The Big Tsunami

• Aina Liang, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2021

Coral knew something was wrong. First, the air smelled saltier than usual. She told her mum that, but her mum just said it was because they lived near the beach. Next, Coral could see that the waves were stronger than usual. She told her dad that, but her dad said it was just the wind blowing at the ocean. Coral tried to listen to her mum and dad, but something seemed wrong about the ocean. One afternoon when Coral was walking along the shores of the beach, a big wave came and swept over her. It was so big it soaked Coral to the bottom of her body, and from that day on, Coral was convinced that something was wrong.
“Stop worrying,” said Coral’s mum. “You probably just need some sleep. Tomorrow when you wake up, it will be like nothing happened. Now, would you like some beef or chicken for dinner?” “Chicken.” mumbled Coral. Coral’s mum gave her some chicken and Coral ate it in silence.
That night Coral tried to believe what her mum had said at dinner. ‘Tomorrow when you wake up, it will be like nothing happened.; The words echoed through her head not allowing Coral to sleep. Coral rolled to the other side of the bed to check the time. Her eyes widened as she saw how late it was. It was ten o’clock pm. Coral sat up and turned on the lamp. She got her favourite book out and then started reading it. As she got to the fifth chapter of the book, her eyes started to feel as heavy as a stone, so Coral put the book back and allowed herself to have some sleep.
It was the crashing sound of the waves that woke Coral up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. The waves were so loud that Coral was sure she was just dreaming. Coral got back into bed and went back to sleep.
Coral jolted back awake. Now it was so loud, she couldn’t hear a single sound except the waves. She went over to her window to see why the waves were so noisy. Coral swallowed a scream as she saw that there was a massive wave coming for her house. Coral sprinted to her parents’ room. “Mum! Dad!” screamed Coral. “Go back to your room Coral,” moaned dad. “Come on!” Coral yelled. Her parents didn’t budge, so Coral got her hand and slapped both of her parents’ face as hard as she could.
“What in the world!” yelled Coral’s mum. “What is wrong with you?” “Look outside,” screamed Coral. Coral’s mum and dad looked outside, and their eyes widened as they saw what was happening. “We need to go now!” yelled Coral’s dad. “Follow me everyone.” Coral and her mum followed her dad out the front door. Coral watched in horror as she saw hundreds of people fleeing their houses, just to be swept away by the big wave. What was she going to do?