After my escape to the city for over a week, the flooded countryside slowly saw the water receding several days in a roll. The sense of relief was loudly rejoiced among villagers. They could start checking the damages around their houses and lands. The local authority had announced that affected villagers could apply for some compensation. My neighbours all got their application forms submitted within a few days. I was the last person in the whole village to submit my application form as I was still in the city.
I was quite surprised that the village chief actually remembered me and told my gardener to get my papers to him as soon as possible. He had taken it upon himself to contact the local authority, so the staff could phone up the provincial authority to wait for my papers before concluding all the cases. I didn’t expect much from government projects so I was taking things easy. I would be very surprised if the central administration actually had the fund to distribute to all affected villagers.
We were so lucky to have a fast and furious flooding which ended within two weeks. The poor people in the northern part had to suffer a second flash flood this week. So, all rehabilitation efforts had to stop while the whole town was extensively flooded. The second flooding was far worse than anyone could have anticipated. Many animals in zoos were drown and many elephants were pushed away by the strong currents. The photos of the second flooding were horrendous which reminded me of those poor people in wiped out areas by Helene in America. I sent those people lots of prayers and spiritual support.
The local spirits and guardian Nagas have been very supportive to us, I felt the land here was quite special with lost spiritual traditions of the ancient time. The previous or original owners of the land still guard their lands with vigilance and protection. I ought to do seriously deep meditation often, yet I was afraid of what I could perceive or encounter in my meditation. So, I had opted for walking meditation instead. Perhaps, one day when I felt I was ready for deep meditation and possibly strange contacts with the other dimension, I would gladly accept the possibility.
The sound of heavy machinery down the dirt road attracted my curiosity. So, I ventured out along the muddy and slippery dirt road to see what’s happening down the road. It seemed my neighbour had just come back from her trip to America and she had commandeered people and machines to put everything back in order once again. This neighbour was endowed with wealthy and lovely family so she could spend money liberally. I was amazed by the speed of her decisions. Within one day of moving back to her house, she had tracker to push all the thick mud off the dirt so she could drive her car safely.
Then, in the evening she had a tractor to push the thick layer of mud off the road in her garden. Several people stopped to watch the tractor working by the riverfront. I took this opportunity to record the activities after the Ed flooding. I observed how skillful the tractor driver was at his work. I wished I could have a small tractor to work on the muddy areas in my garden. The driver turned out to be an old acquaintance who used to work on my lane several years ago. I was glad to see him again. After the Covid jabs, I was quite concerned that many villagers I use to know would not be around much longer. I hoped most villagers would have naturally detox by consuming lots of local herbal remedies.
I walked along the newly leveled road towards the riverfront. I saw my gardener and neighbour there watching the working tractor. We had a brief chat then I carried on with my walk along the riverfront. A few data ago, the villagers and village chief gathered together to clean up the thick mud along this road. They could collected many truck loads of dark rich earth for sale. Villagers helped with cleaning the waterfront with a powerful pump to draw water from the river for flushing away the remaining mud. I wished I had been able to observe this local act of unifying effort for the common good of the village.
So, the waterfront has become very clean as all the mud had been washed away. I was very thankful to these hard working people who worked together to improve the surroundings. People could travel along the waterfront as usual and children could cycle with friends in the evening. I could enjoy my quiet walk along the river and observe the beautiful sunset once again. However, the damages from the flooding was glaring in front of me. Some areas were still looking like a small pond and puddles. Many banana trees have turned yellow and brown; they were dying from two weeks of flooding.
A lot of work still needed to be done to salvage the flooded land for planting later in October. The remaining water needed to be drained and the debris had to be cleaned up. Some would have to hire the tractor to level the land and push heavy pieces of wood to one big pile. But people still had hope and optimism to start anew and try their best to make a living. I had bought several kinds of vegetable seeds for my gardener so she could look forwards to making plans for the new season.
The other villages still haven’t cleaned up all the mud and recovery was much slower. We were lucky to have strong leadership in our village and most people were willing to work together as a team. I had to wait for three more a days for the leftover mud along the dirt road to get dry up, then I could go cycling once again. Meanwhile I could walk slowly along the dirt road and take a shortcut towards thde river. The sunset tried to comfort me for seeing so many dead trees on my land. I was determined to replant similar trees which I could use as herbal medicine in the long run. So, there’s so much planting work waiting for me in the near future. The house also needed some repair work after the flooding damage. Overall, we were very lucky comparing with others less fortunate people in the northern provinces. Lots of help and volunteers have been going to their aid. We have to pray for no more rain for a month in those places.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.
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