I am a house. A house to rent on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. I was living a calm and happy life overlooking my white sandy beach.
I had barely emerged from the dreams of my designer, a Swiss businessman. I was preparing to live in the serenity created with my dear dreamer. When suddenly, without warning, Hurricane Irma destroyed everything. And when I say everything… Come with me, I’ll tell you all about it. It’s an incredible story.
Hurricane Irma is here
On August 30, 2017, my designer, so dear to my heart, left me alone on my beach of Trunk Bay. Before closing the door, I can still see him like it was yesterday, turning around as if with regret. In fact, every time, he’s sad to leave. Almost as if he was afraid to lose me. The thing is, I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here, firmly rooted in my beach…
This time though, it was close. And he was so far away.
Just as my maker was locking my front door, Irma, that terrible hurricane, was born in the North Atlantic. It was going to be the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the North Atlantic, by the speed of its winds. Brrrr.
The first images of the hurricane
I sensed something. But since I am calm and confident by nature, I wasn’t going to let my intuition run wild. However, I should have listened to it. We should always listen to our intuition. Intuition is just another indicator. Except it’s much more reliable than the others…
My designer was suddenly very worried. Since I am in a way his baby, he and I are connected to each other by an invisible bond. So in that moment, I wasn’t really paying attention to my intuition. But his worry definitely worried me. He and I are united by an invisible bond, the bond of his soul who chose and built me.
And the images were not reassuring at all.
The eye of the storm
Although thousands of miles away from here, my builder kept himself informed of the situation as it evolved by the hour. And he was so scared! I must say that, before leaving me, he had hanged his favorite works of art on my walls. When he left, I was shining so brightly, shining with the joy of being perfect.
And then, the cataclysm was getting close to me, to my layout so delicately built, to my decorations so wisely chosen, to my sweet personality so skillfully showcased.
Born in 2014, I was risking total destruction in 2017! Oh no, that wasn’t fair.
My inventor worried himself sick and I was building up my defenses against the violent winds, the forces of nature unleashed. I must say that the strength he gave me by thinking of me with all his soul helped me a lot. His support and his solidarity energized me and my tiny little walls. Of course, I was but a wisp of straw compared to the might of the elements unleashed.
September 6, 2017
On that sad day, the hurricane passed right above my head – I mean my roof. Can you imagine? Bareheaded against the most powerful hurricane in the North Atlantic?
My maker was trembling. For a short moment, I must say I was a bit angry at him. Why did he have to build me in this place, on the island of Tortola, right in the way of the hurricane? Couldn’t he leave me to dust instead of persisting in building me?
Very quickly, however, I ceased to be mad at him. I could feel he supported me with all his heart. And also, when faced with the natural elements, with nature, one has to be realistic.
And that’s what I did. With a fighting spirit, but with wisdom, I waited. And when the violent winds crashed against my roof, when the cyclone sucked me into its destructive saraband, I clenched my strong little muscles under the sky’s wrath. Strong muscles? Limited of course. What could I do against the complete and utter madness that reigned on the island?
So I held my breath. As did he, my maker, breathless as Google Maps showed Irma passing above my body, threatening to wipe me out, as well as the entire island.
The sky falls on the island of Tortola
How can I explain to you what I felt during Irma’s passage? You, dear reader, sitting comfortably in a soft armchair, you know about technology. You know about those bullet trains I heard of, those very fast trains that rush from one city to another…
Bullet trains – you know about them, right?
Then imagine two of those trains passing you by, just 2 inches from your body. Imagine being sucked into an incredible and crazy spiral, threatening to take you along with it as it rushes forward with great power…
And still, in order to be as accurate as possible, you would need to imagine a third train passing right above me, looking to tear my head off. Then, maybe then, could you begin to imagine how traumatizing it was.
My name is MyALL and on September 6, 2017, I barely escaped being reduced to nothing, to a handful of sand, a mirage in the desert…
We are so insignificant, aren’t we?
Ruin on the island
With all my strength, I resisted. Dare I tell you that I prayed? In my own way, I did. I was born from the fortitude of a man, so, for him and for me, I wanted to remain standing. Remain upright. Remain brave. Remain a fighter. Not beaten down, both literally and figuratively.
Yet, after Irma’s passage, it was just like after Attila’s, in the time of the Huns! “Where Attila’s horse sets his foot, the grass never grows”, the legend says. Sadly, with Irma, it felt the same!
On the morning of September 7, there was nothing left. Vegetation, usually so lush, was gone. The houses, kept warm behind their thick trees, were all bare, all sad. And most of all, completely destroyed. A roof missing here, a smashed gate there…
Fallen trees, somber expressions… September 7 was a sad day. A day greeted with profound desolation, with wounds disfiguring heaven on earth…
What about me, MyALL? In the next article, you will know if and how I survived and what my maker did to help me recover... Yes, I have recovered, and it’s truly incredible. I can’t wait to tell you what happened on September 6, 2017 and the days that followed…
See you soon, subscribe to my newsletter to know everything and to learn the rest of this terrifying adventure…
And if you missed the beginning of my story, let me tell it to you!
MyALL