[11] every day i sat on the landing and watched the river rise. mother cooked simple meals in a spare bedroom she had turned into a makeshift kitchen. she was worried, i could tell, about what would happen to us. father came and went in a small fishing boat. he was concerned about his patients and possible outbreaks of dysentery, pneumonia or typhoid.
[12] before long, the red cross began to pitch tents on high ground north of town. "we are staying right here," my father said.
[13] as the water continued to rise, i kept busy rowing through the house and looking at the furniture that had been too big to move upstairs. i liked to row around the great cozy couch, now almost submerged, and pretend it was an island in a lake.
[14] one night very late i was awakened by a tearing noise, like timbers creaking. then there was the rumbling sound of heavy things falling. i jumped out of bed and ran into the hallway. my parents were standing in the doorway to the den, where we had stored the books and my mother’s beloved china.
[15] the floor of the den had fallen through, and all the treasures we had tried to save were now on the first floor, under the stealthily rising river. my father lit our camp light, and we went to the landing to look. we could see nothing except the books bobbing like little rafts on the water.
[16] mother had been courageous, it seemed to me, through the ordeal of the flood. she was steady and calm, and kept things going in good order. but that night she sat on the top of the stairs with her head on her crossed arms and cried. i had never seen her like that, and there was a sound in her weeping that made me afraid. i wanted to help her, but i couldn’t think of what i could possibly do. i just knew i had to figure out something.