But instead of fish, they found small snakes nibbling at the bait. The sight had startled them at first, but then they both burst into laughter. It was a bizarre, unsettling realization that the flood had brought more than just water into their lives. The river had become part of their home, and it had brought its inhabitants with it.
As more time went by everything had turned into a blur of hunger, exhaustion, and waiting. The helicopters flew overhead, occasionally lowering ropes to airlift people to safety. But they hadn’t come for Aditya and his grandfather yet. Each time they heard the sound of the chopper blades, they rushed outside, hoping to be spotted. But their house, still mostly intact, didn’t draw enough attention.