CHAPTER TWO

Boy was Serena in for a rude awakening. Things were about to go from disappointment and disheartening to earth shattering depression.

"Are you ready, Serena?" called the dulcet tones of a middle aged man. This was her father, Mr Ken Johnston, proud owner of a cozy restaurant and the father of Serena.

"Coming, Dad. I'm almost done," replied Serena.

For the past 8 months, Serena and her father had been living in a small apartment next to the restaurant. Today they were finally able to move to their brand new home that has finished being built the week before.

Serena looked around one last time in the room that she had called her home and could not see anything that she might have forgotten to pack. This was it! The start of a new beginning. Her father had been saving for this house for a very long time. It had been the dream of both her parents to own their own piece of land and home. Serena was just saddened by the fact that her mother had not lived to see their dream come true. Serena's mother, Irene, had died of leukaemia when Serena was just 3 years of age. She did not know her mother but she had always missed the presence of her Mom.

Serena's father had tried his best to fill that emptiness that Irene had left and Serena would be eternally grateful for that. There was just something different about having a mother do it for you. She missed out on the bonding that you can only have with a mother. Serena always felt jealous whenever she saw her friends interacting with their own mothers. But she knew it was not something she could change. She was grateful and thankful that she still had her Dad by her side. And you could not find a more loving and stronger bond than the one between Serena and her father.

"Okay, I'm ready," Serena exclaimed when she finally made her way to the front door with her belongings.

Her father was standing with the doors opened to their van.

"Let's go," Mr Johnston excitedly said.

And off they drove the full 15 minutes to their brand new two-storey house. And right behind them was the removalist truck that held the rest of their belongings.

"Wow!"

The look on Serena's face was enough to let Ken know that Serena fell in love with the house right away. It was the first time that she had seen the house. Her dad had kept the mystery of what the house would look like for the entire eight months. It was the same plan that he and his wife had devised together in the early years of their marriage. Seeing it finished for the first time brought nostalgia to Ken. He was saddened that his was wife was not here to witness this but he knew that she would be happy for him and Serena.

"I'm glad you like it."

"I love it, Dad," Serena stated with stars in her eyes. The house was exactly how she dreamt it would be. Cozy, warm and welcoming were the words that sprang to mind. It wasn't too big and it wasn't too small either.

"It's perfect!"

Just as Ken and Serena hopped off the car they heard the chorus of Serena's friends from behind. Serena turned and saw Amy, Lita, Raye and Mina who was also dragging a smiling Andrew.

"We've come to help!" said Lita.

"And I got dragged here," said Andrew. No matter, he thought. After all, it wasn't every day that he got to be with five amazingly gorgeous girls. It would be a nice change.

One by one each of them grabbed a box and hauled them into the house. The truck was unloaded within half an hour which was a miracle considering the amount of things the father and daughter had amassed over the years. Once that was done, they worked together to organise what were in the boxes and the furniture in their rightful place. It was a wonderful experience. Full of laughter and general excitement all around. It took them close to four hours to finish everything. They were exhausted but they were happy.

"Here is dinner to thank you all for your hard work," said Mr Johnston. He brought to the table plates and plates of wonderful food. Mr Johnston was the best cook they knew in town.

"It looks great!" was the general consensus from all around the table.
"Thank you for come to help, everyone!" reiterated Serena.

"Cheers to this new home," stated Andrew. They toasted and dg into the delicious food set before them.

Again, there was merriment from everyone present. Just as they started digging into the dessert Serena felt a little rumble under her feet. She thought that it might have been a truck passing by and so put if off her mind. She kept eating her cheesecake and then felt it again, only this time it was a little more powerful.

"Did you feel that?" she asked everyone.

"Feel what?" asked Lita. Everyone stopped and looked at her.

Another tremor went through her feet.

"That."

"What is it?" enquired Raye who had yet to feel anything.

This time the whole house shook and a glass fell from the table, shattering on the floor. And then the shaking started and panic finally set in. the whole house was shaking and they realized that an earthquake was happening all around them. It was a pretty common occurrence for all of them. They experience small earthquakes every month or so but this seemed to be a really powerful one.

With adrenaline finally kicking in, they all ran for the door. Once outside everyone started frantically checking to see if they were all okay or if anyone had sustained injury. As they stood there, they witnessed the newly built house collapse to the ground with a loud crash.

Serena's father stood there in shock. Their brand new home was no longer. It was destroyed along with all their possessions. Serena just started crying. Her parents' dream had turned to rubble. Their entire world shattered in a matter of minutes.