Mariamma stands alone washing clothes, humming a song. She looks up, smils and says, "I am sick and tired of sleeping on the pavement in dirty clothes. I have decided to come back, wash clothes and cook food."
She glances at the quiet morning sea and says, "See, how quiet she is... You should have seen her that day. She was like a ferocious tiger, hungry and angry, ready to eat anything that came her way. In my 60 years of existence I saw this face of her for the first time."
What does she plan to do now? She flashes a wry smile and said, "I am going to cook rice now, but there won't be any fried fish today!"
Saying that, she goes back to washing clothes.
Also read: Tsunamis: Picking up the threads