Aftermath (Hurricane Katrina) Joy and Sorrow chapter 16

Celeste shook her head as she looked away from the plasma television.The image of New Orleans played out like a made - for - tv disaster movie.Cue the menacing music.New Orleans was the city of her birth, the place she had raised Sebastian and planned to grow old in.That it had become a modern day Atlantis, was unthinkable.

She shed bitter tears for her two dogs that had been left behind.A few days away from home,had turned into much longer.Another part of Celeste's heart brimmed over with gratitude.It was sheer luck that her loved ones had been spirited out of New Orleans safe and sound.Celeste was blessed her brother,Tony had a house in East Texas. Gloria and her family had ended up coming as well.So far no major wars had broken out between the many people staying there.

She mourned for her brothers and sister  held fast in throes of Hurrican Katrina.Mother Nature does not discriminate.Rich,poor every color in the crayon box,paddling in makeshift rafts in that stew of human sludge.Other's were trapped atop roofs,praying for a helicopter to zoom by.Hoping against hope,for pity.

Celeste ached for home and wished she could aid the city care forgot.But an extremely anxious,out of shape fifty -five year old with heart problems was hardly the candidate the Red Cross was looking for.Nothing was as it should have been.

A rare dead quiet had hit her brother's house.The whole crew had gone for pizza: she had opted to stay behind.As Celeste lay back on the overstuffed divan,her eyelids grew heavy.A stereo in the adjoining bedroom softly played a Natalie Merchant tune from years gone by.It lulled her into a satisfying sleep.

When Celeste woke up,the clock on the wall read 4 A.M. She had slept eleven hours and felt fresh again.A plan permeated her brain, a way she could help the Crescant City.It came to her first in dream form.It was up to her to turn her dream into reality.