The donkey brayed wildly. Rafa rushed from his home, feeling the earth convulse.
“Out of the house!” Rafa cried.
Cracks broke across the walls of their home as sheets of earthen plaster cleaved off.
“What’s happening?” Josepha, Rafa’s wife, called from the sleeping room.
Rafa bolted back inside, as earthen chunks fell from the ceiling, pieces of dirt falling into Josepha’s short-cropped frizzy hair and onto her sturdy shoulders. Rafa grabbed her hand, helping her scramble up onto her feet. “Gather up the food. Take as much as you can. I’ll get the water!”
“Boys, the bedding! Help your mother, hurry! Ava, here let me assist you.” Rafa bent down and picked up Gogo off a woven mat in the main room. “Grab Gogo’s mat!”
Ava, Rafa carried Gogo to the flatbed of the cart. The donkey violentl
