Love After the Storm

Love After the Storm

   Roselyn Harris was the most unpopular, loneliest yet strongest and kindhearted person you could ever know. She was an only child that lived with her step mom, Claudia. Roselyn was dedicated to studying and she loved to help the children at the orphanage since she knew what it was like to be abandoned. Her father left her and Claudia when she was only 6. One day he just decided to leave and never came back. Fortunately, Roselyn’s life wasn’t like a Cinderella story. Her step mom didn’t make her life a living hell. Claudia really appreciated Roselyn and learned to love her as if she were her own. Claudia was sterile and she was never able to have kids. Roselyn was only 3 when her father married Claudia. It had been 12 years since her father had left. Roselyn was now 18 and a senior in high school. Every single day after school she would take the bus to the orphanage for children which was 3.5 miles away. Despite the fact that she loved to see and play with the children, there was another reason why she enjoyed going to the orphanage. There was one person who never judged her. He always gave her the best advice. He was there when no one was and deep down she loved him. Plus, she enjoyed his company. Michael Louis Moore. 

Michael Louis Moore understood Roselyn. He knew what it was like to abandoned too. Roselyn met him at the orphanage on the day that she went to go volunteer for the first time 3 years ago. He was playing with a 3 year old child named Diego. Michael definitely caught Roselyn's attention from the start but she just kept on with helping the children and playing with them. When she was about to leave it was 8:30pm and Michael and her had put all the kids to sleep. The caretaker gave them each a blueberry muffin of the batch that she had baked the children for the next day. Michael held the door open and made a movement with his head to Roselyn. He was kind of saying "you go first." Roselyn walked out the door and Michael followed.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself," Michael replied.

"You live far?"

"Not really. You?"

"Just 3.5 miles away."

"Let me take you home. There is no reason for a lady to walk 3.5 miles to her house all alone."

"All right then."

Through the entire walk home, Michael and Roselyn talked about absolutely everything. Their childhood, school life, life at home, their dreams, life goals etc. They agreed that every single day they would meet at the orphanage to help the children and they would be able to talk. So they began to go to the orphanage every single day and they became the best of friends.

   January 29, 2076 the earth shook like never before. It was 5 in the morning. All of the news channels were talking about it. If you turned on channel 4 the caption was “The Day The Earth Shook.” Channel 2 said,” The Shaking Earth.” It shook for about half an hour. You could hear people screaming, children crying, houses falling. It was the most terrible day ever and it seemed like it would never end. Roselyn ran into Claudia’s room and rushed her under the dining table. The two chandeliers in the house fell. There were tiny pieces of glass everywhere from expensive China, wine glasses, and some mirrors that Claudia had placed in the living room. Roselyn and Claudia were sitting with their heads covered under the table for about 3 minutes that seemed like forever. Suddenly, the thought of the lonely children in the orphanage popped into Roselyn’s head.

   “Stay here momma.”

This was the first time that she had ever called Claudia the word momma. Claudia was so shocked that she didn’t have any time to say anything before Roselyn quickly ran out the door and disappeared like a ghost. 

   “Roselyn come back here!!,” Claudia screamed out a few minutes later. 

There was no point. Her voice echoed in the room as the earth still shook stronger and stronger. Meanwhile, Roselyn was running through the streets as light poles and cables were falling down and roofs were ripping off. Roselyn ran and ran and ran. At last she arrived at the orphanage. The children were all hiding under their blankets and there were broken mirrors and plates almost everywhere. Their caretaker was holding a pair of twins that were about 5 months old. Roselyn gathered all the children in a corner and hugged them tightly. There were about 12 kids in total. All of them cried and screamed but Roselyn began to sing a lullaby to make them calm. A few moments later there was complete silence and there was a noise like a paper ripping. 

   “Children run!,” Roselyn screamed out while pushing all the children outside. 

What happened next was a blur. There was a loud crash. The tree had fallen on top of the orphanage and at that moment the earth stopped shaking. The caretaker began to count all the children. Yup, there were exactly 14 including the twins. Michael Louis Moore came running to the orphanage. Apparently he had gone to see if Roselyn was at her house but when he found out that she wasn’t, he knew that she would probably be with the children from the orphanage. When Michael looked around and realized that Roselyn wasn’t there he began to ask the children.

  I don’t know,” a four year old answered.

Katie, the oldest of the children in the orphanage was 11. She answered Michael with tears in her eyes saying,” I think she's trapped inside.” 

Michael then realized that the tree had fallen on top of the orphanage. He found Roselyn trapped under a thick tree branch with bruises on her forehead and hands from trying to push the tree off of herself. 

  “Hey.”

  “Hey you. What are you doing here-”

She didn’t have time to finish when Michael gave her a kiss. His lips were soft and it made her feel like she was kissing a cloud.

  “I don’t want to leave or die before telling you what I feel. I don’t want the earth to shake again without you knowing that… without knowing that.”

  “I love you too,” Roselyn said. “I always have.”

  “I always will,” said Michael.

Soon enough the firefighters came and removed the tree from above Roselyn. Luckily she didn’t have serious injuries so she didn’t have to go to the hospital but she did have a few bruises. Roselyn ran home after the paramedics had assisted her. She ran home screaming, “ Momma, momma, momma. I’m coming!” When she arrived home Claudia was waiting for her on the front steps of the house. Roselyn didn’t know that Michael had texted Claudia telling her about how brave and heroic Roselyn had been.

Claudia stood up and put her hands on Roselyn’s shoulders.

  “You my sweet angel are so brave. You do anything you can to help others. You really are an angel that helped protect those children. And I love you.”

  “I love you too,” Roselyn said with her eyes full of tears.

That day was the most horrific traumatizing day but no matter how terrible it was, the end was pretty great. That same day Michael decided that he was going to do it. He couldn’t hide his feelings for Roselyn anymore. When it was around 8pm he stopped by Roselyn’s house and asked if she wanted to visit the orphanage even if the children weren’t there. They walked those 3.5miles in silence to get to the orphanage but they felt like they had only walked for 10 minutes.

   When they arrived at the orphanage, Roselyn walked inside and examined the room. When she turned around, there he was. Michael Louis Moore. On one knee.

   “I know we are young. I may seem crazy but I don’t want to live if it's not going to be with you. I Michael Louis Moore chose you for all eternity Roselyn Mae. I promise to keep you safe and to hold you when you’re afraid. I love you will all that I am.. Will you marry me?”

  “YES!!! YES!!! OF COURSE I WILL!”

And thats when the wedding planning started. Oh and by the way, you’re invited to the wedding. Make sure to save the date, April 12, 2076.