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The term will reach us soon.
I woke up to the news this morning.
It wasn’t a surprise. It happens every year around this time. We’ve been seeing lightning bolts in the sky lately, every now and then, warning us, and the Watch confirmed today that our area will take the first hit in four days.
April 14th. Our fate is near.
People will start to pray more often. The term is shaping our religions and beliefs into new traditions. Very few of us have the same background, but we all have the same hopes.
The first night is the scariest. It brings realisation crashing down, and we all huddle with our loved ones and beg to survive one more time.
I’ve been through it enough times now that I’m almost numb to it. Fear isn’t real. It doesn’t feel like it will happen again.
We know how to do this by now. It’s almost routine. We go through the motions without a single thought, as if we’re walking a familiar route home and suddenly we will realise we have already arrived.
It doesn’t guarantee anything.
My luck has to run out sooner or later.
I’ve lost many people to the term. The wreckage has claimed even more.
But I still have Jean.
Jean taught me how to survive. After I lost my family, Jean gave me a new reason to.
I would have never made it this far without him.
I will protect him with my life.
I know what we will do today. Jean and I will go out to hunt, bring in as much meat as possible, and spend the rest of the day preserving it.
This is the time where everyone goes into a preparation frenzy. We try to save up all year, but there’s still a long way to go. Short terms are a blessing. Long terms are a damnation and many will die.
We need provision. We need enough food and water to last us a month, preferably longer, without leaving the house.
Jean refuses to sit still when the Watch has announced a date. He will work as hard as he can, sleep as little as he can, to help provide for as many families as possible.
Not everyone is as healthy as us. Larger families are harder to care for. This community has to work together.
Jean’s mind is truly beautiful.
I love him. I hope I can still tell him that for a long time.