Illustration: Kittika Wongsupa, Tags: [illustration, artist, visual art]
Screeeeeeeech! Tags: [sound, scream, alarm]
Screeeech! Tags: [sound, scream]
Screeech! Tags: [sound, scream]
He remained half-asleep in a trance, hearing screams break out and many footsteps pounding loudly in chaos, alongside a crushing weight pressing down on his chest, making him feel unbearably heavy and suffocated. Tags: [dream, panic, sensation, earthquake]
He didn’t open his eyes, thinking, "Is this a ghost?" and quickly dismissed waking up. Annoyed, he pushed the weight off his chest; it bounced to the floor beside the bed. He rolled onto his side, grabbed the blanket roughly to cover his face, and automatically fell back asleep within seconds, even as screams continued intermittently for over 15 minutes. Tags: [sleep, annoyance, nightmare, earthquake]
That afternoon, the sun was bright, and the sky clear without dust haze. I watched a bird swiftly fly past my window, softly groaning as it disappeared from sight. Tags: [afternoon, nature, bird, reflection]
Suddenly I looked away from the bird to see him still asleep on the bed, softly snoring in rhythm. He remained unconscious despite it being nearly 1 PM. Typical of him—coming home late past midnight, sleeping until dawn, then rushing to get ready and leave for work in a flurry. Tags: [roommate, sleeping habits, routine]
When we became roommates eight years ago, he already had this bad habit—essentially freeloading. Or maybe today he was working from home, from the heart, hence sleeping late until afternoon. Meanwhile, the global trend is back to office work, yet he still naps until 1 PM. Tags: [roommate, laziness, work habits, social commentary]
I grumbled silently and went down to eat the food I’d prepared for him, since he’d been sleeping since 3 AM. After a few bites, I sipped water—but then the room shook violently. The water rippled in its bowl, books piled high nearly to the ceiling crashed down near my head. Every hair stood on end. I felt dizzy and nauseous from the unprecedented rapid, intense shaking. Tags: [earthquake, shock, sensory experience]
I dashed to him, jumping onto his chest, repeatedly nudging him, but he pushed me off onto the floor. "Damn it!" I thought, "This is an emergency!" Yet he turned away, yanked the blanket over his head, and slept on peacefully. Outside our door, dozens screamed all around, the noise deafening. I felt scared and hid inside his messy wardrobe. I couldn’t even open the door—otherwise, I would have fled, leaving him to sleep alone. Tags: [earthquake, fear, frustration, roommate]
Before me was a black image with a huge glowing white circle radiating light. I stared, mesmerized, before the shaking intensified until I could barely stand, feeling like I’d fall into an endless black hole. Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed the glowing white circle firmly, though my body trembled with the powerful shocks. Tags: [vision, surreal, earthquake, sensation]
I didn’t know what the white circle was attached to, but it shook with the tremors without fading or drifting away, like a smart building engineered to withstand quakes. Suddenly, I noticed hundreds of transparent, ghostlike figures screaming and trying to grasp the glow as I did. Looking at my hands, they were transparent like spirits, just like theirs. After over ten minutes, the shaking stopped, followed by a huge scream as a massive white hand emerged from the dark center, trying to swipe the spirits off the glow, making me fall into the endless black abyss. I heard a booming voice from the giant hand’s owner declaring he would claim the sacred safe circle alone. Tags: [surreal, spirits, earthquake, vision, struggle]
Once the shaking calmed, I cautiously stepped out of the wardrobe and jumped onto him again. He startled awake, and I called his name, licking his sweat-soaked face. He hugged me tightly, almost suffocating me. If my eyes weren’t deceiving me, I saw tears glistening in his eyes. Tags: [awakening, emotion, connection]
Startled awake, he opened his eyes and saw the male tabby cat standing on his chest, with a white ceiling and some cobwebs behind it. He got up and called, "Meow!" pulling the cat into a gentle hug. The cat licked his face softly, and he pieced together the events. Oh, the cat was trying to wake him. I thought it was a ghost mixed with the wild dream of a giant hand pushing him to fall. The tousled young man cradled the cat, stroked its back tenderly, then went to grab his messy phone. Numerous messages popped up; he read them and learned of a major earthquake in Bangkok. Friends asked if he’d evacuated the building yet. Of course, the cat must have sensed the quake and tried to wake him multiple times, probably feeling the tremors far more intensely than humans, he thought. Tags: [awakening, cat, earthquake, communication]
He scratched his head, still unsure when the quake happened. But the dream must have been just as terrifying as the real event. The earth’s violent shaking surely made the dream feel even more vivid and chilling. Damn! Had the building collapsed, I might have died under the rubble with it. Luckily, the apartment is only four stories. He lived in a small room on the second floor. He quickly picked up the cat and leash, went down to the first floor. Several dozen people sat on the concrete parking lot, and the pool area downstairs was wet, with water flowing in every direction. Tags: [earthquake aftermath, evacuation, relief]
Many wore anxious, tense expressions, but I was still confused, piecing things together since I’d been asleep. I set the cat down and tightened its leash around its neck, looping the other end around my wrist. The cat sniffed the ground, exploring, then licked the water cautiously. I grabbed my phone, scrolling social media, reading that my area had the strongest quake. Then I saw a major news headline: “Breaking 90-Year Record: 8.2 Magnitude Earthquake in Thailand.” Tags: [aftermath, news, earthquake, social media]
My phone vibrated nonstop—my mother was calling. I quickly answered, telling her I was safe, promising to call back later. On social media came a warning from Bangkok authorities advising residents not to re-enter buildings until safety was confirmed. Then I saw a horrifying report of a collapsed building with many workers trapped inside. That building was just a few kilometers from me. Tags: [communication, emergency, earthquake]
Overwhelmed by the flood of information, I switched off my phone and stuffed it into my pants pocket, shaking. I didn’t know how to feel about what had happened, zoning out amid the bustling crowd around me, until someone’s voice cut clearly through the noise. Tags: [overwhelm, reflection, crowd]
“If anyone deserves to be crushed under a building and die, it should be someone who never cared about our quality of life.” Tags: [anger, social commentary, injustice]
I heard the voice beside me, turned sharply, heart pounding, body trembling. Tags: [reaction, tension]
“You think the same as I do, right, friend?” he said with a sly, teasing grin. The tabby cat I’d raised for eight years stared at me intently without blinking. Tags: [dialogue, camaraderie, cat]
