Kate.

I used to think that it was a lovely name. Now, however, I have grown to despise it.

My life had been so ordinary before July 28th…

“What do you want to do?” I asked for the hundredth time as I lay out on our velvety front lawn.

“I don’t know,” Noel replied, the sweet summer breeze whipping her flowing brown hair. “What do you want to do?”

“Oh, come on,” Leah begged as she rolled her pale blue eyes. “Can’t we just agree on something?”

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m getting pretty hungry. Can I ask my mom if you two can stay for dinner?”

When they agreed, I skipped inside to find my mom eating out of an enormous tub of Blue Bell ice cream. Immediately, I knew that something was wrong; my mom is a total health nut. As I got closer, I noticed that her eyes were puffy and glittering with tears.

“Mom?” I said tentatively. “Is everything alright?”

Startled, she snapped her head up. Her lower lip trembling, she broke out into a fresh wave of sobs.

“Mom!” I rushed to her side, terrified at this point. “Please tell me!”

It took her a moment to regain control of herself. “The weather channel said that Hurricane Kate is supposed to hit this area in five days. Meteorologists are predicting that it will destroy everything!”

A vast array of emotions came flying at me all at once: fear, frustration, and, most of all, shock. I collapsed into the nearest chair. No, this couldn’t be happening! Our house, the one that we had lived in since I moved to Fort Lauderdale in preschool, was going to be demolished in the blink of an eye. All of a sudden, the reality of losing everything hit me like a stampede.

“We will have to leave first thing in the morning to somewhere safe in northern Florida. For a few nights, we can stay in a motel. You may bring a few of your belongings, but the car can’t fit much.” She paused for a shallow breath, then gazed at me with the glossy brown eyes that matched mine perfectly. “How are you feeling, Megan?” I could only manage a shrug. With a bittersweet smile, she leaned over and kissed my forehead. “It’s going to be okay,” she cooed, gently brushing the tears from my freckled face.

The following week proved to be the most hectic one of my life. Leah, Noel, and I promised each other that we would not separate all week. At first, we were all excessively emotional: Noel cried often, Leah’s temper was quicker than ever, and I usually sat in quiet thought. However, we decided that sticking together and having a positive attitude was the only way that we could get through this.

We had to wait four, seemingly endless days in that musty motel before we could even go back to observe the aftermath of Kate. The two things that I noticed when we first arrived at Fort Lauderdale were the impenetrable silence and the menacing, overcast sky. The three of us and our parents trudged through about two feet of soggy debris until we came to what used to be our street.

Hand in hand with my mom, I stepped up onto the thick, concrete slab that was once my home. Kicking at the debris, I didn’t recognize even one item that used to be in our house. As I observed the sparkling, gently rolling ocean, I tried to imagine how something so tranquil could cause such unimaginable destruction. I could remember the carefree days when I would frolic and splash in that very same ocean, and I felt as if it had turned on me.

After Mom and I cried together, I sprinted over to Noel and Leah. We hugged each other, half-laughing, half-bawling and coming to the unspoken conclusion that we were all each other had. At that very moment, the golden sun emerged and a majestic rainbow appeared in the sky.