The house is situated on the edge of a forest on a hill with a few houses, with only one narrow road leading through the village, where a car or tractor drives by every now and then. You hear nothing but birdsong.
With a coffee in my hand, I sat down on the swing on the terrace, opened the internet on my phone and quickly found out that there were floods in some parts of Slovenia. What? What floods? I had heard the day before that the weather was going to get a bit worse, but I hadn't expected anything like this. I was shocked to read about the enormous amount of rainfall that has come over our country.
I called my friend to ask her how it was in our area. She confirmed that several hours of heavy rain had also hit my hometown. The roads leading into our town were closed on all sides because of the water. I could not believe it. There is only a small stream running through Cerklje.
She called me back a good hour later to go to our house, because she had a key to the flat. I live on the ground floor and I was worried about the water reaching my flat. She reassured me not to worry, because the flat had stayed dry, but there was a lot of water all around the house. I could not go home because the roads were closed, but fortunately the White Country was able to take it without any of that rain.
The next morning I decided I needed to clear my head a bit, so I headed to the Kolpa River. The proximity of the river has always been soothing. It was hard for me to feel for the people who had been affected by the floods.
So I was sitting by the Kolpa river, drinking lemonade, when suddenly the phone rang. It was my brother. "Maja, pack your things and come home. Your apartment is destroyed."
Shock ... Kaaaj? Seriously? And then that horrible feeling of helplessness. Suddenly everything stops ...
So I drove home. The route took me through villages where water had damaged houses and infrastructure the previous day. People were piling up ruined furniture in front of their houses, some just stood there in dismay, looking at the devastation all around. How sad.
And at home... again, an even bigger shock... when you see all your possessions destroyed. There was a lot of silt and sand everywhere. Your world is collapsing like a house of cards. The water table hit the surface of my flat with all its might.
And the tears come to my eyes again, now that I remember these events with gratitude that today my apartment is newly furnished. I could not have done it without the help of my loved ones, I am sure of that. Neighbours, friends, even acquaintances of friends have also come to my aid. The furniture was destroyed, the floors too. There was a lot of damp. People gave me motivation. They helped by taking furniture down, tearing it up, removing the silt ... Financially too.
Without them, I would have collapsed mentally and physically.
This note should be a thank you to those who selflessly came to my aid at that time. Who proved to me that even if the sky is full of clouds, there is still the sun, which will shine now. I will be eternally grateful to you from the bottom of my heart.
Maja Grošelj, 2. 2. 2025
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