Watching the neighbours sip their tea I scoffed another jammy dodger from the willow pattern plate in the middle of the oval shaped coffee table next to us. Happily away from my boring job at the bank I stared at the empty beach with the waves smashing against the nearby cliffs. The house had an old fashioned feel with the dusty antiques begging to be cleaned and the kettle heating on the stove. Needing to leave to make dinner, I thanked my neighbours for the tea and biscuits and set off on my short journey home.
As my black Mercedes Benz rolled into the parking space my colleagues greeted me in a friendly fashion with the huge sign saying 'HSBC' looming above me. The only reason I stuck to my job was because of my colleagues- the kind, generous friends that helped me throughout the day. I walked into the lift to begin the 4 storey journey upwards to my office. "Ding, level 4" came out of the speakers from the rather annoying lady saying that phrase every morning five times a week. All the annoyance was worth it though with a £400,000 salary every year.
Five hours later my Benz pulled out of the parking space and twenty minutes later into my drive. With the tide out you could just about hear the laughing, shouting and crying from the sand beach gently sloping towards the sea. The sky was getting darker and the blue sky and the sun disappeared behind the black clouds approaching the cliffs. Suddenly all the noise of the people on the beach stopped. Then the thunder started.
In a flash the lightning beamed down on the horizon. The thunder growled viciously at everyone before the lightning struck down onto the sea. The storm was only starting and the night would not be a quiet one. The wind made the curtains fly up next to the little window. The rocks crumbled down with the fencepost of the neighbours garden. It would soon get to me, so I would have to do something before its to late.
Seventy-two year old Steve yelled at the council manager. It was all a blur for me, my head swaying side to side whilst they argued and agued about getting a sea wall giving me the most horrendous head ache. Steve was my neighbour whose house was four metres away and who knows how far it is now? "NO, NO, NO!" The manager kept shouting back. He still didn't care that eleven houses could be underwater in a matter of days! Stomping out of his office Steve slammed the old creaky door on the idiots face. I slowly walked out of the room following Steve. The tv in the reception was tuned into the weather channel. Rain and thunder storms were on their way, and his house had no protection. The sea would make the cliff crumble and his house would go with it.
The muddy gravel and rocks were no match for my shovel with the rain pouring on top of my high visibility jacket and my coat underneath. Pain shot through my legs from all the work that went into a two metre high wall stretching across the beach to save my neighbours house. But would it work?
It didn't.
CRASH! The wind shoved another rock flying off the cliffs. Steve was to scared to stay in his house, being so near the cliff edge. I stared out the window whilst Steve told me to forget about the storm and that everything would be fine. But he was rudely interrupted by the house shaking violently...
Finally after no sleep, the rain stopped and the sun arose. We got dressed and headed out to see the damage.
"No.. No. Please no.. Wha..." He went silent. There was only half a house. The rest had gone. His living room with priceless sentimental valued ornaments were in the ocean. He tried to get in but every step he took made a creaking sound and made a rock slowly fall off the cliffs.
Shortly later the mission to move any valuable objects was underway. Everyone in the small town was helping to carry everything possible out of the house. Men walked past with armchairs and two men carrying the washing machine. A bitter taste left in my mouth was the dust and shouts and bangs ringed my ears. The microwave I was carrying was cold metal and smelt of rice that would of been cooked inside it before the disaster. Sweat dripped down my face as I ran back to the house to scavenge for loose items that could be saved.
Then it stood tall and proud towering over the cliffs. Now the remains are lying broken and lifeless much like its owner, distraught and scared of what is to come.