The Flood of Hamid

Yemenat

Ahmed Saif Hashed

When I was a child, I often wondered why God allows children to die in earthquakes and floods. I would then recall the story of the flood that swept away the good man “Hamid” from the head of Wadi “Sharar,” taking him from us forever. That flood was named after him, and some even dated events by saying, “So-and-so was born before the flood of Hamid.”

Each morning, as I walked to “Al-Ma’arifa” school in “Thoujan,” I would pass by the same spot, or close to it, where it was said that the flood took Hamid. I felt a deep sadness and regret for him every time I walked by or glanced at that place.

The imagined scene filled a part of my childhood consciousness, stirring my emotions to share in the sorrow and pain, alongside the face of “Hamid,” whom I envisioned but never knew.

* * *

What happened was not a battle; there was no arena or knights. The cunning flood took our dear “Hamid” suddenly and deceitfully. The struggle only began after the flood seized the reins of destiny. The conflict was a final round, ending in pain and sorrow.

I imagined the struggle between the victim, “Hamid,” and the flood that seized him unexpectedly. Before he could catch his breath, it overwhelmed him, intensifying until it claimed him completely. “Hamid” tried to resist the flood as one might resist fate. It dragged him violently, tossing him around, turning him upside down, leaving no chance for escape or combat. It struck him from the first sweep, giving him no time for strategy or attempt. Then it took him far away, engulfed in its depths.

I envisioned how “Hamid” slipped, how the flood swept him away, and how it struck him like a