Storm of the century

For all the coming to 21 years of my life, i have never been afraid of thunderstorms. Unless i am out in the open and run the risk of getting instantly vaporized by a strike, lightning otherwise seems like a cool display of fancy lights lighting up the sky - especially at night. The thunder that follows merely adds a dramatic audio effect to the natural dancing lights that altogether forms an admirable display of God's creation.

That was until thursday morning.
At 1.30am, i awoke in my bunk bed to find that there was a huge storm going on outside. The smell of rain was wafting through the bunk, brought in by the wind which usually never reaches my poorly ventilated corner. I was looking out the windows stretching across the whole length of wall to witness the frequent flashes of lightning that turned the whole sky a luminous bluish-white, and illuminated some parts of the bunk. Suddenly, an enormous streak of lightning fell from the sky right before my eyes, seeming like only a hundred metres away, the lightning bolt was so bright i could see a glowing effect surrounding it, and everything in the bunk turned white for that moment. It was instantly accompanied by the loudest crack of thunder, which really sounded like the earth was just split apart before me, and the whole ground shook like when a bomb explodes. I was in total shock, blinded by the flash and shaken by the thunder, in reflex i let out a cry as if i had just been struck.

After a few seconds of stun, i wrapped myself in my blanket, covering all up to my neck. Lightning continued to flash every 10 to 20 seconds, and within one second a furious rumble would follow, causing the ground to shake each time. I felt like the world was collapsing, literally. Never had i experienced anything close to this, and this time i was in the centre of a raging storm. Not too surprising, as my camp is located in one of the most lightning-prone areas in singapore. But i was terrified, a little, and tried to just ignore everything and go back to sleep, suppressing all the adrenaline from the shocks.

Though i know there is nothing to be scared about, my senses kept telling me to keep alert. But soon i began to feel the security of the building and the roof over my head, keeping me totally safe from the storm outside. I fell asleep, feeling no threat at all from the scariest lightning and the loudest thunder.

In the morning, everyone was talking about it over breakfast. I found out that though i hardly saw anyone stirring and moving about during the ordeal, everyone was awoken by the storm. And then there are the stories, like someone seeing a shadow of a headless person cast in front of him when the lightning struck.... only to find out that it was from a set of hanging uniform! haha.

well, it was an interesting, even a cool experience. and as long as it doesnt disturb my sleep, i wouldnt mind witnessing such a storm again...