A day like no other

Vladimir was walking into the front door of his house at 4:53pm on Jan. 12th, when the walls began to shake. The ceiling was bending and soon the dust of the rubble blotted out the sun. When Vladimir opened his eyes, he found himself trapped under the living room roof. He wiggled and squirmed his way out of the collapsed home and looked for his family. He screamed for any signs of life, but the screams fell on deft ears and there was no response.

Vladimir sat down and began to weep. A dusty hand grabbed him from behind and hugged him close. Vladimir looked up to see the familiar face of his father. His father wasn't smiling like he used to. His smile was replaced with a long stare.

The streets were congested and neighbors were running into the streets looking for loved ones.

After days of searching for his mother and siblings, Vladimir along with his father knew the worse had happened. They grabbed as many belongings as they could carry and went to the nearest church. That church took them in and helped them get back on their feet. They ate food supplied by AID organizations and slept among 1000's of other displaced families.

Vlad's dad had to find work, so he would travel into Port-au-Prince to find a job. A couple days after searching, his dad returned excited with a shovel in hand. Vlad's dad was part of the cleanup crew. His job was to clear the streets of debris.
One night as his dad returned from work, he leaned over Vlad and said this,
"Son, we must move on. I know you're sad, but mommy, brother and sister are in a better place."
"Okay, daddy, but I sure miss them."
"I know buddy, I miss them too." he said as he tucked Vlad into his cloth and cardboard bed.

The next morning, Vlad woke up and went about his chores like he did everyday since the earthquake. From sweeping the dirt ground to maning his fruit stand, Vlad was put to work. 90% of schools were destroyed and won't open for another couple months. Vlad loved the 6th grade, but he was going to have to wait for the schools to start back up.

One hot afternoon as Vlad was fanning himself, he heard his name spoken. He looked up at a figure blackened out by the bright sun. Vlad reached his hand above his head to shield his eyes. He couldn't make out the face even when he squinted hard. The figure bent down and said, "Hi, Vladimir." It was his mommy. She was alive and behind her was his brother and sister. As he looked closer, he noticed they were bandaged. In one giant leap, Vlad was in his mommy arms hugging her tight. She winced with every tug.

They packed up the basket with the fruit they had laid out on the sheet on the sidewalk. Vlad hoisted the basket on top of his head and held his mothers hand with his free hand. He led his lost family back to their new home in the church courtyard.

"This night is going to be a special night!" Vlad declared "Dad is going to be so so happy!"
"I know it will, Vlad, we missed you two very much." Mommy said.

As those words were spoken, the front of the cloth dwelling opened and Vlad's dad had returned from work. His eyes began to water and his shovel fell. He was stinky and sweaty, but that didn't stop the long embrace his parents shared.