• The winds howled somethin' fierce. Rain and hail pelted the shutters profusely like marbles and beads being thrown at the house. And the weirdest part was the “hurricane proof” windows.

    You could see the storm, right then and there. I sat in front of the biggest one in the house. You see trees being ripped out of the ground and tumbling over to their death. Odd debris rode the wind until corroded with another object, which would probably fall down by themselves.

    I was gambling with my life. The windows had no shutters, they hadn't bothered putting them up. They were wind proof... but I did not trust them. What if a tree smashed into it? I would get killed. But I felt one with the storm... I didn't want to move. Petrified and amazed all at one time, I sat in front of that window in a fetal position, watching the havoc. For hours.

    The eye of the storm had arrived. Everything was calm. Too calm. I put on a pair of old sandals and stepped outside. I would only stay out for five minutes. Hopefully my fellow house mates would not notice my departure. Outside, nothing was to be heard. A dead silence. All of the animals were gone. The ground was moist. Debris covered the ground. Palm trees were tumbled over. The only trees that seemed to stand tall were the Banyans.

    I looked at the neighbors houses. Most of them damaged slightly – some more severely. On one of the houses, their window was smashed in. Ouch.

    When the wind started again, I ran to my house. The eyewall was going to hit, the strongest part of a hurricane. The worst was yet to come.