By the time February came around, even in the days of repairing roads and working inside on renovations and restorations of businesses and homes, the constant rain and dreary weather was taking its toll.

Still, they came trickling in. Those who had found out in various ways that we were prospering. So many having to resort to drastic means, too unspeakable for some to talk about, like cannibalism. Necessary, in order to survive the long drought with dirty water and little or nothing but canned food to survive on if they could find it.

I woke up one night and found that Melody was not in my bed. She wasn't with the twins either, they were sleeping quietly. I heard her crying in the bathroom.

I stuck my head through the door and asked, "What's

wrong, Mel?"

She answered, "I don't know. I can't sleep and it isn't the boys. I just don't feel well. Everything is getting to me." She started crying again.

I tried to console her, but she would have none of it. Melody was suffering from postpartum syndrome that no amount of my encouragement could relieve. The women seemed to be taking it harder than the men. Many of them staying at home doing menial tasks while their men went to work with us. Or, in the case of the fishermen, heading out into the storms that came every few days, not knowing whether their men would return with fish or at all. The weather was that bad and feelings were so on edge.

At a town meeting a mental health committee was formed by calling on all of those who had been counselors, therapists or otherwise engaged in helping people mentally, to get together. Charged by the mayor with coming up with ways of helping those suffering from post-pandemic loss or just the dreariness of rain without sunshine day after day.

To make matters worse, in our compound our solar panels were useless without sunshine. With only the power from our windmills, about one half of what we needed to run our houses, we had to cut back on electricity use and light wood fires in our fireplaces on cold nights to help warm our houses. Sometimes we slept in front of the fireplace on cold nights.

To meet the growing demand for counseling, the mental health committee created groups for group therapy sessions where everyone could share their experiences with others of a similar problem and get encouragement on how to leave those bad memories behind for a better life ahead. Group membership was made voluntary, but everyone suffering was encouraged to attend.

Melody began attending a group and it seemed to help when we talked at night after she returned and we had the twins with us overnight. Daphne soon joined the group with Melody because she was having trouble coping with her baby's needs and the lack of sunshine for so long. Soon, Stephanie joined, too. It put a strain on Marsha, but the babies were in the nursery and all she had to deal with was teaching the kids in her small school where outdoor activities were hampered by all the rain.

And then, I got a call from Gramps.

"Drake, is that you? My reception ain't too good."

"I see you Gramps. What's going on?

"I'm staying at the Meyer's place again. The rain just won't quit and it is starting to flood the entire valley again. I never, never, boy, have seen anything like this."

I could see him shaking his face as his image broke up and came back like a bad connection.

"I guess that means we won't be able to come there again until everything dries out in the spring."

"That's what I'm calling about. If this keeps up, we won't be able to grow anything or even have anything of value to trade with you. A damn shame!"

"We knew it was coming for a long time. Maybe when we get there, we can raise your house and provide you with raised greenhouses so food can be produced all year round. Maybe even raise the barn floor for your animals."

"Those are great ideas. But this old guy can't do any of them without your help. I have to leave now… Just saying…"

"You hang in there, like you always have. We'll be there before you know what with some solutions for you and the other farmers. After all, that's what the Hutchins family is famous for… Rolling with the punches… Right?"

"If you say so, Drake, I'm a believer, but this old body of mine won't be able to do much to make it happen."

"Before I leave the phone, Melody had twin boys. They are your great-grandchildren and will be the ones who make things right. I'll see to it." I flash sent him some pictures of them.

"Well, sonny, it sure looks like a good thing can come out of a bad situation." He was grinning mischievously in his flickering image like a ghost coming and going.

We said our goodbyes and I had to tell Melody. I didn't want to give her any more bad news to contemplate. So, I just told her that I talked to Gramps, and he was pleased to see the twins and would look for us to come in the spring when it dried out. I will admit I lied a bit, but I didn't want to upset her any more than she was. She and so many others needed to heal until that California sun came back again.

All the rain was causing a lot of mudslides and washed out streets. All of the properties on our side of the street were losing a little bit on the back of the property overlooking the Pacific; our reason for being here in the first place. The soft ground was heavily soaked with water, even though most of what fell ran off and down the cliff behind. Just another worry that nagged me.

Each day we repaired the roads with gravel and were often able to restore some really nice house that we picked out in a neighborhood close to the port and begin to go to work. Inside, we cleared out any bodies we found and buried them in the backyard. Usually, we could find their names and ages on paperwork in the house. Sometimes on computers and cell phones left behind.

We made little concrete monuments with bronze plaques commemorating where they were buried, but the primary reason for burying them there was to allow their bodies to replenish the soil like bodies had for thousands of years before we segregated them into cemeteries and mausoleums.

We removed all the junk from the house and kept what was usable or beautiful. Personal information of the previous owners were carefully kept and stored in case there was an inquiry from family. We completely cleaned out and fumigated any creatures that had started to take over in the short time since the occupants died.

Every house we got ready for reoccupation was already called for by someone tired of living in the hotel or the ship and wanted a place of their own again. The deeds they were granted were contingent upon the possible return of the occupants and/or family from other parts of the country or world. Where legal proceedings would determine who had right to the property.

And there were those who wished to return to their previous properties in the port area. In some of those cases, they wished to move into a better house on their street or acquire the next-door neighbor's houses to make their property and their houses bigger. With so much vacant property going unclaimed, a lot was possible and we were doing it, one project at a time, with multiple crews doing the work.

For those who wished to move back to their homes in neighborhoods far from the port, Drake and I told them we couldn't help them now. And we didn't know when we could. To have them live outside of the security of the growing village and its facilities would be dangerous and unhealthy.

We had some very wealthy people who wished to return to their retreats in the Hollywood Hills or other wealthy enclaves like the downtown high-rises and stylish lofts. Of course, anyone was free to go back to their homes, but we couldn't guarantee their safety or that they would be able to sustain themselves.

With the way the weather had been, our greatest obstacle was the deterioration of the roads and utility infrastructure. The heavy rains had brought down many hillsides across roads all over town. We weren't ready to clear those slides and rebuild those roads anytime soon.

So, each day, Drake and I headed out to various projects and got people working on them, taking their minds off what they had lost in favor of what they could make of their new lives without those missing family and friends that supported them before but no longer could.

Copyright 2023 © Ronald W. Hull

12/29/23