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The Earthquake
The Earthquake
Gabriel was a young man who was in love with a beautiful girl called Silvia Delgado. Unfortunately she
only wanted his friendship: he was just like a brother for her. Besides, she was going out with Marco, who was
rich and handsome. However, he was not as good as Gabriel. In the end he proved to be selfish and mean.
But an earthquake which shook the town made Silvia realise who her real love was.
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a rich family. Silvia’s father had had a good job, friends and money. But now he was dead and Silvia lived with
her mother, who was a sick woman. She sometimes needed to go to hospital, the doctor often came and she
needed good food and expensive medicines. But Marco didn’t know the Delgados had very little money now.
While Marco was waiting, Silvia’s mother asked who had come. Silvia lied it was Gabriel so Marco realised
Mrs Delgado didn’t like him. Anyway, he didn’t care because he knew Silvia liked him very much. Ten minutes
later Silvia came into the room. Her dark hair was straight, her big brown eyes were full of life, her dress was
pink and very pretty and now, she was smiling happily.
Outside it was very hot. Marco drove his car fast and Silvia felt the wind in her hair. He was taking her to
the Oasis Restaurant, the best in town (of course, he said nothing was too good for her).
The restaurant was a mile outside the town. There were a lot of big cars outside it. Inside it was nearly
dark with soft light coming from pretty little lamps on the tables. In a corner a man played quietly on a big white
piano while some people were dancing. The manager came up to Marco and greeted him. Marco said that he
had called that afternoon and wanted a table for two. The manager then led them to a table in a corner at the
back of the restaurant near the door to the kitchen, in the way of waiters going in and out with trays of food
and drink. Angrily, Marco said he didn’t want that table and demanded a better one, near the dancing, as they
would want to dance later. The manager replied they were busy that evening and told him to come early next
time. Marco got very cross. The people began to turn round and look at him. Silvia felt very ashamed and looked
at the floor. Marco was always like that: he always wanted the best table in a restaurant, the front seat at the
theatre and the best place at the football match. She touched his arm and said the table was OK but Marco
wouldn’t hear. So she went to the ladies’ room. She had to walk among the tables to get to the door at the other
end of the restaurant. She saw young men and women dancing and older people who were talking, laughing
and having a good time. The ladies’ room was outside the restaurant in a small garden. Once she was outside,
the earthquake happened.
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all those people who had been so happy a moment before and were now trapped in the ruins. Suddenly Silvia
remembered her mother. It wasn’t easy to get out of the garden into the street. As her shoes had high heels,
she had to take them off in order to be able to climb a broken wall. Her pretty dress was dirty and her feet were
cut. Crowds of people were running about. A few men were trying to pull some stones and steel bars from a
falling building to rescue a little boy. But Silvia couldn’t help them as she had to find her mother.
Everyone wanted to get out of town into the country, so cars didn’t stop. She knew she would have to
go alone and so she began to run. Buildings kept falling and fires were starting everywhere. Despite the disaster
all around, Silvia was determined to find her mother. She finally got to the centre of town where some houses
still stood and the big church clock still showed the right time. However, the hotel was only a pile of smoking
stones. The Plaza was a ruin. Firemen and policemen were carrying people out of it, but the roof had fallen in
killing hundreds of people. Silvia wanted to believe that Gabriel hadn’t gone, but she preferred not to go on
thinking because the idea of Gabriel’s possible death was too awful. She ran faster towards her building on the
other side of the town centre. Silvia’s neighbours were pulling pieces of concrete trying to dig out their families
and friends, but the Delgado’s building still stood.
A big crack ran up the front wall and some windows were broken but it looked safe. Although a man
told her not to go in because it was too dangerous, she didn’t stop. It was dark inside as there was no electricity.
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Chapter seven: Thieves
The sun was already rising when he got to the apartment. A group of men were digging, trying to rescue
a child. Gabriel offered to help, but they didn’t let him because he was hurt. He then went up the stairs to the
Delgados’ apartment without thinking of the risk he was taking. Then his foot touched something soft. He looked
down and saw his red rose by the front door. It belonged to another world; it was the symbol of other life.
The door was opened and suddenly, two thieves ran out of the sitting room. The first one was down the
stairs before Gabriel could stop him but then Gabriel put out his foot and the other man fell over it. Mrs
Delgado’s jewellery box crashed to the ground. There were necklaces, bracelets and earrings inside it.
Apparently the thieves hadn’t had enough time, as the pictures were still on the wall, Silvia’s camera was still
on the table and the room looked tidy. Then Gabriel saw Silvia’s dirty shoes, so he realised she was alive. Perhaps
she had come home and taken her mother to a safe place. He felt happy and thought of going to the country to
find them. But then he realised that, if he left the apartment, other thieves would come. So, he decided to stay
in order to guard the place. He drank some milk and felt better, so he went to the street in order to be able to
help the other men.
All that day and the next he worked with them. There was a broken water pipe from which he got water
for them and a shop on the corner with its windows and doors broken, where he looked for food. The
shopkeeper was dead. In the meantime, the workers had succeeded in rescuing the child from the ruins. She
was safe now in a car o her way to hospital. There was another child crying because he couldn’t find his mother.
Gabriel gave him some food and water and played with him until his father came and took him away.
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he only saw a person trying to enter, so he thought it was another thief. Then Silvia spoke again and he
recognised her. His head was burning and he felt weak, but he didn’t want to faint. Not now.
Silvia noticed he was holding something in his hand. It was Gabriel’s dirty, dead rose. She took it out of
his hand, thanked him and said it was beautiful.
Apart from showing he was deeply in love with her, Gabriel proved to be unselfish and brave. In my
opinion, he soon got well and they started dating and soon got engaged. After all, the earthquake had been a
blessing in disguise!
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