選單
Tick, tock…, the clock kept ticking and I kept staring into the ceiling. Time was something I had no means to stop, much of my life had already been wasted away with a childhood full of trauma and a life filled with death and fear, but my terrible circumstances were no excuse for me to be a terrible person. I have always wanted to save people, help the less fortunate, but I have never been able to save myself. As I pondered away, my phone rang off and finally broke the dreadful silence which had filled the room for an hour. I quickly got up and went to accept the call, I already knew what it would be. A call from the fire department. I had been on leave for a week, I had to take this time off for the sake of my own sanity but duty came before dishonor, like a summer breeze with no mountains to contain it, I dashed off to get dressed and drove off to the fire department.
“Finally, you’re right on time”, the commissioner said as he prepared a pile of briefing papers. I was putting on my firefighter uniform, the gloves slipped on my hands like a sword slips into its sheath. “It’s urgent, the district is completely engulfed in flames, and unfortunately it seems that there is not much time to evacuate everyone, the gas pipes are about to burst at any time.” With that last reminder of impending doom, my team went off to the scene of the incident.
The night sky was illuminated with the gold-yellow embers of the flame, enriched by the green luminance of green flames given off by burning copper wires. Thick dark smoke covered the buildings. I hurried to the nearest building upon seeing the silhouette of a person at the window. Barging through the doors to the apartment, I rushed upstairs with a fire extinguisher in hand. From what I suspected it was the 12th floor where the person was, I raced up the stairs leaving no time for my lungs to catch air, the life of an innocent human being was in my hands alone. When I arrived at the apartment, the door was open and the person, which turned out to be a child no older than 12, was lying unconscious on the floor, I wrapped in a thick fireproof blanket before throwing him onto my shoulder, as I ran out the ceiling had collapsed in behind me, the fire covered the exit. I could’ve dashed out alone, entirely safe, had I left the child to die nobody would notice, but I knew it was not something I would be able to just live with – I was no monster. I dashed into the burning flames holding the child in my arms tightly. I felt the scorching heat on my skin, this pain was no excuse for me to stop just yet and the life of an innocent was more important than any heat I could ever feel.
After what felt like an eternity of running I had finally made it to the 2nd staircase, I ran down for as long as I could, unfortunately it seemed like fate had other plans, the staircase below the 8th floor was fully ablaze. I hurried around the scorched floor, where a few corpses already lay on the ground – a grim reminder of what would happen to me and the child if I couldn’t devise a contingency plan soon enough. I had barely any CO2 left inside the fire extinguisher but even that little bit was important. Thus, the sacrifice I had to make was even more jarring. I used the extinguisher to smash open the elevator door, as it bent inwards I pried it open with my hands, in front of me was the shaft. I used the nylon rope I carried to tie the child to my back, now that both my hands were freed I lunged to the cable going down the shaft to the elevator, it was as hot as an oven inside there.
With a thud, I finally rappelled down the cable to the elevator, kicking in the top hatch, dropping down into the derelict interior, the door was open to the 2nd floor.
This was not the contingency I had in mind, the floor was in an even more disastrous state than the 8th. As I rushed to find an exit, I realized the problem on hand was actually the carbon monoxide the child was slowly inhaling. I had to get HIM out first. By the elevator, there was a small opening in the form of a window. I ran to it, it was too late, the building was entirely unstable now and parts of the 9th floor came down collapsing, chunks of ceiling blocked the window and the fire grew worse. I crawled on the ground, pushing the unconscious child in front of me, onwards to the window.
My fists were bruised after minutes of punching the window glass open, my knuckles battered and my hope almost shattered. I had managed to get it open, I cried out down below to the fire engine team as I for them to grab the child. It was done, the child descended 4 meters, being caught by their arms.
Forgiveness, for the first time in my life, the dreadful emptiness which became my reality had been replaced by the mercy of forgiveness. Exhausted, I lay there by the window, under the rubble, I had found my redemption. I was no monster, I was about as human as anyone, I was a good person. And I acted nobly. The ceiling caved in entirely, I quickly realized I had no chance to escape, such was the fate I met but the melancholy was nought for as the bitter sweetness of the situation dawned into my mind. As I laid on the rough concrete floor, I had finally made peace with fate. C’est La Vie.
