For the past twenty minutes, Maya’s coffee had gone cold, yet she couldn’t be bothered to warm it up. Her phone screen showed an emergency alert. The message read that everyone should leave their homes immediately and go to safe areas. It was the fifteenth time she had looked at the message and her eyes were now tired.
The road outside, seen from her fourth floor room, was deserted with no one moving. There was neither a siren sound nor any screams heard. Did you see red tongues of fire moving on rooftops or high water waves flowing down in the rain? Nothing but a heavy, eerie stillness that seemed wrapped in layers of cushioning material and was very artificial.
She pressed close to the window trying to see better and maybe hear something if there was anything to be heard. The apartment opposite hers, which belonged to Mrs Chen, remained under darkness. Having packed their belongings three hours earlier inclusive of the jittery crossbreed; did the Hendersons follow suit? Not even those many birds that like perching on that end of the building were there today.
Maya was all by herself in a town that saw it fit to abandon seven million individuals over a simple SMS.
As her eyes were fixed on the window, her phone buzzed again with another new message which read: You must leave for your own safety. Be aware that failure to comply with this order may lead to an increase in cases where emergency help cannot be provided.”
Leaving it faced down on the kitchen counter, she proceeded to her bedroom. In her closet on the floor was her emergency kit still intact since she made it during work’s earthquake preparedness campaign; containing some bottles filled with water alongside other things like flashlight plus first aid box among copies carrying critical papers work and whatnots. It contained all the things that characterized a responsible citizen.
She was not at all feeling responsible. To her, it was like she had a script different from theirs in the movie, and they had left out everything about her role only.
At the window, there was only one car that moved slowly as it drove through Elm Street. The driver drove carefully just as he expected to see anything behind the cars that were packed on either side of the road. Mr. Patel’s blue sedan, from the corner shop, also joined them in their departure.
With a clicking sound, she opened her laptop and entered “city-wide evacuation” in the search engine. It seemed that all of the first twelve links were recent; Unprecedented Safety Measure Enacted, Citizens Respond to Emergency Protocol, Authorities Stress Voluntary Compliance. But what did those words mean – voluntary compliance? The articles discussed possible dangers and precautionary measures without going into details.
Maya scrolled down even more. People on local news forums had different theories. Was there an explosion of gas? Or is this a terrorist attack? Probably it’s because of a solar flare. Although all were speculating widely, none could understand anything from the official sources.
When she saw her neighbor’s cat on the fire escape with messy orange hair standing on end, it made her do one thing. In a wide gesture, Maya allowed some fresh air into the room for the visitor seeking an entrance back home elsewhere. Well, she would not be completely alone!
The cat – which she always called Marmalade even though she didn’t know its real name – greedily ate up the food as if it had not tasted any for days. Probably he had been starving himself for some time now. It might be that they left him after planning to comply very soon with their plan of evacuation.
‘What do you think, Marmalade?’ Maya asked while stroking his ears. ‘Shall we pack our bags and go join everyone else for some fun in the sun?”
The cat purred and lay on her lap, as if indicating that it wanted to stay where they were.
She busied herself moving about the apartment in a manner reminiscent of a museum curator, handling items and speculating their continuity into the future. Her grandmothers’ quilt. A ceramic mug from her brothers high school pottery days. A plant she had managed to keep alive for three whole years- new personal best!
The call came at sunset. It was her sister Diane calling as seen on the screen display.
“Maya! Thanks you picked up. We’re like two hours north at this evacuation shelter or something and it’s complete mayhem here. Too many people, too few toilets and everyone is clueless! Did you manage to leave?”
“I’m still at home.”
There was silence on the other end followed by “What do you mean still at home? You got the alerts didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“In that case you have to leave right now! Imagine if there really is an emergency of some kind… What then....”
“But suppose there isn’t?”
Maya was taken aback by her question. She had not overtly made a decision to question the evacuation order, but as soon as it came out of her mouth, she realized that she had been feeling uneasy about something all day.
"That is irrelevant," Diane said. "One should follow orders especially when they say that one’s life is at risk.”
“But what if we’re risking our lives by blindly following unclear orders?”
After ending the call with Maya, she stayed in darkness without switching on the lights around. The couch that she sat was under occupation by Marmalade who snored so gently. From her window view, the town looked like it had been deserted purposely.
Her mind was preoccupied with work related thoughts as she worked out risk assessments and probability matrices for clients. It was all a matter of mathematics, wasn’t it? But what were chances seven million people moved due to correct rather than administrative reasons? And did it make more sense to leave or stay put?
Midnight came and Maya had made up her mind. She would wait until morning. In case the predicted disaster took place, she would endure any outcome of her decision while if it happened otherwise then she had still much to learn about herself and society.
She fell asleep on the couch with Marmalade purring against her shoulder.
Maya found herself awake to bright sunlight that cut across her windows as well as sound from moving cars down below. Her phone indicated several missed calls and messages. According to the most recent news update: All-Clear Given - Residents May Return Home - False Alarm Declared After Technical Malfunction in Threat Assessment System.
When she looked at him, Marmalade stretched and yawned lazily as though nothing out of ordinary had happened at all.
Maya scratched his chin as he said, "I suppose there is a lesson that we have been able to learn."
It was not about being brave, going against authority or leaders who were not good. What she had learned was that one revealed their real identity when they required to act independently even contradicting group-think amidst relative calmness. The quietness experienced in the false start had revealed to her that sense could not be made at all time from dramatic scene or obvious choices.
At certain times, one could find it by being patient and just keeping quiet so as to listen to oneself among other people’s speeches.
