Earthquake

It was a cold and still Christmas evening and the children had gone to bed. I was sitting cross legged on the carpeted floor and enjoying the glimmer of the Christmas tree lights as they illuminated the dimly lit room at regular intervals with colours of red, yellow, green and blue. It was about 11pm and I was ready to turn in for the night when the room began to shake and move from side to side in a fluid like even tempo. I heard dishes smashing onto the marble tiled kitchen floor. A rush of adrenalin seized my body and my senses became dramatically heightened. I tried not to panic but my heart was racing and my thoughts were focused only on my children's welfare. I woke them without too much ado so as not to worry them and we all proceeded to find safety on the veranda when just as unexpectedly as when it had begun the house stopped swaying. People gathered in the street below and they appeared bewildered and dazed.
We waited silently without motion for the next round of tremors but they didn't appear. There were decisions to be made. Should we camp out in the cold wintry night on the footpath or stay indoors waiting for any sign of danger.
We decided to allow the children to sleep on mattresses near the lounge room door and as we were on the first floor of our building it would not take long to descend the stairs then onto the street in a matter of minutes.
I packed a small suitcase with a change of clothes for everybody, some food, water, medicines and waited. There were a few more tremors and as they were less severe I decided not to wake the children.
The epicentre of the earthquake was in the desert east of the city of Homs. I remembered that a friend of ours who was a specialist doctor in the town, was told along with his colleagues that there was to be no leave taken over the Christmas period and all personnel at the hospital were on 24 hour notice. The government were obviously expecting an earthquake but the exact location as to where it would hit was unknown.
The light of the morning brightened our spirits and finally we felt safe.
For days after the earthquake it was an uncommon sensation to feel unbalanced as though I could not find my equilibrium.