A Treacherous Earthquake

Author's note.

This story is based on real events that occurred as a result of the 1985 earthquakes in Mexico City. The names of the protagonists have been changed for reasons of privacy; the sites of events have hardly been changed.

Mireya was putting the finishing touches on her sparse makeup. Carefully outlined eyes and red paint on her lips. Her smooth complexion and bright eyes, befitting a sportswoman of many years, freed her the need for the makeup that most of her friends used. She took her bag and a raincoat and left her apartment double-locking it. By that time, the gray of the afternoon clouds was getting darker.

Leaving the apartment building where she lived, on the sixth floor of the Nuevo León building in Plaza Tlatelolco in Mexico City, on September 18, 1985, she never imagined that she had just saved her life. She, too, did not though of the painful change that her destiny would take, disrupting her dreams of a placid and safe life next to Gerardo, her beloved husband.

After walking two blocks, she boarded the subway at Tlatelolco station towards Indios Verdes, close to the last stop. The fifteen minutes trip and the relative calm inside the train wagon allowed her to remember, think and dream.

Since she was a child, she had excelled in all sports activities. Originally from Veracruz, when she was thirteen years old in secondary school, she had been selected for inter-school competitions in 100 m and 200 m sprints. In the third year, a coach advised her to try out for the 400 m where she excelled even more despite her reluctance to run that distance which was undoubtedly more stressful.

She won a sports scholarship that allowed her to continue her studies in Mexico City, living as an intern in one of the facilities of the National Sports Institute. Already in high school, her athletic performance was improving, which led her to race in national competition, where she went on to win a bronze medal.

Her breasts were small but firm; her pronounced buttocks and solid legs were a magnet for any man who saw her on the tracks. Her face, without being particularly beautiful, was pleasant. Her 5'7'' made her a tall woman. She has light brown skin, slightly slanted brown eyes and a short, wavy black hair. Her great charm lay in how healthy and energetic she looked. She wasn't outgoing, but she had an easy smile and a friendly demeanor. Since she almost always wore jeans, her lower attributes usually went unnoticed. Her feet, with their slightly high arches, were perfect, at least in her husband's eyes.

At the age of 18, she enrolled in the Higher School of Physical Education (ESEF) in order to become a professional athletic trainer. That same year she met Gerardo Urzua at the sports facilities where she used to train. Gerardo, 24 years old and an amateur runner, had just finishing up an industrial engineering degree. Mireya had only had one boyfriend at the age of 16 and she had never gone beyond a romantic relationship. Her parents, originally from Veracruz, had instilled in her a strict religious education. But the environment at the ESEF, openly liberal, had little by little changed the way she saw many aspects of her life. However, those who knew her considered Mireya a conservative and reserved woman.

Gerardo liked Mireya's discreet and cautious style. While They were dating, he had limited, with great effort, to the "normal" affective expressions used at the time. Not very long kisses and minimal touches on her breasts and hips. Nothing more. Two years later they got married in a very simple ceremony. Obviously, Mireya came into marriage a virgin.

The problems began a few months after they were married. Gerardo's sexual skills aroused Mireya's sleepy sexuality, taking it to a level that, at first, seemed normal given her inexperience. At 20 years old, she was in physical prime in every way. After 4 months, Gerardo realized that he could not keep up with the rhythm of sexual activity demanded by Mireya: two daily sessions with at least 5 orgasms in each session. The main problem was that Mireya was not very fond of oral sex, she needed penetration to feel satisfied. Despite her inexperience, Mireya understood that the problem was not with Gerardo but with her. After discussing it openly, they agreed to purchase some sex toys to complement her needs. Although she had a hard time adjusting, she somehow become accustomed to a certain vibrator, as long as Gerardo wasn't watching her. Gerardo understood this, and her life continued normally, but only to a point. At night, after the inevitable sex session, Gerardo went to sleep in another room while Mireya managed as her vagina and her mood demanded.

When the train arrived at the final station, her panties felt wet. Her body knew her vaginal anxiety was going to be relieved, at least on a temporal basis.

She went to a park near the San Cristóbal hotel where she had arranged to meet Mario. The fall of a few drops of water forced her to cover herself with her raincoat and she sat down on a bench. It was the sixth time she had made this journey. Ten minutes later she caught a glimpse of Mario's figure approaching the park.

Tall, dark, athletic and good looking, Mario Ayala should be about 35 years old. He had known Mireya in her sporting beginnings and for a brief time in her teenage years he was her coach. They stopped seeing each other for some time until they met again at the ESEF, where Mario had just won a position as an assistant professor. Mireya always liked the close but respectful treatment that Mario offered his trainees, taking care of his health above all, paying attention to all the details. In sports, it was very common to find coaches and instructors who applied the "no pain, no gain" rule; the result ended with a lot of injured and frustrated guys giving up their hopes. Mario was different. He always looking for quality training instead of quantity. Parents always sought him out over other coaches because, on the other hand, he was always extremely respectful. He had married at a young age and divorced three years later, leaving behind two children. Mireya was very pleased to see him again at the ESEF, although she realized that she no longer saw him exactly as before. She was not yet married, and she was in love with Gerardo, but it was clear that she found Mario attractive. Two years later, with her sexuality in full swing and Gerardo absent, Mario's closeness set off the alarms in her head but, above all, in the lower part of her belly.

In the park they greeted each other with a light hug and then went to the San Cristóbal hotel located about 100 meters from the park. The hotel was an old three stories building and 23 rooms. Its flat, dark yellow facade looked a bit dingy, but it looked well-cared for. It was a combination of a family-run hotel and a transient hotel, possibly with a three-star rating. For the couple, the most important thing was their location and the discreet treatment they received, so meeting someone they knew was extremely unlikely.

The desk clerk assigned them room 314, handing the key to Mario. The room, located on the third floor at the north end of the corridor, seemed to be the closest thing to a hiding place. Mario and Mireya nimbly went upstairs and entered the room when the hotel clock showed 8:18 p.m. The room was small but clean. A round table in the center, a double bed, a sofa and an armchair occupied the main space. In the background, a small window with an old-fashioned shutter. It had a bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink in a countertop. Mario looked a little tired and threw himself on the bed with his clothes on. Mireya sat on the sofa watching him carefully. Once again, the image of Gerardo seemed to be screaming at her to leave, to come home. But Mario's voice snapped her out of her trance, firing her libido.

When Mireya woke up it was it was already after 7. She knew that she had to hurry to get to the ESEF before 8. She got up and saw that Mario was still fast asleep. Her sticky cunt reminded her of the frenzied sexual activity displayed during the night. She didn't wake him up, and she rushed into the bathroom shower turning on the water without waiting for it to get hot. After a few minutes she got out of it, grabbed a towel and started drying her head; then she passed the towel over her back and, just at that moment, she felt the first shove on her body that wildly projected her onto the sink hitting her hip, but not falling. Then came the second shove in the opposite direction throwing her body against the wall. A third shove threw her over the toilet hitting her head and, from there, to the ground. At that moment she became aware that the hotel was been shacked from of a strong earthquake. It was exactly 7:19 a.m. on September 19, 1985. She was experiencing the worst earthquake recorded in the history of Mexico. Two minutes later, still on the ground, a cloud of dust, earth and brick buried her in what looked like an early grave.

Upon completing his engineering studies in Mexico City, Gerardo Urzua had considered emigrating to Ciudad Juárez due to the greater employment opportunities. Originally from Mexico City (also known as the Federal District or simply DF), he lived with his mother Refugio and his older brother Jorge. 5'10'' tall, slim build but sinewy, he had played sports all his life. He wore a mustache that gave him a certain resemblance to swimmer Mark Spitz. His father had died 9 years ago, leaving his mother a modest but sufficient pension for get her children ahead. His other brother, Ramón, the youngest of the three, had emigrated to Los Angeles shortly after the death of his father. Little did they know about him.

Unlike his brothers, Gerardo was a reserved and conservative-minded person. When it came to women, he had trouble taking the first step, but luckily for him, in his previous love experiences almost always the ones he wanted had helped him in some way. Over time he had learned to overcome his shyness. His conservative mentality, associated with his lifelong religious education, make him think he had overcome it.

Gerardo thought of emigrating to the northern part of the country where there were more job opportunities for engineers. He had Ciudad Juárez or Nogales in mind, but an unexpected offer at a soap factory located on the outskirts of the city, with an acceptable salary, made him change his plan to emigrate and he preferred to wait a bit in order to gain experience and improve his CV.

Soon he would meet Mireya, with whom he fell in love in a resounding and unexpected way. Two years later they got married and went to live in an apartment in the northern section of the Nuevo León building of the Tlatelolco housing complex.

As he knew the city very well, Gerardo knew that the buildings in this area of Tlatelolco had shown stability problems since their construction, which is why the rent of these apartment was low compared to similar ones. However, after some adaptations, the authorities had given the go-ahead to these buildings, ensuring that they did not present any risk to the safety of their inhabitants. Since Gerardo still had the idea of emigrating to Ciudad Juárez soon, he considered it convenient to rent an apartment in Tlatelolco.

On the other hand, his modest income and the economic crisis the country was going through at that time simply did not allow him to aspire to more. And Mireya assumed the situation.

Two years after their marriage, Ricardo, a former college classmate who worked in Ciudad Juárez, called him to inform about a job opening at the factory where he worked. This was a manufacturer of electronic cards for monitors and televisions, and they had a position available in the quality control area. After discussing it with Mireya, he made a trip to Juárez in order to get to know his duties, benefits and work environment. Ricardo ended up convincing him that it was a good offer to start with and that once he was there, other job opportunities would surely come up. Convinced, Gerardo returned to Mexico City to discuss the matter with Mireya. They agreed that Gerardo would go away for a couple of months while Mireya finished the school year at the ESEF and Gerardo found somewhere to live. As far as possible, Gerardo would travel to Mexico City to be with her.

Gerardo quit his job and went to Juárez where he temporarily settled in Ricardo's apartment, which had an unoccupied room. The apartment was small, but better than the ones he knew in Mexico City.

Two weeks were enough for Gerardo to be convinced of the wisdom of his decision. The job was a bit stressful, but he learned quickly and adapted to the environment. Gerardo's boss and subordinates recognized his technical ability and easy treatment.

On Thursday, September 19, Gerardo had gotten up a little earlier in order to prepare a snack for work. After bathing and dressing, he turned on the TV and headed to the kitchen. A few seconds later he was able to hear something related to an earthquake on the news. He returned to the living room, turned up the volume on the TV and moved closer to the screen to understand what he was seeing. The scenes of destruction shown, and the comments of the reporters caused him a lump in the gut. Mexico City had just suffered a strong earthquake and was plunged into destruction and chaos. The authorities had not issued any statement yet and, therefore, all the information was confusing and contradictory. The reporters multiplied looking for information, but almost all the communication lines had collapsed, as well as the water and electricity.

Ricardo's voice, behind him, startled him.

"Don't worry, in Mexico they are used to this."

"No, Ricardo, this seems to be very different."

"Don't you want to phone to find out how things are?"

"Of course, but it seems that all lines are dead."

Gerardo took the apartment phone and dialed Mireya's house. Fifteen unanswered ringtones confirmed the lines were down. He dialed his mother's house with the same result. He consulted his agenda and dialed, unsuccessfully, the phones of two of his friends in Mexico. He had no choice but to continue watching television and wait. Ricardo suggested that he shouldn't go to work and that he would take care of explain his absence.

"I will be thankful; obviously I will not go to work today; I have a bad feeling." Gerardo said.

Ricardo left quite worried because the spaces devoted to the earthquake on the radio and television news were unusually long. They only talked about the earthquake. All day Gerardo remained glued to the TV and constantly dialing the phone in the hope of establishing communication. The final blow came in the afternoon beginning to get dark. Ricardo had just arrived when the already repeated images of the rubble of some fallen building appeared on the television, but now with the fatal narration: "These are the remains of what used to be the central and northern sections of the Nuevo León building that housed at least two hundred families...". Ricardo knew that Gerardo and Mireya's house was there. After a long silence Gerardo exclaimed.

"I'm going to Mexico, Ricardo. I can't stay here."

"If you're going to go it will have to be by bus, I heard that the airport is closed."

"Sure, by bus. I'll appreciate it if you take me to the bus terminal as soon as I finish packing some things."

At the bus terminal they were informed that the runs to Mexico were suspended, at least for the next 24 hours.

Just 36 hours after the first earthquake, nature was raging in Mexico: a 7.3 magnitude aftershock ended up demolishing many of the damaged buildings.

They had to wait two more days for Gerardo to get a ticket to Mexico. On Monday morning, after traveling the 1,600 km that separated Juarez from Mexico City in a 24-hour trip, the bus entered the metropolitan area of ​​the Valley of Mexico. Everything seemed normal as far as could be seen. As they entered the city the panorama changed. Buildings and houses damaged or destroyed, makeshift shelters and people sitting in the streets or queuing for water and food. Arriving at the terminal he was barely able to get a taxi to take him to his mother's house where he hoped not to find the disaster of the most affected areas. His mother lived in the Tlalpan Delegation to the southwest of the city. Upon arrival he found no one, but the house and all the surroundings looked in good condition. After 40 minutes of waiting, his mother showed up with a couple of grocery bags. He ran to hug her without being able to say a word. They entered the house where he collapsed into his favorite chair.

"Where is Jorge?" Gerardo asked.

"Jorge is fine, he will arrive in an hour."

"What do you know about Mireya?"

"We don't know anything about Mireya. Surely you know that the Nuevo León building fell." His mother said with a gesture of concern.

"Yes, I know it. It has become, along with the Hilton Hotel, the most publicized of the earthquake. I would like to go see the place as soon as possible."

"Let's wait for Jorge, he has already gone to the place that has been cordoned off by the army. Only the brigades in charge of removing the debris have access. The scenery is horrible, it is better not to get your hopes up."

Half an hour later Jorge arrived and was surprised to see him. They hugged and he sat down next to her.

Pessimistically, he voiced it.

"I have some news. Lists of the wounded, dead and missing in the different affected areas are being compiled. In the Tlatelolco area there is already an incipient list that I had the opportunity to see. Unfortunately, Mireya does not appear. Of course, much remains to be done, but the race against time seems lost. In the last 24 hours, only four bodies have been recovered. The dead who have not been identified have been transferred to a makeshift morgue in the San Francisco hospital adjoining. If you like, we can go and look tomorrow. What I know is that there are only about twelve corpses."

"Ok, tomorrow we go. But I would also like to go to the ESEF facilities to see if they know anything there. I understand that in the ESEF the damage was minor." Gerardo stated.

"Indeed, in that area there is less damage. First, we can go to the ESEF that is closest to us and from there we go to the hospital. It's going to be very long because the traffic, as you can imagine, is crazy."

Early the next day, Gerardo and Jorge boarded Jorge's car and went directly to the ESEF. Upon arrival they found very few people because classes were suspended. The management informed them that on the 19th at the time of the earthquake there were very few students in the facilities and that there were no injuries. The few students that were there went home to find out about their families. Until now, they had no reports of injuries or deaths in the ESEF staff, both students and administrative staff.

Discouraged, Jorge and Gerardo went to the San Francisco hospital. They had to park in a very remote place because the accesses were blocked. Upon arrival, they were told that only one person could enter the morgue located in a basement of the hospital. Gerardo asked Jorge to come in, since he was beginning to feel dizzy and needed to sit down.

The enclosure, improvised as a morgue, was a warehouse with a pile of rustic coffins containing the corpses surrounded with ice bags. There were already 32 accumulated bodies, almost all of them from the Nuevo León building. Jorge knew Mireya very well, so he did not expect to have any problems identifying her.

It took him 10 minutes to convince himself that none of those bodies was Mireya's. Fifteen bodies were male, six children and only 11 women. The women's bodies were from older adults and with a size notably smaller than Mireya's. This brought him a momentary relief.