Chapter 1-2
CHAPTER 1 T he bright winter sun was dazzling. The intensity of the cold afternoon and the everyday bustling noise of this mediocre little town immediately became a welcome relief of normality to my senses, after being submerged in a dark room, watching both intense tragedy and human resilience unfold before me over the past two and a half hours. Napkins from the popcorn was all I had on to deal with the tears and wipe away the mascara that I just knew was streaking my cheeks and inevitably made me look like a broken panda, and then I tried to tuck the mascara-streaked napkin I had in my hand away without anybody else noticing. I wasn’t usually any kind of sap at generic, formulaic Hollywood disaster films, but this one had rather managed to hit a little closer to the heart than I had ever expected it to. Oh, not the devastating plane crash or the outlandish pyrotechnics – I’ve thankfully never had the pleasure. But the turmoil of the film, the characters involved...