next day was a cheery wake up call as Malli's birthday cake was delivered for breakfast, they sat watching him open presents, and blowing out candles before they ate breakfast and made their way to the beech to play some football and do some water stuff of his choosing, ending with snorkelling enjoying meeting some beautifully exotic sea life, had a bit of a dance after dinner and went to bed a bit later as they closed their eyes on day two of their holiday, Alli found it hard to sleep and ended up in their bed for the night
The next morning was a rest day, they went down to breakfast, Sam arranging stuff for Alli's birthday the following day as Mercy kept them occupied with her story telling in their suite away from the sun. "I don't believe you" she laughed as she walked towards him stretched out on the sunbed "I though this was a holiday?" she sat beside him asking
"It is sorry I was just checking some emails"
"Well don't" she took his phone off him and threw it on her lounger "Surely they can do without you for a week"
"They can" he pulled her down to sit on his telling her
"Dad" Shanti shouted with a ball in her hand "In the pool" she shouted making to jump in
"Watch Alli" he shouted back at her getting up to go supervise their pool time
Mercy grabbed her book and sat in his lounger looking over it at her family playing in the pool "Malli" she called as she saw him walking off "Where are you going?"
"To get an Ice cream" he shouted back
Mercy
Suddenly sound seemed to stop, she noticed because the ice crusher that was going behind her stopped, she looked up at her family and back down at her book, the silence was deafening, she looked back up noticing the breeze that came from nowhere, getting stronger fast "Sam" she almost whispered as she looked up in the sky at the birds all moving in the same direction towards them. A loud rumble alerting everyone that something was on it's way everyone stood looking at the scene, in the distance they could see the palm trees falling, Mercy looked around for her family Malli was the furthest away and the closet to the sea "Malli" she screamed
Sam stood in the pool holding Alli while Shanti chased the ball a short distance away "Shanti" he called his hand telling her to get to him "Mercy" he looked back calling
"Malli" she shouted "He's out there" she pointed to the sea, suddenly the sea came into view it was much higher than the hotel roof, washing over the whole hotel and for what seemed like an eternity everything was in darkness as they were emerged in dirty water, sand and debris. When the silence stopped Mercy was hanging onto a tree that had found her, dazed and disorientated "Sam" she screamed unsure of where he or any of her children were "Sam" she screamed again as shock took over her body and she shivered and cried uncontrollably "Malli, Shanti, Alli" she looked around all she could see was water and debris. she clung to the tree crying, weak and scared "Malli" she gasped as she saw his body floating past her, she let go of the tree and grabbed him, the water immediately taking hold of them and dragging them further in land as she clung onto her son
Eventually she managed to grab hold of a piece of floating wood and fought to get him on top of it "Malli" she leaned him against the wood tugging at him "Malli" she shook him harder crying when she finally saw life in his body "Thank God" she wiped mud from her face saying when he looked at her, suddenly they hit something and the wood went about it's business leaving them floating away from each other panic set in as Mercy fought against the tide to get back to her son
"Mom" Malli shouted as they looked at another wave coming towards them "Hold on to something" he shouted, Mercy looked around but there was nothing she waded in the water waiting for the wave to hit. There was that noise filled silence as the water hit them again, this time it was full of debris as anything that was being washed away hit them, this time it was Mercy that was lifeless as Malli grabbed hold of her "Mom" he shook her scared for what this could be "Mom" he screamed and his voice seemed to bring her back from the nothingness "You need to swim" he told her grabbing her arm as she weakly followed him. They were swimming for a short while before the water subsided enough for them to stand on their feet, and that was when Mercy realised she'd been hurt, her leg was gashed at the calf Malli ripped the bottom of his shorts and tied it around her wound. "I'm scared" he looked up at her tears in his eyes
She hugged him and cried with him before whispering in his ear "I'm scared too baby" she looked around, they had no idea where they were or where they needed to be "We can't stay here we have to move in case another wave comes" she grabbed hold of him for support as they started to walk through the swamp
"Help" they heard a child shouting, Mercy looked around trying to find the noise
"We can't cope with anything else Mom you're hurt, we need to find you help" Malli told her knowing she wanted to find the child
"What if it was Shanti or Alli would you want someone to leave them?"
"No" he looked at her shamefully replying before they moved in the direction of the noise and found a boy maybe 6 years old "What's your name?" he asked
"Daniel" the boy told them pleased to see someone else, Mercy grabbed him and they carried on walking
"I'm Malli" he smiled at the boy telling him "You'll be alright with us"
They survived on canned food and chocolate bars they found along the way and there seemed to be an endless supply of cans of soda as they walked, they didn't know where they were going all they knew for sure was that all around them was total devastation for miles, dirty watery ground and above them the bluest sky, giving a mixed message of the beautiful island they'd landed on less than three days ago.
"It's Alli's birthday" Malli told her when they woke up to a glimpse at sunrise, all they could do was hold each other and cry, Daniel started crying because of it and they quickly pulled themselves together for him, ate chocolate for breakfast and carried on walking
"What was that?" Mercy stopped walking to ask as she heard noise again "I think someone's... listen" she smiled as they heard talking, they couldn't understand what was being said but they knew it was voices "Help" she shouted waving her hand so someone would see them "Help" she dragged her injured leg along faster shouting as Malli tried to keep up with her and keep hold of Daniels hand "Help us please" she finally stopped walking as she saw an elderly man standing in front of her. She really didn't know how exhausted and in pain she was until there was someone there to take care of Malli and Daniel, the pain hit her like a fire bolt and she screamed so hard it hurt her lungs, she could see Malli standing there upset but she had no control over it "Stay with me Malli, don't let them separate us" she told him as she went in favour of drinking the potion they'd presented her with
"I will" Malli told her quickly wanting her noise to stop, concerned when she blacked out
She woke up to being stripped and tried to fight it at first not knowing what was happening, she realised they were all women and when they presented her with a clean gown she quietened down ad accepted the help "Mom it's alright" she heard Malli saying in the background as she was transported to a truck of some sort
"Where's Daniel?" she asked
"I ... I don't know" he looked around for him telling her as the truck pulled off, she cried because they'd lost the baby boy
They drove for a long while before they finally came to a hospital, everything and everyone was busy dealing with the aftermath of the Tsunami that had wiped their world away, everything seemed frightening as people came towards them talking a different language they had no idea what was being said of done to them, suddenly she was inside the building and the wheels of her bed stopped moving when she found herself in some sort of medicine room, seconds later a doctor burst into the room
"I need something to stop the bleeding" she told him as he looked at her blankly
"Stop the bleeding" Malli pointed at her wound telling them, watching as the doctor went into action, giving her a shot to put her to sleep to do what they needed to do
"If anything happens to me I wan..." she got out before she fell asleep, when she woke up Malli was smiling back at her "Hi" she smiled "What colours my leg?" she asked
"Normal why"
"Normal as in the same as my other leg or darker?"
"Normal"
"Keep an eye on it and let me know if it gets darker" she told him laying back down and closing her eyes, wading in and out of sleep checking if Malli was still there "Hey" she smiled "You always wanted to be a doctor, go see if you can be helpful" she told him wanting to get rid of his worried face "Go on I'm going nowhere, but stay in the hospital"
"Hi" he said to the first patient he passed, stopping as the man called to him
"Rebecca Green, find her for me I beg you?"
"Rebecca Green?" Malli confirmed before he went off shouting the name around the hospital as he went people were adding names to his list, finally after about thirty minutes of shouting he found Rebecca Green, she was in a worse state than the man looking for her so he ran back and got the man and stood smiling at the reunion he'd helped to make happen, he was proud of himself. He ran back to tell his Mom what he'd done to find her bed empty "Mom?" he looked around at the nurses asking "Where's my Mom?" he asked as he watched them move a man into his Mom's bed "Where is she?" he shouted as everyone looked on, most couldn't understand what he was saying "I want my Mom" he flung some things around shouting, a nurse came towards him calming him down before she attempted to ask him some questions an hour later and he was no closer to finding his Mom
"What's your name?" an English speaking woman finally appeared asking as Malli sat answering her questions
"So where's my Mom?" he asked when she'd finished
"We'll see if we can find her for you, just come stay in here" she took him to a noisy ward where there were other children playing with toys and stuck a label on him, he sat and cried at the realisation that he was alone
Sam
Sam had been out again day three after the Tsunami and he'd been looking for Mercy and Malli non stop, he'd got back to the hotel, sitting in the last place he'd seen his family trying to stay strong and positive, he had to find the strength to be normal yesterday for Alli's birthday, that was hard trying to make the best of a very bad situation but today it was Shanti's birthday and she was a bit more difficult, she was an emotional wreck, definitely her Dad's daughter, they were finding it hard to think about life without Malli and Mercy in it.
"Hi Dad did you find them?" Shanti looked through the door asking him, as she sat on what was left of the bed in their hotel suite
"No sweet but I got you some Chocolate, happy birthday" he smiled handing it to her
"It's not Mom or Malli though is it?" she took it asking him
"No it's not" he hugged her saying "But I'm back out tomorrow" he grabbed his side telling her, he'd been stabbed in the ribs by some debris in the second wave. The first wave had forced them into the hotel, he was a strong swimmer and kept hold of the girls as he swam up the stairs until he got to the top where they could breathe, he'd kept them above water level as the tide went back out which wasn't long after it came in and eventually they hit ground. He'd quickly made his way to the top floor, seeing the second wave coming he'd locked them in the closet and waited it out, luckily the walls were solid and they survived it, the girls were traumatised and painfully Sam had to spend the first day with them calming them down
"What are we going to do?" Alli asked
"I heard everyone's going to a ranch in the mountains because they'll be safe there I want you girls to go up there too, there'll be warm beds and proper food and I'll be able to go further out to look for Mom and Malli"
"Yeah we should go" Shanti told him
"No sweet I won't go, I've got to stay here to find Mom and Malli"
"You can't, we can't leave you" Shanti told him concerned for what he was suggesting "I've never looked after anyone before I wont be able to.."
"You're the only person in the world I trust to look after Alli" he smiled "I'm scared about all this too, the scariest bit for me was coming up from under that water and not having you guys Mom and Malli with me"
"So stay with us" Alli told him
"I can't leave here without Mom and Malli"
The next day he put them on the truck told them he loved them and sent them off asking Chrissy; one of the women on the truck to keep an eye over them, all the women and children had finally left the hotel. that day he went much further out than he'd ever dared before shouting as he went in the hope that Mercy or Malli would answer, nearing night as he walked thinking this was not his plan for any of them on their birthday lights flashed at him getting bigger as it moved, the army truck stopped in front of him, soldiers unwilling to hear his excuses they forced him into the truck and took him with them.
It was his birthday and he was sitting with a group of people all talking about their experience, some real horror stories as he realised he had one himself, he decided to share his story with these people, it was a far cry from where he was less than a week ago, as he sat there admitting to these people that his real fear was not seeing his wife ever again "Do you want to use my phone?" one of the guys listening asked him
"Please" Sam told him taking the phone out of his hand and dialling his Dad's number "Dad" he shouted when he answered "We're on an Island in the Indian Ocean, yes we were affected" he looked up at the many people sitting around listening to him "I know where the girls are but I can't find Malli and Mercy" tears came from nowhere as he cried to his Dad shouting down the phone asking him what he meant "I don't know what to do, I've been looking for days, nobody... I can't ... I can't come home without them I can't.." he bawled into the phone clicking it off as he cried loudly
Shanti & Alli
Shanti surprised herself at how much she was stepping it up to look after her little sister, she felt really grown up having to make sure she was brushing her teeth, eating all her meals and getting enough sleep, she'd found herself being protective maybe a bit too much but she'd been given responsibility and Mom always told her to take that seriously so she was "Can I sit with you?" an elderly woman asked smiling as she made to sit down anyway
"How old are you?" Shanti asked as Alli lay on her shoulder just looking around
"I'm 72" the woman smiled
"And I'm 11, that's an inappropriate relationship" she told her moving away
"I just noticed your sister looking up at the stars, I'm interested too"
"My Dad's interested in it too" Alli sat up telling her as Shanti looked at her telling her to stop, they sat for a while listening to the woman explain what was going on in the sky before Shanti announced they were going to sleep and left her sitting there, the next day, the lady their Dad entrusted them to put them on a truck and they were on their way to higher ground with the lady they'd spoken to the night before
"It's Dad's Birthday" Shanti told Alli as they drove along
"Happy Birthday Dad" Alli smiled
"Yeah happy birthday Dad"
They sat watching the road as they were transported to some unknown destination along with other children, as far as Shanti could make out there was a specific hospital where all children were being taken for their parents to find them further up in the hills
Malli
"Malli come with me" the nurse walked into the room telling him, he didn't respond other than to jump up and follow her, they asked more questions and took some items out of a bag and showed them to him "Do any of these things mean anything to you?"
"No" he looked up at them puzzled
"Okay go with that nurse, she'll take care of you" they took him back to the ward where the children were, he sat wondering what that was all about, he heard laughter and looked up surprised to see Daniel laughing and playing with some children. He went to walk towards him watching as he moved off and left the ward, Malli stood at the door watching him as he ran into the arms of a man, who lifted him up and laughed with him, Malli's heart melted as he heard Daniel say Daddy, a tear as he remembered his own father and his sisters
"Malli" he heard spinning around to see the nurse standing there "Come with me" she smiled
He felt his heart beat fast at the look on her face, he quickly followed her to an office watching as she opened the curtain "Mom" he cried with relief his lungs finally taking in air "I thought you were dead" he ran towards her
"Where the hell have you been" she asked grabbing hold of him
"Where the hell have you been, you told me you were going nowhere?" he laughed "You frightened me"
"What colour is my leg?" she asked
"It's normal" he lifted the sheet telling her, watching as she faded back into unconscious before he went to report his findings to the nurse, telling them his Mom's leg had got worse, they stood in discussion before the nurse turned to tell him they were taking her to theatre
"I'll be alright" Mercy told him as she looked into his worried face "Really I will" she grabbed his hand telling him as they prepared her for surgery
"Mom I'm scared" he kissed her telling her in her ear
"Me too but hey" she tugged at him "It's Dad's birthday, happy birthday Dad" she cheered "Only good things happen on Dad's birthday"
"You said this was our lucky week" he frowned "This doesn't feel like luck"
"So?" she lay asking him
"Happy birthday Dad" he rolled his eyes telling her, watching as she closed her eyes
Sam
Sam had found a man with a phone and called his Dad back the conversation finishing with him vowing to find his family and get them all back home or die doing it. He'd jumped on a truck volunteering to take pregnant women to the hospital at the top of the mountain the only one that had adequate provisions to take care of patients, his aim to stop at every hospital to search for his family.
He finally reach the ranch he'd sent his children to and set about getting them back to take the journey to the top of the mountain to safety "Chrissy" he shouted when he spotted her talking to a man in the market place "Chrissy" he smiled when he got to her "My girls, where are my girls?" he interrupted her conversation asking
"Sorry Sam they took them and they wouldn't let me go with them, I'm sorry"
"What do you mean, I left them with you?"
"You left them Sam not with me you left them" she told him not wanting to take on the responsibility, walking off with the man she was talking to as she spoke
Sam stood with tears in his eyes, his struggle had just gotten one hundred times harder, he'd lost everything, he'd visited two hospitals on his way up the mountain the first was almost uninhabitable, the second had mostly natives in it and all his hope was pinned on his family being at the last one at the pinnacle of this damn mountain. He hardly spoke throughout the journey his mind asking himself the same question, why didn't he just let them all eat the damn cake she'd made and suffer the consequences "We're here" one of the other volunteers shouted as the truck came to a stop, Sam helped some of the ladies off before he went about his own business
Top of the Mountain
The hospital was massive, it was obvious the top of the mountain had been fattened and the outer external walls of the hospital were actually carved into the rock, it could take a day to walk around this place and a prayer to find anyone in it. In the middle of it was a village with market stalls, shops and even houses the complex was that big, he'd never seen anything like it, he stood looking around wondering where the hell to start
Malli was waiting for his Mom to come out of surgery, he needed good news, he hadn't thought past her not being there for him, he hadn't even took time to think about his Dad and his sisters too hard, he couldn't he'd needed to be strong from the second that thing hit, all that was in his head was keeping his Mom alive and now that was in the hands of someone else, he stood on the balcony looking down at the people in the market trying to get on with life "Dad" he gasped as he saw him standing in the crowd looking around lost "Dad" he shouted but there was way too much noise going on for him to hear anything, he made off towards him
"I need the toilet" Alli whispered to Shanti as the truck came to a halt
"Wait until they tell us where we'll be, we can't get lost"
"But I need the toilet" Alli sat in the truck shaking "I've got to..." she got up, let the flat at the back of the truck down and jumped out
"Alli" Shanti shouted after her following her
"I need to wee" she told her refusing to go back
"Hurry up" se stood shielding her as she done her business "Come on" she grabbed her hand pulling her saying as she stood back up
"Malli" Alli shouted looking across the market at her brother
"What?" Shanti looked back at her asking
"Malli over there" she pointed as they both looked over seeing Malli standing in the market place spinning round lost "Malli" she shouted again before Shanti joined in and they eventually got his attention letting go of each others hands before running towards him
"Malli" they stood for a second making sure it was him before they lunged at him, he cried as he grabbed hold of his sisters there were no words he could find, people looked on as all three cried loudly in the market place
"Malli" he heard and he knew it was his Father's voice "Malli" his voice tearful as he walked towards him, Malli set off on a run likened to Bolt's sprint leaving his sisters where they were diving into his fathers arms
"Dad" he cried just as loud as his Dad as they hugged and jerked with relief
"Dad" they heard in the background as the girls came running towards them, he was glad to see them too but he knew they were alive, he was just getting confirmation of that right this minute for his only son, he kept a hold of him looking in his eyes as he stroked his hair unable to say the words for how he felt, eventually they loosened their grip on each other and Sam was able to acknowledge his girls picking Alli up to hang off his neck, resting on his chest as Shanti took his left side and he walked with them like a coat around him
"Where are we going?" Malli asked as he checked his Dad walking in the opposite direction to when his Mom was
"I need to find your Mom"
"Mom's here, she's been with me all the time"
"Where ?" Sam asked his heart beating too fast to get anything else out "Is she alright?" he gasped he needed to know
"She's badly hurt, they took her to operate just, this is the second one but she's here" he stopped to talk to his Dad "She's staying alive right now because she's scared for what will happen to me, now I'm scared if she see's you she'll give up"
"She won't" he grabbed his face telling him "I won't allow her to, she knows how I feel about us leaving each other, she'll fight harder"
"Are you sure?" he asked him looking into his eyes for absolute truth
"Positive" he smiled hugging this boy who loved her as much as he did
They all made their way to the ward where he'd left his Mom, she'd just come out of surgery she was groggy, but they were all eager to reunite with their missing link "Hi" Malli smiled when she opened her eyes
"Hi" she smiled "Is it still Dad's birthday?"
"Yeah" he smiled back "Look who I found" he pulled his Dad into her view
"Am I dreaming, did I die?"
"No babe" he smiled "I'm here" he grabbed her hand saying "Can I take this off" he asked of the mask covering her nose and mouth, he didn't wait for an answer he just took it off and kissed her forehead "I've got Alli and Shanti too" he smiled as tears came out of her eyes and a smile formed on her face, she was too restricted to move but her expression said everything. The girls came into view and kissed her cheek making her cry uncontrollably as she forced her hand up and stroked Shanti's hair and Alli's face
"We missed you too Mom and I found responsibility" Shanti told her laughing
"You came to find us?" she looked back at Sam asking "Happy Birthday" she half smiled
"Yes I did, thank you" he smiled back
"I can rest now" she told him begging him to read her mind rather than say things in the open with the children there
"What?" he asked shocked
"Sam I'mm..."
"No your not, your going to be fine, I know you are, they're going to take care of you and you'll be fine because we promised" he grabbed her hand telling her, she closed her eyes remembering
"I... I'm scared"
"We need to do an emergency operation" they heard interrupting their conversation as a Surgeon walked in
"On?" Sam asked looking at Mercy
"She lost a lot of blood and there's some infection we need to get to quickly, it's touch and go because she's had so much done in such a short space of time, but we're trying Mr Evans" the Surgeon told him as the bed started moving
"I love you, you're going to be fine, you know that right?" he grabbed her hand telling her as she looked at him all hope lost "I love you, I can't do this without you, you hearing me?" he walked along with the bed telling her "Malli" he looked up at his son saying when they could go no further with her "Thanks for looking after your Mom you did a great job getting her here"
"We both did what we needed to" he smiled grabbing hold of Shanti standing next to him "We all did" he kissed her cheek telling them "There's something I should have told Mom already but with all the commotion I forgot" he went into meltdown telling them
"Calm down" Sam grabbed him before he got totally out of control, aware that he'd not had the opportunity to take in what had happened yet "You can tell her when she comes back" he smiled hugging him until he felt him relax "Lets go find somewhere to wait" he finally suggested. They sat for hours in silence their lives suspended in time as they all quietly realised she was the glue that held them all together
Mercy was being prodded and poked with things, her mind finally allowing itself to rest knowing for sure Sam and the children were alright, she jumped as her eyes closed as she was back at the hotel about to watch the whole thing happen again in slow motion "No" she screamed making an attempt to fight the gas being kept on her face. The fight quickly left her body as she lay there only her mind working coming to terms with the fact that her life was in the hands of these strangers, for the first time in her adult life she had no control over what was happening to her
The night came slowly and went quickly as they all fell asleep in the waiting area they'd found. Sam walked back to the benches where his children were asleep armed with orange juice and breakfast bars "Mom's going to be alright" he smiled as they all seemed to wake up at the same time to watch him coming towards them "We can go home once they tell us she's out of danger, just another 24 hours"
"Has she woken up yet?" Malli asked
"By the time you guys have downed these she will have" he told them handing them the bars and drinks, they sat hurrying their meal so they could go see their Mom, Sam smiling at the sight he never thought he'd see again at one point in this ordeal they'd been through. He couldn't wait either he jumped up when Alli finally ate the last bite "Come on" he ordered as every one quick marched to the ward "Hi" he smiled at her smiling face "You look much better"
"I feel much better" she grabbed his hand telling him as he bent to kiss her forehead
"Girls" she smiled as they jumped on the sides of the bed carefully touching her where they could, smiling, they had no words
"Malli" she gasped tears in her eyes
"I have to tell you something" he looked at his family telling her "I saw Daniel again, he was over the other side of the hospital with his Dad" he told her as they both started crying and held each other, Sam stood watching tears in his eyes, even looking at death they were thinking about others.
The following day they were given the all clear on Mercy's condition, she'd had a good night and they were sent on the journey to the helicopter pad the other side of the hospital where they were flown to the main airport, they sat in silence looking at the devastation below them, people had died here.
They finally boarded the plane home again there was silence as they looked down this time they were flying over water, leaving that Island in the Indian Ocean that was once a place of beauty and extravagance, now to be remembered by them for its devastation.
"Dad?" Sam asked when the call was answered "I'm just letting you know I found them all, everyone is fine and we're on our way back, we'll see everyone tomorrow when we land" he told them looking at Mercy as she lay there "Could you call Mercy's parents and let them know" he smiled at whatever his Dad said before closing the call "I didn't think you'd want to deal with all the crying and stuff tonight" he told her
"Thank you" she smiled "I need to get up I need the toilet"
"You can't not until we get off the plane" Sam told her
"I need the toilet" Mercy told him
"Gosh that's where Alli gets it from" Shanti rolled her eyes telling everyone before laughing "And that's why we found Malli" she smiled at him Sam finally gave in and picked her up and took her to the bathroom
They landed some six hours later "Finally" Malli said as they touched American soil, the journey home was short, they unloaded Mercy's wheelchair, the children went straight to the bathroom while Sam prepared something for them all to eat before taking Mercy upstairs to sort herself out as best she could with a plastered leg. less than an hour later they were all sat at the table quietly eating their evening meal
"Dad" Alli looked up from her plate looking for his attention
"Yes sweetheart?"
"Next time I think you should let Mommy bake the birthday cakes no matter how horrid they taste" she announced making everyone except Mercy laugh
"What?" Sam asked for her dead eye at him "I never told her your cakes were horrid"
"No he didn't" Malli said "I did, but they're not, I just wanted to ... never mind" he looked at Alli saying "Mom's cakes are the best Poppet, the very best"
"Everything about Mom is the very best" Sam smiled
"Everything about us is awesome" Mercy looked around the table telling everyone "We survived" she told them getting a bit upset as she spoke
"Well I'll always remember this birthday" Shanti told everyone laughing
"You're not joking" Malli agreed
"Anyway it's a full day tomorrow with all grandparents, Uncles, Aunts and cousins descending so go get some rest" Sam announced, watching all the children leave the room, he gathered the plates up and took them to the kitchen leaving Mercy with her thoughts while he cleaned up "Ready for bed?" he asked when he finally entered the living room again
"Yeah in the worst way" she smiled, that mischievous smile she always had when she had a plan
"Not until I get the all clear on your health" he smiled, answering her unsaid suggestion
"You promised we wouldn't do a week again"
"Not even an argument Mrs Evans" he smiled picking her up to mount the stairs
"We'll see" she grinned at him, flinging her arms around his neck looking in his eyes and waiting until he got her to the top of the stairs before taking his lips
"Cheating" he smiled when she let him up, opening the door to see Alli laying in their bed, bringing a smile to his face
"Now who's cheating" she whispered
"We thought we'd sleep in here tonight" Alli announced
"We?" Sam looked around the room laughing
"Yeah we" Malli walked in behind them with his pillow and Shanti following
They all settled into bed laying there hoping to forget "Dad" Malli piped up "No more holiday promises, please"
"How did you know that was on a promise?" he sat up asking
"Everything you do is on a promise" Shanti told him, her and Malli high fiving in agreement
"You've got four days of this left" Sam rolled his eyes at Mercy informing her "Tell me you're going to miss it?"
"Seriously, I'm going to miss it" she kissed him while the children snuggled up
"I love you Mom" Malli looked up at her smiling
"We all do" Alli echoed
"And we're glad you're alright" Shanti told her grabbing her hand as Sam wiped tears from her eyes
"I love you all too" she told them crying for how long it had been since she'd actually told her children that fact
"Sleep guys" Sam ordered seeing this getting really heavy, pulling Mercy to him smiling watching her rest her head on his chest "Goodnight" he said happy to be back in the best place on earth
The End
Loosely based on the film The Impossible