People | I Survived

Island of Debris: The Unofficial Toll of Hurricane María

“Very deep down I know that we will rise, but for now, I still need to mourn the debris.”

And then the wrath of the wind was replaced by the cruel whisper of the unknown.

I lived almost four years with my not-so-new-anymore-spouse before marrying him, and in that time I managed to create a fantasy where I didn’t go to the bathroom, making him believe that I’m either a princess or a perfect robot. Now I have to announce the purposes of my visit if I go to the toilet, if I have to flush it. I’ve had to overcome humiliation. I’ve tried to convince myself that I’m on a camping trip, one of those camping trips I never liked before, but this time it’s an indefinite camping between concrete and cement walls—camping without an ocean view, without the salty breeze that refreshes, without the sweetness of a make-believe holiday.

my house was flooded, the car doesn’t turn on, I lost my terrace and half of my furniture,Thank God, we’re still alive.

What do you have left?