Chapter 2: Able Hands

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  The skies were looking cloudy, the atmosphere was chill and everyone was dressed in thick clothes, peace was in the air and silence accompanied it, the people here in the city of Ukwa had just come out of some very trying times, the very first city in the world to have completely recovered from the devastating aftermath of the deadly Sound Quakes. The town may have recovered but the hearts of the people were still in sorrow, all the lives that were lost, the ones that are still being lost and the ones that will be lost in the future, the infrastructure part of the town was completely redone but people were still in the hospitals, parent-less kids roomed the streets, everyone walked with bowed heads, half of them have lost their hearings, NGO camps all around trying to teach as many people sign language, others taking in the kids, others trying to help people cope with the psychological breakdown they had. No one in the city could proudly say that he or she didn't lose anybody, the whole city was turned into a big graveyard, the Karp and Wood families were on of the lucky ones. No one died from both families but the injuries were severe.

Eight months, two weeks, three days to be exact, the Ukwian governor made a speech about how he and his administration had repaired all the damages the Sound Quake caused, he deliberately left out talking about the sorrow of the people, it was obvious and would only bring pain by discussing it. Hooman sat outside her house, thinking about how the past months had changed her life and the lives of everyone around her, Norman's leg was rendered useless, her mom and dad were still mourning the death of both their moms, Beets was now a deaf mute and Peets was in the center of this emotional rollercoaster. She was always everyone's guardian angel, looking out for everyone's needs. She had enlisted herself in an NGO camp aimed at helping traumatized kids recover.

There was a particular kid that caught her attention, she was a six year old girl named Etar, she had lost all her family members in the Quake and she told the story of how. Her family members tried to keep her safe because she was the youngest, she had three brothers and a sister, along with her dad, mom and step mom. Her step mom was the first to die after she saved her from the falling poles at the beginning of the Quake, she pushed her out of the way and was crushed by it, next was her immediate brother who tried to cross a road with her and ended up being hit by a fleeing car, next was her sister and her two remaining brothers, who got crushed by the people who were fleeing, they were stepped on to death, her dad was next as he fell into the splitting ground, after the sound wave hit Ukwa, her mom tried to save her by blocking Etar's ears but she had nothing to block her own ear and the intensity of the sound killed her on the spot.

Amongst all the death that were witnessed by people during the Quakes, seventy percent were caused by the sound wave reaching people that didn't have their ears properly blocked. Just like that parents and older family members fell on by one that day while trying to save the younger ones. Almost all the kids had one thing in common, they were all amongst the two youngest in their families. When the News covered this story, it found out that out of all the people who died all over the world, a mere three percent were kids younger than eight years of age. "At least something good resulted from the Quakes" the headlines read.

Hooman decided to personally help Etar because of all the kids at that particular camp, she was the only one without a sibling or family at all, her condition was actually more severe than people thought. When she was tested for any psychological breakdown she came out clean but she acted more to that direction. It was later found out that she had hit her head so bad, she lost her memories. She only remembered what happened right before she hit her head and passed out, the people she remembered trying to save her we're strangers to her but she remembered they kept on calling her: "sister", "my daughter", "stepdaughter", with this she just assumed that they were her family members.

Hooman took it upon herself to find the girls parents and family, everyone told her that the girl said they were dead but Hooman couldn't just accept that. She went around town with Etar asking people if they knew the girl or if they heard anyone looking for their little girl, months passed and she didn't find the young girl's family, she had almost given up when she said to herself, "one last time, go around and ask", still nothing. She then decided to put up posters with the girl's pictures and name stating, "Lost daughter, if you know anything about the girl in the photo, where she lived, her family please call this number"

Three weeks after that, a woman called Hooman asking after her daughter, Etar. She said she was her mother and she told her exactly how Etar eats and how she sleeps with folded legs and so on. More information that an elite stalker could ever know. This way Etar was reunited with her mother. Etar was actually telling the truth, all her family members died that day but her mom was out of town so she was saved. The woman who tried to cover Etar's ear was actually her mom's sister, her aunt.

Hooman did try her best and the fruits we riper than anyone imagined, feeling proud of herself, Hooman felt a burst of confidence and went on to organize a "Find Your Lost Loved Ones" programme, 'FYLLO', Which in turn returned many people, not just kids but adults too to their families and loved ones.

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