Chapter 3: Drifting lives

Outcomes of the personal calculation might be riskier as Oliver is thinking. He is there, on the beach, single handedly trying to calculate the distance between the ocean and his designed homes could be.

The whole weekend he is planning to work on it, this is the first day of his weekends. No one showed any type of curiosity what is he doing?

Few kids came to the beach for playing, offered him to play, after hours of calculation that's what he needed for a break. He graciously accepts their offer and end up spending time with them. Those kids were there for a picnic with their family, they were staying in the nearest rental house for a weekend. They all welcomed him with open arms especially their father, he was failing to enjoy the weekends only with his family. He needs a companion and that what Oliver is for him, a man in need to save the lonely father. Oliver shyly smiled for the welcoming words of their father and feeling grateful for the attention. Amicably and graciously he accepted their aquentance for the afternoon lunch.

Oliver meets with their parents, hangout with them for the rest of the day, where the time flew, he didn't realised that but he enjoyed the day. During the evening time, for some reason he missed Lin, perhaps for the last night conversation. It was a good breathe for a change of air. Until now, he didn't come across with someone like her to converse with, he feels great that he did.

Later on, he makes his way to Lin, to see what she is doing, festival is still ongoing.

Lin isn't came up today to her manga stall, someone else is there, Oliver asks him about her but he doesn't know either, their boss just asked him to be here, that's why he is there.

Oliver get nervous about the whole thing, hesitantly reluctant but couldn't decide if he should visit her or not though he knows where she lives. He never did that before for any girl in his life but still.

Lin is on her break, she took the break to visit Emica's parents. She is missing her very badly these days as if a part of her missing for years but she can't find it. Last night, she heard Emica's voice in her sleep, asking her to look at her side, she is on her right side of the bed.

She has to see her parents after what happened to her last night, probably just a dream but still. Her parents were very wealthy family, have their own family business overseas, living in Japan with their only daughter Emica.

Moreover, Emica do have a brother who lives in the America. Lin never felt any curiosity about him because she never saw him in person or met him but she do know one thing about him that he brought up in overseas dorm from his childhood whereas Emica enjoyed her almost whole life with her parents. Why this type of injustice, anyone could be curious but no one ever showed. His name is probably Yuma, he is a hydro mettallurgist who also a student of linguistic anthropology.

Not only Lin but Emica too had no sorts of interest or information on him or his existence. They could not even understand how to approach to him. He was completely another planet for them. He lives alone with his career and their parents overseas business that much they only knew from Emica's parents.

Lin astonishingly surprised that Emica's parents took two orphan children as their own child. Both are quite remarkable and they are not actually children, they are two teenagers, one boy and a girl.

Both teenagers are very close to their parents actually unusually too close. Lin did know that Emica's family is very modern but it seemed too modern for Lin herself. It looks like both of Emica's parents have each other a young lovers. Before Lin could came up with something stupid to think about, she decided to leave.

Confusingly enough, Lin then visits to the local central park for a relaxation. She doesn't have none in her mind to spend time with. Just lazily, walking here and there when she coincidentally walks to Oliver where he is battling with bunch of fishing rods.

Lin felt relieved by the sight of him. All those vintage fishing rods really catch up with their ages as she was thinking when Oliver noticed her. He seems happy to see her. He asks her, from where on earth you came, he was looking for her earlier in this evening? Lin gives him a cute little smile and joined him with his vintage fishing rod.

Both of them could not catch any fish that evening probably there is no fish in the pond of the park as they comforted each other later. Those vintage fishing rods were not his own, he rented them from the park, fouled as it can be, waste of money as she is claiming but he is very optimistic about spending their quality time with each other.

Sincerely, nevertheless, both of them, after getting rejection from those fishes, set down to watch a sunset together with their snacks and drinks.

Both of them have no lovers or no intentions to get any but simply spending time with each other and looking forward to do more, unknowingly probably, but as a companion to survive from their singleton life.

They are enjoying each other's sole life, no complaints about it, they are sharing their stories of their own lives, their feelings for a certain prospective aspects, their dreams but whenever Oilver starts to talk about his dream project which is situated on the beach, Lin gets worried.

Likewise, Oliver noticed that fact in her, lack of encouragement forced him to ask her why doesn't she saying anything about his project, didn't she like it?

Lin just answered with simpler words, she has no experience on that topic to accessorise him with acknowledgement of it. Rather than saying something strange, she decides to lock her lips and listen to his jargon as it sounding like to her.

But she is worried, most likely about the whole concept of building some sort of, set of floating villages or houses on the chest of the ocean which can be afloat, no doubt about it, because of deity on the nature, moreover it seems to her rather illusions to be a delusional and facing contradiction as well .

Oliver then adds to her concerns that it's not going to be a floating house, it's going to be situated on the huge pillars which will be rather unbreakable for any earthquakes. He is trying to guess the size of it.

The enormity of the pillars that's going to substitute the number of usage of it. It might seems unimaginable but it's not impossible. But if it's going to be helpful in earthquake reduction or not that is rather unpredictable. In that case, he is not certain till it happens.

He needs to consult with someone who knows these things.

Before he and she could finish their thinking and food, sudden forcible rumbling vibrations shaken the whole central park. It seemed so huge that both of them just tried with heist to survive like an afraid animal infront of a hideous beast in rather drastic atmosphere was there than that.

Oliver and Lin could not remember what they have done in urgency just witnessed all the fallen. The central parks lake water transformed in a second to a high waves of water splash, it fell over to the park.

All the children playground equipments were dismantled by the force of earthquake and started to threaten others life who were riding them during that time. The swingers were lose the joints and fall upon to the lake water with parents and children inside. It was a horrible sight.

Lin at certain point starts to cry for all those horrible accidents happening in her upfront. Once again, she is feeling pathetic of being useless.

Contrarily Oliver, holds on Lin's wrist in one hand as strongly as he could and running around for a safe shelter to hide for the time being. Earthquake is still happening.

It's an open place where should he hide with her in this occasion. There is nothing around just few public lavatories for comforts, tea parties spaces, picnic spaces, few locked rest rooms then a public pool with it's poolside bar, hammocks, lounge chairs and a small building behind it, the door is open there, probably the maintainer sprints out of rush for the earthquake.

Oliver raced to the maintenance room with Lin in hand, he didn't saw her face during the earthquake, just grabbed her and ran away as quickly as he could from the lakeside area as the earthquake began to arouse the water level. Alas! it's an empty resting place with storeroom.

Both of them hide there in the corner. It's almost took few seconds, who knows how long it's going to last?

Oliver noticed Lin is going through some kind of female hysteria, crying in her own shocking realm, she hasn't aware of Oliver was holding her hand whole time of earthquake.

To break her mental shock from the accidents she witnessed, he hold her head face towards him and asks her if she is alright, did she get hurt somewhere?

Then she started to take a heavy deep breath over and over, Oliver asks her again with worried voice what happened, why are you breathing so much?

She showed one of her feet which was bleeding, it's been injured throughout the rush apparently with wire nails, there is few but she isn't bleeding heavily though she becoming pale as the time goes.

Oliver never felt such a desperation of urgency before, within few minutes what had just happened? Now where he could go with her for a treatment in this hour? Everyone might have going through some kind of injuries.

Oliver then make her laid in the rest room for a rest and took a leap from her to check out the consequences of the earthquake. It is simply horrible, everything is like tear down, poolside is completely wet and all the chairs are in the pool water.

The lakeside is crowded with people, the one of the swingers of circular rides fell on the lake with the riders as he saw earlier, they are trying to save them, people are crying aloud everywhere with severe accidents, injuries and pain.

Oliver head is spinning and seeing hazy all of a sudden, probably the heat and dust. He took the liberty to rest for a while on one of the park's bench. Something on his neck keeps him in agony, making him feel like this. He didn't check it but took grasps of condemned dustful air in his lungs.

The earthquake took few minutes to ruin everything inland, slightly damaged to the building structures, severely damaged in the highly populated areas because of machines, equipments, cars and other moveable things on the surface of the land. It was 4.5 magnitude earthquake that lasted for few minutes. The news broadcasters are relived that it it not a major earthquake and didn't stayed longer than 5 minutes or else it could be more than just a shake. Few injuries and accidents occurred likewise usual earthquake happened in Japan other than that it is nothing for the Japanese against the previous records of earthquakes.

A man from the rescue party of earthquake emergency response and rescue ERR founded a man on a central park bench bleeds to death from one of the earthquake victims, he was a USA citizen and an archaeologist, the cause of death was one of small screw from the park's equipment forcibly thrust into his lower part of the head near his neckline, probably when those park's equipments were falling apart it happened as the accidental incident occurs.

The whole central park is seized by the massive accident on the lakeside area. The ERR tried to rescue those injured people as mu as they could, it was fully packed with all the family members, few families lost their family members lives but most of them were survived. They found a girl in the poolside restroom, another victim of the earthquake, she was unconscious when they found her.

The new presenter felt miserably sad for the loss of those lives who were innocent victims. He ended his news by showing respect and his compassionate condolences towards those who have lost their families and friends.