It happened in my backyard. I held the iced coffee in my hands while watching the trees sway and crack. The rain was pouring hard, and it was so cold for 70 degree weather. I sat with my step-mom, Dara, outside while we looked at the world around us that looked like it was falling apart. The sky constantly lit up blue when power in another spot went out. The only way to see was with the faint street lights that went off when all power went out. But to our lack of luck, my neighbor’s shed flew by and the blue tarp covered the last light source.

About an hour before, my dad thought we should leave right in the eye of the hurricane. He said I had no choice, and tried bribing me by listening to a radio station. We warned him how dangerous it would be leaving in a category 4 hurricane, when all the trees and destroyed objects would block roads and exits. Even on the news they said no rescue services would save anyone during it, and to leave a day prior. 

It was the first time I ever stood up for myself. I told him how it was. I would not leave in a hurricane and risk my life to listen to a radio station and leave everything behind. He was angry, so so angry. He screamed about how mindless we were and left. Dara and I cried on the floor with our candles, and our dog, Bella, was slouched on the corner of the rug by the front door. It was nerve racking for all of us when my dad got angry. That was when everything finally hit me. I was stranded in Hurricane Ida by my own father.

We looked in the trash can. Eight Coke cans were crushed, and some Goldfish and graham cracker packs. The ashtray was filled with cigarettes and there were some fallen pictures off the walls. All his anger was shown through the house, and this was not the first time. There was no reason to be shocked, but we were for the fact he just left us thinking we would die since there were so many tornado watches. Not many people know if they have not been in a hurricane, but the clouds circling fast will create a tornado, especially with the weather that it’s in.

Dara looked at me and apologized, even though it was not her fault. We played a few games together, but thought it was best to go back outside since the eye passed us. Once again, the wind screamed and pulled our fence back, luckily the fence stood strong enough to withstand the harsh weather. The clouds moved in circular motions fast, and started coming down as if the tornado was coming for us directly. It passed finally, but the suspense was still high.

One thing to keep in mind is to never leave during the hurricane. Anything could happen and trees fall on the roads. Dara and I, being smart people unlike the bald idiot who just left us, knew not to leave. It was the first major hurricane I've been in, but I had knowledge to know what was right and wrong. It reminded me of my trip to Mexico when I was ten. Even in category one, the Iberostar resort was completely torn apart, and they saw it as normal. So I definitely did not complain about this situation, knowing that Cancun was probably destroyed,

She tried calling my dad multiple times, but he never picked up. Finally he called her and yelled that she never answered his calls either. He was on Highway 16, only five minutes away from my house. We lived on Dunn Road and it took him 2 hours to drive to Perkins Rowe and back, and somehow survive. He said he was coming back home.

On his side of things, it was horrible. The trees fell in front of the car, rocks were flying all around, and the wind blew the car around. There was a deafening silence and no other cars around. The only noise muffled out was the awful screeches of the car and howling of the wind. As if things could not get worse for him, the roof of a shed flew up and went straight at the car. He was backing up 52 MPH, and that shed kept getting closer and closer. He swerved to an empty gas station and the shed crashed into a fallen tree. He looked around at the world that seemed as if it was falling apart, and instantly knew he would not make it to Mississippi that night.

I decided to go to sleep to not hear his bratty fits when he got back. Like I thought, he started yelling at Dara, blaming her for not leaving with him and it is all our fault we did not get out. Dara went outside and saw on the news the exact tornado we saw coming down at us fell only 4 miles away. He tried making her leave again and to wake me up, she ignored his excuses for fighting and went to bed. But the next morning was not any better. He kept arguing about it when he woke up and threw up a little bit. They decided the best thing to do was go through Dallas to Oklahoma and bring our dog, Bella, in the car with us. It was just us and tension then.