I did try to push some of the debris away that had been blocking the hatch from opening, but the various lengths of wood, crisscrossed one over the other, did not budge.
I put my head through the frame as far as it would go and I called out to the air above me. I yelled my husband’s name and I yelled for the prime minister and even the guy on the bike.
My voice felt muffled. As though it did not travel more than a few feet. Maybe only a few inches. I wasn’t sure. It was as though the debris that had been arranged over the hatch was a net, catching my words.
Then something happened which I cannot quite explain. I’ve thought about it many times since, tried to come up with some rational explanation, but it has always evaded me.
I began talking to the debris. Not in English. I reasoned th
