Spring Tide

Hi. Turn on the news.
I already know.
Those are some big waves, huh?
Yeah.
…
So are you just calling to...say goodbye?
Don't say it like that! That's so dark. You'll probably make it through. Most people have! No need to be so doom-and-gloom about being trapped in your apartment for a couple of days. You've got food, water, backup power. You'll be fine. But yeah, that's why I'm calling.
Thanks. You know, I appreciate that. It helps. All of...this...is so nerve-wracking. But it does help.
Anytime.
I can see the water rising, I think.
Oh Jesus, already?
Nononono. It's just, like, a swell. Nothing huge yet. The surface rose maybe...ten feet in the last couple of minutes.
Okay. How long do you have? Until the Big One?
Um, how am I supposed to know? You think I still have access to the Internet?
Can't you use mobile data on your phone?
People are using that for important stuff. I'm not gonna slow down the network even more to Google something that I can't change anyway. And before you ask, they're only giving me like five more minutes on Satellyte before they cut me off.
So hang up now and go check!
Like I said, what's the point? Knowing isn't going to do anything for me. I'd rather spend the time talking to you.
That's so sweet!
Shut up.
Ha! Well, we've gotta find something to talk about quickly then, so we don't waste any time. What about...what you're gonna do after all this? When the water recedes?
Go outside, for sure. Maybe take a trip to L.A., go down to the Mojave. Somewhere nice and dry. Then again, that's probably what everyone else is thinking. It's gonna be full of people.
I bet it's not going to be a desert anymore, and the joke'll be on them! Imagine heading into Death Valley but then you see a giant lake and ferns and palm trees. And they've built a whole, like, a tropical resort there. I mean, I don't know a ton about biology or ecology or whatever, but that could happen, right? It could, hypothetically speaking. And then —
Wait. Wait! Be quiet for just a second.
What? Why?
Shh.
…
The waves. I can feel the building rocking.
Oh, God.

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