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The Hurricane Lee tests the strength of two sisters bond

Ashlee Cox • Oct 04, 2024

Not much can scare 25 year old Amy, who after losing her mother to cancer, became the Guardian of her little sister 8 year old Carey,  but Lee might prove to be the terrible exception. 


Amy has only just buried her mother who had been battling cancer for years, which has made huge changes in her life, including raising her pre-teen sister all by herself despite initial assurances from her relatives, as well as finding a minimum wage job to make ends meet. 


She is somehow keeping it all together, but a category 5 hurricane called Lee might just be the disaster that breaks Amy’s hardwon  resolve after all this time.


When Lee hits the island at unforeseen speeds, drowning it in torrential rain all the while threatening to destroy the only home the sisters have ever known, Amy and Carey have to decide to either continue to endure, or be swept away in the chaos.


“ The skies grew black, hiding the once clear, blue sunny expanse with thunderclouds that boomed loudly and menacingly, her voice getting louder, stronger, and much angrier.


She was here ... and we were terrified.


For the first hour, the angry winds shook the entire country, ravishing trees and roofs as it violently rocked cars, while galvanized sheets, leaves, branches, rocks and even bits of glass could be seen swirling dangerously in the air.


The rain had yet to come and even though the poles were shaking and whipping as if possessed, the electricity was somehow still thrumming into our homes, allowing last ditch efforts at charging devices.


All we could do was gather ourselves to weather the first terrifying onslaught of a huge, brooding hurricane, praying fervently that we had everything we needed to survive it and come out in one piece afterwards.” excerpt from The Hurricane Lee.


When the category five hurricane shockingly ravages Barbados- an island that had not been hit so severely by a hurricane of these speeds and devastation since the 1950’s,- the two sisters, 25 year old Amy and 8 year old Carey must not only weather this destructive tropical cyclone as it threatened their home, but also find the courage to pick up the broken pieces of the home and their lives again.


Will  Amy be able to comfort her sister and keep them safe?


Will Carey be able to handle the horror of seeing her once cheery and safe neighbourhood be transformed into a flooded river of debris?


Will these sisters endure the hurricane safely and come out with an even stronger bond?


Read the short story to find out.

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The Goddess is Angry in The Hurricane Lee Book

By Ashlee Cox • 04 Oct, 2024
Can Amy and Carey weather the worst natural disaster of their lives and forge an even stronger bond? “ The goddess was angry. Stewing silently, brewing an intense rage, while we went about our lives, oblivious to her schemes, blatantly witless until it was too late. In her wrath, she unleashed one of the most feared, uncontrollable and mischievous monsters of the natural world. A force so powerful and filled with such unrelenting misery and trickery, that by the time we had heard of her existence, she was almost upon us. She was the goddess’ minion of utter destruction, —Lee.” - excerpt from The Hurricane Lee. In the book The Hurricane Lee, Amy and Carey are terrified when a category 5 level hurricane, named Lee, not only ravages the island, but also sadistically flings things onto the house, while the high winds threaten to give Amy a heart attack by ripping and tearing at her roof. “Something enormous slammed into the side of the house with enough force to make the frames shudder. The impact jumped Carey to her feet faster than her mind could have caught up and she screamed to rival Lee’s high-pitched howls, eyes wide and unfocused, shocked fear radiating throughout her small body. "Amy! Amy!" She shrieked frantically, searching for her sister in the dimness of the living room. It was early afternoon, but thanks to the huge, dark gray clouds that had blocked out the sun, the house was now too dark, but Amy could see how Carey’s body was violently trembling, her breathing erratic from the shock of being so abruptly plunged into fear. "Shh, Shh, Carey," Amy tried to soothe her terrified sibling, rushing over to her from the window to where her sister was standing trembling, just inches from the couch, and embracing her.  Carey’s skin was chilled to her touch and Amy tried to warm her up, hugging her closer to her chest. It didn’t work.” - excerpt from The Hurricane Lee. When Carey looks outside, she is faced with a running river that used to be their front road, littered with her neighbours cars floating along… Sitting in the darkened room, Amy ponders her life choices and prays for deliverance. Can Amy and Carey weather this storm, or will it also break them? The Hurricane Lee is a very wholesome short story, about family bonding, facing adversity together, learning what’s really important and of course, giving hurricanes the appreciation they deserve for being able to spark dread, fear and all manners of anxiety into the hearts of mere mortals.

Origins of The Hurricane Lee

By Ashlee Cox • 04 Oct, 2024
The short story Hurricane Lee was initially concocted from the twisted mind of a seven year old child- me- who wanted to write about the worst possible hurricane ever. As with most of my short stories, this one was concocted on a seemingly harmless and innocent day at Summer Camp back in the 90’s, where we were tasked to write about a hurricane or a storm. I of course- with very limited knowledge of the real destructive power of such a weather system described a real monster of a hurricane! It was fun to just throw terrible things on a page and give this an unrealistic apocalyptic timeline for the mayhem. As an adult who not only now understands what a hurricane is, how it can affect people and most importantly, understands the difference between an essay of terror and a full story of misery, editing this story was wild. I became pretty anxious and really, really worried that some of the younger hurricanes would take from my imagination of how big and ferocious Lee was and make it their life’s mission to become her… and I can’t have that. I pray to God every season we never experience this. So. Dear hurricanes, don’t even look at this book, it’s for humans only! Also…let me take the moment to finally apologize to the terror I’ve put Amy and Carey through. You’re amazing characters, who really didn’t deserve to have to go through so much trauma in such a short time. However, for those looking for a story centered around the survival and strengthening of a sisterly bond through the adversity of life, only to be tested by a ruthless hurricane determined to take all they own…then this is the short story for you.
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