It was Christmas Eve 2004 when my parents and I were at the Peerless Resort's Christmas party at their private beach in Andaman. We had all immersed ourselves in the beauty of the beach and the beautiful atmosphere that surrounded us. But no one could predict the events that would unfold. We decided to leave early because we had a boat to catch the next morning that would take us to Ross Island to see the remains of a British-built watchtower and power station. Christmas had gone well this year and half of the holidays were still to come! The next morning I woke up to men who I thought were pounding on my door, which in fact was the sister building hammering on its twin! The earthquake had struck! The fan was swinging like a pendulum and before I could realize it, my father grabbed my hand and walked down the stairs with me, which would be considered nothing short of a roller coaster ride. As we ran out of the sabotaged hotel, the ceramic tiles continued to crack and fall from the top floor. We ran out to join the panicking crowd. Buses drove along the congested road shouting in their local language: “Water is coming, run!” » all the power poles were down and the phone signals were dead. For the last five minutes, my parents and I were still struck with one question on our minds: “What just happened?” » Once the major shaking stopped, the hotel staff rounded up all their guests and led us to an open field, considered a rather safer area. There were rumors that a tsunami had hit and was heading our way, but the hotel staff assured us that we were on higher ground and a few miles from shore. We breathed a sigh of relief but still weren't sure because rumors were coming from all sides. By the afternoon we were in the middle of a paper... We literally had to walk to our Air India flight. Children sat on their parents' laps to make room for additional passengers. The foot-wide crack could be seen across the airport, which was difficult for pilots to counter. We took off at eleven five sharp, and that's when I realized how lucky this escape had been. The bird’s eye view of the Andaman had changed. It could clearly be understood that large streams of black water had flowed onto the continent. Before I could realize more, I fell asleep on my father's lap. As we landed at Calcutta airport, we were hampered by journalists. We dodged it and found my grandfather who had come to pick us up. I could see tears streaming down both my parents' eyes as they hugged me tightly. That day, I didn't understand the tears, but today, when I think about this terrifying situation, I understand every moment of it..