It had rained heavily last night. The storm had been merciless; this time their prayers were ignored, their sins unforgiven. The lightning was threatening to stab them all throughout the night. The trees in the forest beside were trembling dangerously, calling for mother nature to save them from this cruel phenomenon but no one paid any heed to their begging. One by one, the trees surrendered like warriors in a war. The lightning was blindly taking down its anger on the poor inhabitants of the village. Markus’s family had been its primary target. Their house was not spared.

Markus had awoken in the middle of the night to discover that their wooden cottage was torn down into pieces. Remnants of furniture were scattered around the moss-bearded ground. Sighing heavily, he looked around for his father but he was clearly not present. With a heavy heart, he again rested his head against the cold, hard ground cursing the stars in the sky for being so barbaric. He cursed his mother for leaving them so early, without any warnings. He looked beside and sighed heavily at the hand-made straw figure. A desperate temptation rose in his mind to tear it apart but he couldn’t. He knew that it was clearly the source of all their misery but he was unable to bring himself to throw away the last string that connected him to heaven, to his mother. Yes, love was indeed blind. 

The sky gradually transformed into a shade of clear blue. Markus was awoken by the sunlight that filtered through the canopy of the forest. Looking around, he was reminded of what happened last night. He had tried to convince himself that this was all a nightmare but his brain was not to be fooled. With steady footsteps, he walked out through the forest until he reached a clearing in the middle. Far ahead, amidst the sea of sand, the black and petite figure of his father was painted against the waters of the beach. As he approached him, he noticed a giant 

boat that was being made. He sighed, realizing that it was the time of the month. Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized that they had to move again. He felt jealous of his father- how easily he could adapt and move without being attached to a place. With a sad smile, he approached the boat. 

This time, the boat was huge. His father stood on a wooden plank, painting the boat with utmost care. He peeked inside the boat to discover that it was already loaded with most of their belongings. It was all still a mystery to him how his father was able to construct the boat in the darkness of a few nights. He sat on one of the wooden planks that was scattered around the boat, observing his father. Yes, he just realized that his father had turned quite old. But still, he never lacked behind in his works, never complained about his fate. Markus slowly diverted his gaze toward the box that was wrapped in a black clothing. Yes, it was where the straw figure was housed. A shiver ran down his spines.

The waters in the beach roared as they crashed against the rocks that lined the shores of the beach. The sea was like a hungry lion, patiently waiting for its prey. The boat seemed to be vulnerable to withstand the waves but they had no other option. 

As darkness approached, his father sighed heavily indicating that the work was over. Markus looked proudly over to the boat. With a last glance at the forest that once housed its beautiful memories, he climbed onto the boat as his father pushed it toward the shore of the beach. The boat shook dangerously as it plunged into the waters. No one came to bid them farewell. No one cared that they were leaving. As his father rowed the boat, his heart clenched heavily. But as Markus looked behind for the last time, he noticed the trees shedding their leaves, as the ground beneath them was carpeted by a yellow and green blanket. Unknowingly, Markus smiled to himself.