Shaken, But Not Quite

    The soft call of a toddler for her brother pierced the chilly morning air and turned out to be the sweetest, the purest sound ever made that day, at the foothills of the Andes mountain range. Totally secluded from the rest of Chile, this range stood majestically towering, contrasting the shrinking humbleness of the tiny cottages a little way off, below it.
   
      It was to this grandeur that nine year old Manco woke up every morning, and this particular morning seemed no different for him, as he was reluctantly woken up by his little sister’s call for him. He found her tugging at his vest.
   
      “What  is  it,  Necia?” he murmured fuzzily, forcing himslef to get out of his mattress, and followed Necia to their mother, who was gazing out of the window. As they entered, she looked up, and a wide smile adorned her face, as she addressed them, “Yes,  I  was waiting  for  you  both. Manco,  dear,  you’re  going  to  Puerto  Montt  today,  aren’t  you,  to  get  me  bread?  Well,  take  the  little  one  along,  won’t  you, I  can’t  care  for  her  today,  I’ve  got  loads  of  sewing  left! And,  oh,  here,  take  some  coins.”

        Manco readily agreed, and, on hearing this, the little Necia merrily slipped her tiny hand in her big brother’s, and yanked him away outside their cottage.

        The  outside world was one seldom visited by tourists; a world in which skyscrapers are made ashamed of their own existence, where the heavens fell down. But Manco noticed no particular splendour in the sight, for he was accustomed to it.
       
        The siblings cheerfully skipped off to the nearest town, Puerto Montt, to get the  groceries, as ‘bread’ usually meant all things eatable.
     
        Puerto Montt wasn’t far, but wasn’t a stone’s throw away, either. They had to walk a bit on foot, then catch a llama or some other animal on the way.
         
        They walked for a while in total silence, each one buried in a whirlwind of thoughts, as they scrutinized each person crossing their way. Finally, they sighted the vast, rocky terrain where the animals and their keepers had their haunt. But surprisingly, the place was eerily empty.
       
      "Manco!  Why  is  it  empty  there? Where's  everybody? Where’re  the  animals?" Necia questioned in an annoyingly persistent and high voice, that which was typical of any three year old. Manco ignored her question and scanned the land thoroughly. No trace of another soul save him and his sister showed.
 
    Something gnawed at his heart. Something called fear, curiosity, anxiety all whirled into one.
     
      Suddenly, a rock a few feet off of him started to tremble. The slow tremble turned into shaking, so much, that it slid from its position and rolled down the opposite side of him. Now, everything was shaking, and rattling noises of rocks rolling about crammed in his ears. Necia's eyes widened as she witnessed the horrific scene from where they were standing, which was thankfully a few feet away from the rocky part. But then, the quake had spread to their place, too.

      "Manco, I'm all dizzy! Manco! Why's everything shaking? Manco?" Necia tugged at her brother's hand, but he seemed to pay no attention to her. A single word escaped from his lips as he studied the scenario - "Terremoto". The word carried a terrible meaning - "Earthquake."
     
      It all fitted. No animals there, as they got a premonition of the earthquake, so they saved their keepers from disaster and escaped from the place the previous night itself. Then, the present reality dawned on him and his momentarily forgotten sister came back into the scene. His mind worked like lightning and he yelled, "Run!!!", pulling the wailing Necia along with him. He sprinted in the direction of his house, with Necia tagging, panting, closely behind him. The quake was a powerful surge which took him off guard, and he felt the whole world revolving under his feet. Topped with Necia's screams, the run was a terrible one for a mere nine year old.
   
    There was a last, exceptionally piercing, blood- curdling, scream from Necia, before all her occasional screams died down.
     
    Manco did not dare to turn back, for only one thing should have made his sister stop screaming. Trembilng, he turned, fearing the worst. His sister was trapped under a huge rock which had come rolling. Only her upper half was seen, and her screams had been silenced. Her legs were stuck underneth the rock. A single, tender hand reached out for dear life, blood dripping excruciatingly agonizingly from it.

    “Necia?” Manco whispered uncertainly, just to make sure. In return, she called out his name in a soul- rendering cry for help.
   
    Manco could not move, although the earthquake had stopped. He stood rooted to the ground, his brain temporarily frozen, staring, stock- still, at the sight before him. His only friend, his sister, his companion, the little soul whom his mother had entrusted him with, was trapped under a rock because of the sheer cruelty, the nastiness of nature.
   
    The cries for help continued, and Manco bolted awake from his frozen state of mind, ready to fight in the face of nature to save his sister. Meanwhile, the rock was, though extremely slowy, rolling, covering the whole of her limbs, and soon to devour, possibly, her whole torso, giving in to the slanting land, but curbed because of her.
       
    Manco pulled her hand with as much strength as he could muster, and got a ear- splitting scream in return- “Ouch! Don’t pull my hand!”

    “Then how do I pull you out of this, silly?!” he shouted back.
   
    “I  don’t  know,  my  legs  hurt…MANCO!  JUST  GET  ME  OUT!!!” she yelled with all her might, and her sound threw Manco off balance, and he stumbled and fell on the ground. On seeing this, Necia let out a peal of merciless laughter simultaneously with a torrent of tears, as the crushing weight of the rock was bearing down on her tiny legs. Furious, Manco got up and retorted, “Fine, remain  that  way! I’m  not  going  to  help!” but only realised its meaning a moment later.

        Revolted, he faced his sister, appalled at how he was quarrelling with her when Death was coming closer to her with each passing moment; it was his duty to be true to his mother’s command, to rescue his sibling.
   
      Conjuring up more strength, he heaved the rock as forcefully as he could, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the rock had completely crushed Necia's legs, and was now advancing to attack her stomach. She was crying silently. Never had such stabbing pain engulfed her in her lifetime, and it was unbearable. Her brother was her only hope, but he seemed to act stupidly. And she had thought he could do anything! All great opinions she had about Manco were erased as she watched him stumble and fall, attempting to move the rock away. She had thought he was the strongest boy ever, that he could brave any danger!
   
      "Alright,  now,  be  calm,  Necia!  Don't  move,  I'll  get  help!" Manco decided, taking deep breaths. That would be the only alternative.
   
      "Where  can  I  possibly  move  to???" was the reply as Manco ran off in search of any human being.
                                                      *     
      "Manco," Necia whispered after a while, as she suddenly realised the rock was crushing her stomach. "Manco..." she was struggling to talk, to breathe. Tears flooded her cheeks. She knew she was dying, that she was leaving her beloved brother forever, but he had run off. How could she tell him that no one could help her anymore? He had gone in vain. Instead, he could have talked to her, uttered comforting words as she died. She suddenly let out a weak spurt of laughter as she remembered how Manco had stumbled and fell when he tried to help her. But then, she stopped. She needed Manco right then, she needed to tell him that, even though she had laughed, she still loved him and looked up to him tremendously like a big brother, a guide. She was afraid he would carry that grudge forever, at the mere memory of her laughing at him as he tried to help her in her last moments.
 
      Necia could hardly breathe now, and a haze of tranquility was somewhat overcoming her. Her mind felt at rest, unfluttered.
 
      It was at this point of time that Manco came, yelling, along with a sturdy man of strong build.
 
      At the sight of his sister, he halted and knelt beside her. The calm look on her once- fearful face confirmed his fears - his only sister was dying. "Necia," he murmured softly, "Don't  forget  me."
 
      The man beside him tried pushing the rock, and with their combined efforts, the fatal rock eventually rolled off in the opposite direction.
 
      A huge sigh of relief grasped Manco, but all was not over. Necia was static. Her chest was not heaving up and down.
 
      "Necia," Manco called, his voice quaking, no lesser than the earthquake which just happened. A lump formed in his throat. The man who had helped him patted his back awkardly.
 
      "Here,  I'll  take  you  both  back," the man offered.

        "No  thanks. It  was  my  duty  to  take  care  of  her  and  buy  the  bread,  and  I  will  buy  it  and  come  back. You  can  take  my  sister  back,  and  tell  Mother  that.... that...." Manco could not talk, and he broke down.
  "Here,  here. Stop  this  nonsense. I'll  take  you  both  back  to  your  house.  And... all  hope  is  not  lost,  dear. She  may  come  back." the man said.
    Enveloped in the man's arms, Necia and Manco were brought back to their residence.
                                                        ****
    As Manco and his mother suppuratingly laid Necia on her bed, Manco muttered, "I'm  sorry  Necia, I  tried  to  help  you..."
      "And  I'm  sorry  I  laughed  at  you!" Necia replied, smiling, though Manco and his mother appeared oblivious of the reply.