The following re-telling of a fairy-tale-story was inspired by ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ – it comes in two parts, this is part 2. (You can find part 1 here)
Enjoy!
…
A siren went off in the distance. Samuel turned his head to the blare. It sounded as if it was inside a gigantic cotton ball. He wrinkled his forehead. No thoughts came. The whole world seemed far away, standing still and slightly muted.
He saw a fire truck approaching at the end of the field. As soon as it stopped someone opened the door and jumped out, and ran towards him. His mother! Her long black hair wafted behind her and a smile brightened her face. She outstretched her arms to hug him. Samuel couldn’t stand looking at her, so he looked down, ashamed and unable to move.
“It wasn’t my fault!” He mumbled again to convince himself.
She flung her arms around his tiny body and scooped him up to her breast, kissing him all over. Between the kisses she asked, “Are you alright?”
He nodded and mumbled into her hair. It smelled like purple lilac, … like heaven.
“It’s all my fault! Mom, I’m so sorry. I was angry, so angry, with you, and Granny … and now, Granny is d … dead …I’m so, so s … sorry!”
He didn’t care he was stuttering. He didn’t care that the firemen were standing around them, watching. They were all grinning, even his older brother who was one of them.
“What? Of course not! This had nothing to do with you. It’s not your fault, catastrophes happen. And no, Samuel, Granny isn’t dead, she is just fine. ” His mom leaned back to look into his eyes. “I just talked to her on the phone.”
“Really?” Samuel bit his lips. Hope sneaked into his heart.
“Sammy, of course! The only thing that got hit was her car, the old jalopy. That’s all.” She pressed him to her body. Cradling him with her comforting warmth.
“Samuel, this is not your fault! You hear? It’s not your fault. I know you were angry, and that was not okay, but this was not your fault, honey!”
“Really, Mom? Granny… is … okay?” The guilt pile inside him exploded, and relief flooded Samuel.
His mother nodded. “Yes! She’s totally fine.” His mother squeezed him again. “And I’m so happy that you are alright,” she whispered into his ear.
Only when she stroked his hair and he flinched, she noticed he was hurt. Cautiously she sat him down to the ground and gave him a good once-over.
“Oh my Gosh! You are hurt. Let me see …”
He showed her the burns that hurt the most. His mother scooped him up again and ran for help towards the fire trucks, where the paramedic put burn ointment on the wounds while the firemen investigated the scene.
***
Although Samuel’s wounds had healed long ago, the impact of this event had shaped his life. Disaster could strike anywhere and anytime, no matter if he was prepared and felt like it, or not. Being aware of your surroundings and not distracted by feelings or circumstances became an important part of his life. The red cap he once got from Granny hung on the wall to serve as his reminder ever since. It reminded him that his daily decisions had consequences and that it is very important to be aware and alert.
In his anger, he forgot to take the red cap that day. Maybe it wouldn’t have helped much to protect his head, but it would have been better than nothing.
This whole experience was also one of the reasons that he was sitting here today doing everything to prevent catastrophes. The company’s motto ‘You have to be ready when – not if – disaster strikes’ stemmed from his own awareness that disaster could strike anywhere, anytime. His company was known worldwide for their extensive expertise on disaster prevention and rescue missions. Although they were not able to prevent every catastrophe, they had helped in a lot of cases all around the globe to raise awareness and provide rescue mission after the inevitable had happened like this time in Siberia.
His own encounter with disaster was the reason why he founded ‘Red Cap Prevention’, which was now a multinational and multi-billion company, where he could do the work he loved every day.
That disaster, twenty-one years ago, when he was sent to bring food to his granny had turned out to be his blessing in disguise after all.
Suddenly, Samuel smiled.
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This ‘fairy-tale story’ was not only inspired by ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ but also by the book The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes – and Why. by Amanda Ripley.
In this inspiring book Ripley investigates and retraces the human response to some of history’s epic disasters. It gives great insight why some survive and some perish, often needlessly, and offers helpful tips for everyone who want to increase their chances of survival in the case of a disaster.
After reading this book I decided to join our local CERT Team (Community Emergency Response Team) where I learned basic disaster response skills in areas like fire safety, light search and rescue, first aid, disaster medical operations and team organization, among many others. To complete the 17-hour CERT program we participated in a tornado simulation, had to extinguish fires, find and rescue people from a tornado-hit building.
The purpose of the program is to become better prepare citizens within the community should emergency situations arise.
It was a great experience and gave me great skills, an always packed emergency backpack, and a mindset in case I need it.
Are you prepared for catastrophe? Let me know in the comments…