The Earthquake

Chapter one

Gabriel had a kind face and intelligent brown eyes. That day he wasn’t happy because he wanted to be
as rich as Marco. He thought Silvia didn’t love him.

Before Gabriel went to Silvia’s flat, he took two tickets and a red rose. An hour later, he arrived at
her flat. Silvia opened the door, but she didn’t smile at him. She didn’t remember their appointment.
She apologised to him and said that she couldn’t go out with him that evening and promised to go to
the cinema with him the next day.

Gabriel was very angry because he knew that Silvia was going out with Marco. He told her that Marco
was rich, but he was a bad man. When Silvia closed the door, Gabriel threw the rose onto the ground
and left. At that moment, Marco arrived. He had twenty red roses and he laughed at Gabriel.

Gabriel was very unhappy, but he decided to go to the cinema alone because he had the tickets and it
was a wonderful film.

The Plaza was a big, old building in the centre of town. There were a lot of people outside the Plaza.
When the doors opened, they went inside to the ticket office, but Gabriel waited outside because he
had his ticket. At that moment, at exactly 8.27 p.m., the earthquake happened.

Chapter two

Marco stood at the door of Silvia's flat. When Silvia opened the door, she didn’t look wonderful, she
looked unhappy. Marco followed her into the sitting-room. Silvia wasn’t ready so he went to the table
and got a drink while he waited for her. He sat down in an expensive armchair. Marco liked the flat;
there were beautiful pictures on the walls.

Silvia lived with her mother. Her father was dead /ded/. Before he died, he had a good job. He had a
lot of money. But the Delgados weren’t a rich family now. Silvia's mother was ill. She needed good food
and expensive medicines. Marco didn’t know that the Delgados were poor now. He saw their pictures
and their jewellery and he liked them all. Marco realised that Mrs Delgado didn't like him because
when she asked Silvia who was there, she said that it was Gabriel and that they were going to the
cinema. Silvia was very beautiful. She had dark hair and big brown eyes. She was wearing a pretty
dress and she smiled happily.

It was very hot. Marco drove his fast car to the Oasis Restaurant, the best and one of the most
expensive restaurants in town. It was two kilometres outside the town. Inside it, it was nearly dark.
There was quiet music and some people danced. Their table was near the door to the kitchen. Marco
didn’t like the table; he wanted one near the dancing. The manager apologised because he couldn't
offer him a better table. Marco became very angry and shouted at the manager. Silvia was/felt
embarrassed and told him that the table was OK, but he insisted. Silvia didn't like Marco's behaviour,

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so she went to the washroom. People laughed and talked. The washroom was outside the restaurant, in
a small garden. It was 8.27 and at that minute/moment, the earthquake happened.

Chapter three

The ground moved under Silvia’s feet. There was a terrible noise. Suddenly, the lights went out.
People started to scream. Silvia couldn’t move. She saw a long crack on the wall. The people
inside the restaurant tried to run, they were afraid.
Then the wall fell and the roof came down. She thought about Marco, the manager and the people
inside the restaurant. There was another loud noise and many buildings fell. Suddenly, she
remembered her mother.

Silvia took off her shoes and climbed over a broken wall. Her pretty dress was dirty and she had cuts
on her feet. Silvia couldn’t help anybody because she wanted to go home and help her mother. She was
worried about her mother because she was ill in bed, she couldn’t move easily and perhaps she was
hurt.

The roof of the Plaza fell so she remembered Gabriel, but she didn’t want to think about him then.
The Delgado’s building was near the town centre. The building next to the Delgado’s home was a ruin.
Men and women pulled at the rubble looking for their families and friends. Her building had a big crack
in the front wall, some broken windows, but it looked safe. A man told Silvia not to enter because it
was dangerous, but she went in. Inside it was dark and the lights didn’t work. Quickly, she ran up the
stairs. The door was open, she went to her mother’s bedroom, but Mrs. Delgado wasn’t there.

Chapter four

Silvia sat down on her mother’s bed and cried. There was another loud noise, another building fell so
she left. She didn’t want to think about Marco or Gabriel. Suddenly, in the street, she saw a neighbour
who lived in the next building. She asked him about her mother. He didn’t remember at first, but then
he said that Mr Garcia, the man from the second floor in Silvia’s building carried her down and put her
in his car. He took Mrs Delgado to Liberty Park because it was safe there. Silvia thanked Mr Enriques
and promised to come back and help him. Mr. Enriques told her that she couldn’t help him because he
didn’t have anything then. His wife was dead and his building was a ruin.

Liberty Park was outside the town. Before she went there and although it was dangerous, she
returned to the flat to take her mother’s medicines, which were on the table next to her mother’s
bed. She found a big bag and put into it some warm clothes and her mother’s medicine bottles. Then,
she ran outside again and shut the door. It was a long way to Liberty Park so she started walking.

Chapter five

When the earthquake started, Gabriel was outside the Plaza because he had the ticket. He didn’t see or
hear anything because some rubble hit him on the head and he fell to the ground. He couldn’t move his
arm because it was broken.

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Gabriel thought of his family, but he couldn’t help them. Then, he thought of Silvia, but he couldn’t help
her either because she was with Marco. Finally, he thought of Mrs. Delgado, who was alone and sick so he
went to her house. He started walking, he felt terribly weak. By accident, a woman hit his arm. The pain
was terrible so he fainted.
When Gabriel opened his eyes, he was in the garden of the hospital. He saw a lot of doctors, nurses and
injured people. A nurse explained to him that his arm was broken and that he had a cut on his head, too.
She also said that there were a lot of injured people and that they were in the garden because it wasn’t
safe inside the hospital. The nurse advised him to stay quietly and sleep. Then, Gabriel remembered Silvia
and Mrs Delgado. He decided to go to their house. The nurse and the doctors didn’t see him go because
they were too busy.

Chapter six

Although Silvia was very tired, she went to Liberty Park because her mother was there. The Grand hotel,
the supermarket and the Oasis restaurant were a ruin. A lot of people were dead, but Marco didn’t die. A
man told her that Marco was alive. He and his friend pulled him from the rubble, but he didn’t say ‘thank
you’, he didn’t help the other people. He was only worried about his car. He only had a small cut on his
face, but he wanted to see a doctor. Silvia understood that she was a stupid girl. She didn’t love Marco,
she loved Gabriel. At midnight, there was another earthquake. More buildings fell. At 12:30, Silvia arrived
at Liberty Park. There were thousands of people on the ground so she couldn’t find her mother. After an
hour, she was very tired. Suddenly, she heard her name. It was Mr Garcia. He told her that his wife was
with Mrs Delgado and then, he showed her where her mother was. She was on the ground with Mr Garcia’s
jacket under her head. Her face was white, but she was happy when she realized Silvia was safe. Silvia
took her mother’s medicines out of the bag and gave her some.

Chapter seven

Gabriel arrived at the Delgado’s flat early in the morning. His arm hurt badly and he was terribly thirsty.
He wanted to help a man, but he couldn’t because he needed both/two hands for that job.
When Gabriel went up the stairs to the Delgado’s flat, he didn’t think about the danger. He saw his red
rose on the floor. The door of the Delgado’s flat was open but Silvia and Mrs Delgado weren’t there.
Suddenly, two men ran out of the sitting-room. The first man escaped, but Gabriel stopped the other. He
put out his foot and the man fell over it. A box fell to the ground and the man ran away. Gabriel opened
the box, there was jewellery inside it: Mrs Delgado’s jewellery. He took it into the flat and he saw
everything was OK there. After that, he saw Silvia’s shoes so he realized that Silvia wasn’t dead and he
was happy. He wanted to look for them, but then he decided to stay there and look after the flat. Then,
he went to the kitchen and drank some milk. He felt better. Next, he went into the street because it
wasn’t safe in the flat. That day and the next, Gabriel worked with the other men. He saw a small boy in
the street who was alone. He gave him some food and then, he played with him for hours until his father
came. The firemen arrived on the morning of the following day. Gabriel sat down in front of the Delgado’s
door and fell asleep.

Chapter eight

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On the third day after the earthquake, good news came to Liberty Park. Mr Garcia had a radio in his car.
There wouldn’t be another earthquake and people could go back to their homes. Dangerous buildings had a
white cross on the door. The other buildings were safe. Silvia decided to go to their house because her
mother needed to be in bed. Mr Garcia carried Mrs Delgado carefully to his car and they left. Mr and Mrs
Garcia were worried about their flat, their friends and their neighbours. Silvia thought of Gabriel. When
they arrived, they were happy because there wasn’t a white cross on their building. It was safe. Silvia
went into the building and up the stairs. There was a man asleep in front of her door. He looked thin and
ill. His face and clothes were dirty. It was Gabriel. He woke up and thought Silvia was another thief. Then,
he recognized her. He had a dirty red rose in his hand. She took it out of his hand and said: ‘Thank you,
Gabriel. It’s beautiful.’