A Fire
Somewhere
out there, an owl hooted. I opened my eyes from trying to sleep but the burden
of stress was too heavy a load for me. The clock struck 12, telling me that I
had eight hours more before it was time to clear my debts. Sigh!
If only deep, sweet midnight
sleep could engulf me like how it rocked my family members who have all gone to
bed. To make things worse, the weather condition tonight was hot and humid. I
tried to sleep again but got out of bed a few minutes after. By this time, I was
sweating. Suddenly, my senses became alive. I thought, " If
I felt heat and smelt smoke,.my goodness! That' s fire!"
I
shot out if my bedroom in pajamas and all, and found my parents and brother on
the way to wake me up. Mum went downstairs to find out if the condition of the
fire was bad and came back with news that there was no way out of the house from
downstairs because the fire on the ground floor was too threatening. Each of us
went to our respected rooms to look for an escape route but to our dismay, we
were trapped in. The lock on our windows expanded in size.
We
alerted the neighbors by shouting through our grilled windows. Before long, our
beloved neighbors came to help. I heard the sounds of them using a long metal
pole to break through the door. A few strong and big-built men braved the fire
to rescue the house' s occupants - namely, us. They also rescued our invalid
father and together, we thanked God for his mercy once saved from the fire. While
I informed the fire department about the incident, the rest of the neighborhood
were busy helping us remove our valuable belongings from the house at the same
time dampening my house to prevent he fire from spreading any further.
By
the time the firemen and fire brigade came, the fire had already been extinguished.
Still, they cleared the place and made sure nobody was hurt. After everything
was calm again, my family and I thanked our neighbors. We were grateful for their
help and concern. The head of our village even promised to help us rebuild our
houses.
It
certainly pays to develop a good relationship with every neighbor in the village.
They saved our lives and prevented a tragedy from happening.
Written
by ,
17th
January 2001