Question

Vocab
Here are the definitions of 11 words that appear in the story.
banyan tree: an East Indian fig tree
feebly: weakly
transmigrate: the passing of a soul into a different body after death
strewn: scattered or spread messily over an area
submerged: under water
sanctuary: a place of refuge or safety
descended: moved downward
gesticulating: using dramatic gestures to emphasize one’s words
reluctantly yielding: giving in, but doubtfully or unwillingly
retraced my steps: walked back the same way he came
pondered: thought about or wondered

The Flash Flood
by Sivan Pillai

As I sat under the sprawling banyan tree in front of the house looking at
the red ball of the setting sun, I remembered my last visit there. Almost
fifteen years ago. Father was on his deathbed, fully conscious and well
aware that his moments were numbered. Don’t you worry about me, my
son, he had said, clearly though feebly, laying his wasted hand in my
lap. Death happens only to the body. The soul transmigrates to another
healthy one . . .
Though it was the rainy season, it had not rained since my arrival.
Today, however, distant thunder could be heard and occasional dark

clouds floated in the sky. A gentle breeze had made the weather almost
pleasant.
I thought of a stroll towards the nearby mountain river where, as a boy, I
had spent a lot of time with my friends. The river bed was almost dry.
Black rocks, smoothened over the years by the flowing water, lay strewn
all over the place. Some were as big as half submerged elephants that
came for a bath from the sanctuary on the other side.
I descended the high river bank and was walking towards one of the
large rocks in the middle of the river when I heard a distant shout behind
me. Someone was frantically gesticulating while running towards me.
When he came closer I recognized him as a boy of about fifteen, one of
our neighbors.
“Come,” he said, holding my hand firmly and almost dragging me
towards the river bank.
“Why?” I asked in confusion, reluctantly yielding to him.
He did not answer till we were far from the bank and had sat down in the
sand, recovering our breath.
“Listen,” he said, pointing upstream.
I could not hear anything at first, but then there came the unmistakable
sound of rushing water like a fast-approaching express train. Long years
of my stay in the cities had clearly dulled my ability to read such signs!
Within seconds, mighty walls of muddy water rushed through the river,
submerging everything in the riverbed. The river was soon full and water
came to within a few feet of where we were sitting.
As I retraced my steps towards home, I pondered over the sudden
appearance of the boy. He must have been born around the time of my
father’s death.

“Flash Flood” Writing Assignment
Explain what Sivan Pillai (the writer) is implying. Use evidence from the story. When you use evidence from the story, paraphrasing or summarizing (instead of direct quotation) is often the best choice. This means to take elements from the story and to simply tell them in your own words. However, when you do want to quote exact words, blend those quoted words in with words of your own and place them inside quotation marks.
Here is the beginning of your first sentence: In “The Flash Flood,” Sivan Pillai is implying that . . .
Refer to the speaker in the story as the speaker.
75 words minimum
2 paragraphs minimum
Begin below the line.

answer like a 14 year old would

Answer 1

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In “The Flash Flood,” Sivan Pillai is implying that life goes on in cycles and that nature’s power can remind people of how small their plans are. The speaker thinks about his father’s last words that “Death happens only to the body. The soul transmigrates to another healthy one,” and then notices a boy who must have been born around the time his father died. This shows the idea of endings and new beginnings — the speaker’s loss is linked to a new life in the village.

The story also implies that nature is stronger than people’s control. The speaker didn’t hear the signs of rain at first and is surprised when a flash flood fills the dry riverbed in seconds. The sudden rushing water and how they had to hurry away prove that nature can change everything fast, reminding the speaker that humans are small against big natural events.