Nephew Died in A Typhoon and Rainstorm

Mom said in a broken voice, "Yeah. We're OK. But Jimmy is missing! What should we do, Rhea? Think of something!"

I snorted inwardly. Lucky for you guys.

"Call the police! We need their help on this!"

Mom was so anxious. "We've already called the police. The typhoon suddenly made an early landfall. The wind was so strong outside that even the trees were uprooted. Cars can't be on the road at all! We're staying in a B&B by the sea, and we can't get out!"

"Mom, chill. Jimmy is lucky. He'll be fine."

Sheila snatched the phone away and said to me, "It's all your fault. Why didn't you come with us? If you had helped Henry, Jimmy wouldn't have been swept away!"

"Sheila, you didn't want me to go, did you? You said that there wouldn't be enough seats in the car if I tagged along. Right?"

Sheila was choked on my words. "I was just joking. You took it seriously?"

I sneered, "Sheila, if I'm right, you can swim, can't you? And so can Mom and Dad. There are four of you, and you can't even rescue Jimmy, a kid? And you're blaming me, even though I wasn't even there? You're so shameless!"

After that, I hung up the phone. I didn't bother to waste another second on her.

Although all four of them could swim, in my previous life, only Henry went into the sea to rescue Jimmy.

I didn't think anything would change this time. Sheila didn't wanna risk her life no matter what, and my parents were in poor health. That was why they all chose to watch on the shore.

It was almost impossible to rescue Jimmy on Henry's own.

The wind outside was getting stronger, and then it began to rain heavily.

The windows clanged in the wind. I was glad that I had stuck the glass at home with tape in advance.

We lived in the city center, surrounded by high-rise buildings, which provided a buffer against typhoons.

I wondered how they were doing now that they were staying in a self-built B&B by the sea.

I watched TV at home for a while. Just as I was wondering about what to eat for dinner, Mom called me again.

"Rhea, something big has happened! Alan and Henry have been blown away by the typhoon!"

"Aren't you in the B&B? How could they be blown away by the typhoon?"

"The wind was so strong outside that it blew the whole glass door off the balcony. Henry was sitting close to the balcony, and he was swept up in the typhoon right away! Alan also got blown away when he was trying to pull Henry!"

She was sobbing. "What should I do? I wanna die!"

I felt nothing. In fact, I wanted to laugh.

"Are you and Sheila all right?"

"We're hiding in the bathroom. We don't dare to go out. Her face was scratched by glass and is still bleeding!"

"Mom, calm down. Just hide there together with her. Don't come out until the typhoon is gone."

"But we can't stay in here forever! Who knows when the typhoon will go away? Besides, Alan and Henry are missing! Five of us came out, and now it's just me and Sheila. I'm desperate!"

She kept crying on the phone. I comforted her for a while and then hung up the phone.

They all knew that the typhoon was coming, but they still insisted on going to the seaside. They deserved it!

Served them right!

Soon, Sheila called me.

"Rhea, what are you doing?"

Her voice was trembling, and she sounded very tired.

"I'm eating. Have you eaten yet?"

She became furious at once. "You're eating? You're so heartless! Jimmy, Alan, and Henry are missing! How could you be eating?"

"So what if I'm eating? They're missing, and I'm supposed to starve to death?"

"You're so ungrateful. They're your family, OK? How could you act as if everything was fine?"

"Henry is your husband, and Jimmy is your son. Both of them are missing. And you're not seeking death, are you? You and I are the same. Don't point fingers at me."

She couldn't win me in an argument, so she complained to my mom.

"Mom! Did you hear what Rhea said? They're missing, and she's eating as if nothing has happened!"

Mom took the phone and scolded me.

I put my phone aside and listened to them cursing while continuing to eat.

When my mom was tired of scolding, I asked her, "Have you eaten yet, Mom?"

"What do you think? I can't even go out of the bathroom!"

"You'd better save your strength then. After all, you have to stay in there for a while longer."

After I hung up the phone, neither of them called again. Perhaps their phones died. Finally, I could have a moment of peace.

For three days, I didn't hear anything from Mom and Sheila. Then they came home.

As soon as Sheila entered the door, she pounced on me. "We are so miserable. It's so unfair that you're doing just fine!"

She attacked me first. Therefore, I fought back at once. I slapped her face twice hard and kicked her.

I knocked her to the ground. She was chubby and strong, but she had been very weak these days, so she was no match for me at all.

My mom helped her up at once. "We're family. How could you get physical?

"Rhea, don't be mad at her. She's not stable given what happened to Jimmy and Henry."

My mom was sensible enough to know that I was the only one she could rely on now.

No matter what, Sheila wasn't related to her by blood. On the contrary, I was.

Now that I was her only relative left, of course, she had to lean on me.

Seeing that my mom took my side, Sheila sat on the ground and cried miserably.

"I'm so unlucky! Henry, Jimmy, come back! I can't live without you!"

My mom cried, too. "I'm sure they're alive. We never saw their bodies, right?"

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. I opened the door and saw Lisa Steele, a good friend of mine.

"Rhea, where's Henry?"

"I told you on WhatsApp just now, didn't I? He and my dad got swept away by the typhoon."

Before Sheila and my mom came back, I was chatting with Lisa on WhatsApp, and I told her about what had happened to my family.

Lisa obviously didn't believe it. She ran inside and shouted, "Henry! Henry!"

Sheila got up from the floor. "Lisa, it's true. Henry was blown away by the typhoon, and we don't know where he is right now."

Only then did Lisa accept the reality, and she burst into tears.

My mom scolded me, "See? Lisa is so much sadder than you. It's like Henry is her brother. Exactly who's his sister? You or Lisa?"

Sheila echoed, "Indeed. Lisa isn't related to Henry by blood at all, but she's so sad upon hearing what happened to him. Yet you, Henry's sister, didn't cry at all. I don't think you're sad at all. You're so heartless!"

"Henry isn't dead, is he? I'll cry when we know for sure he's dead."