Chapter Eighteen

After the rains stopped and the floodwaters subsided, the slush that remained wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. Most of the flood didn't come down with debris or leave behind any residue. This had much to do with the rising of the waters from below.

It was about to get dark as it was late evening when they all could have finally come out of their shelters. They flew out and all went back to their respective villages.

At night the splendor of their world and the beauty of their transformations created an atmosphere that reflected beauty and enchantment. They became mystical at night and their world, seemed like it did not just experience a flood. When Atohmma and the natives arrived at their village, they were careful to inspect their cave homes. Outside, had a few extra rocks, leaves, and some branches that the flood brought with it. Upon pushing open her cave door, Atohmma realized the place was wet. Everything was soaked. This meant the same for all the others. She wanted to get some help but remembered that everyone had their own cleaning up to do, so she decided to begin doing her cleaning, little by little. When she realized that she needed help to move some of the stuff, so that it can be cleaned and dried, she decided to leave it until morning. For now, she focused on the light stuff and her sleeping arrangements for the night. Lucky for her, the extra blankets she had on top of her wardrobe were secure, clean, and dry. She dried most of the items and managed to clear a space on another cupboard so she could use it as a bed for the night along with the dry blankets. She wondered if anyone else might be needing clean, dry blankets. She took some, went out into the village, and offered to those who needed it. Most of them managed without needing any and a few others borrowed from her. She also mentioned to the ones who needed help, to leave it till morning, when they will assist each other with the necessary cleaning up. There was a lot of work to be done. Atohmma knew, if she didn't have such a tall wardrobe, she might have been in the same predicament as most of them were, but she would have slept elsewhere that night. She checked on Venomma, who seemed to have her cave under control. She turned her bed up before the flood so she just needed a hand to put it back down. Atohmma helped her put it down and lent her a couple of dry blankets as well. She could only imagine the same for the other villagers in the other villages.

When Atohmma was done helping Venomma, she flew to see Orgamma. "Maybe, he needs some assistance. Let me go see" she said to herself. There at Orgamma's, he was busy drying his workspace items and checking his case where he had most of his drawings and paperwork stored. Some water seeped through one of the spaces in the case, so he was putting out the soiled papers onto a ledge, for air drying. Atohmma said to him " At least it isn't much worse." He spun around surprised to see her. "Atohmma, I didn't expect to see you. You must have your cleaning to do. What brought you here?" "I thought you may need a hand or a dry blanket for the night, so I brought a couple," she said while handing him the two blankets. "Thank you so much, I sure need those," he said. "I don't plan on doing much tonight, in the morning will be better to work on cleaning up this place," said Orgamma. "I agree! I was telling Venomma and the others the same thing." Nodding his head, Orgamma agreed. They checked on the drawings for the well. It was untouched, as he kept it in a cylindrical container that had no space for water to seep through. They chatted a while and then Atohmma left.

On her way back, Atohmma noticed something on the ground. She saw a bird, laying on its back on the roadway. She knew it was dead but she hovered over it a while in sympathy. "Oh my! you poor thing, I hope there aren't more of you hurt like this anywhere," she said to herself, and hovering closer she stretched her hand toward it as though she wanted to touch it. There and then, she thought, "if only you will open your eyes. I am certain you didn't fall from the sky." With that thought, the bird began twitching its eyes and slowly opened them. It seemed to be alright. Atohmma was happy it wasn't dead. She felt relieved when it turned over and on its feet stood up and just flew off. She couldn't explain what happened, but she assumed it probably got hit and fell unconscious for a while. She looked around for other birds that may have been hurt, and then she flew off and went back to her cave for the night.