The pink frilly lamp

I knew that stupid lamp was dangerous from the moment I laid eyes on it. Its pink frilly lampshade was a complete eyesore, its old flawed switch that barely even worked anymore, annoyed me to know end and those damn wires that stuck out the back.. good lord I wish I'd gotten rid of it the moment it was placed in our bedroom.

"It was my mother's Charlie" whined my wife as she dusted our new home, as if that statement alone explained why the old lamp wasn't in a recycling bin somewhere. "And?" I had asked sourly as I stared at the monstrosity that was plugged in by our bedside. "Its a death trap that's what it is" I grumbled as I got dressed for work.

"Now now don't be so grumpy" my wife had scolded me as she helped me fix my collar. "You're just nervous as it's you first day at work" she said softly giving me a quick peck on the cheek. Bella had been much more enthusiastic about moving to the countryside than I had been. If it hadn't been for my god damn boss I'd still be working in the fantastic city of London.

"DADDY! can you bring us to school?" asked my youngest daughter who was only 5 years old. "No sweetie daddy has to go to work now, have a good first day at school" I said rushing past my daughter who had a frown on her face. Getting into my car in a hurry already running late, I watched as my two daughters waved goodbye to me from their bedroom window. Trying not to feel guilty as I waved goodbye to their cute little faces I recalled the many times me an Bella argued over them.

"You never spend anytime with them!" Bella had shouted at me one day when the children were playing outside in the garden.

"Well some of us have work, who else is gonna pay the bills?!" I had shouted back, angry at my wife's confrontation. "Here we go again! that's always your excuse, what about on your days off? huh? all you ever do is go to work or write in that stupid medical journal of yours" she shouted "What about those two? you don't even act like their dad!"

That sentence rang in my ear as I drove to work already late on my first day.

Being a surgeon was a very exhausting yet exciting job. Fixing people up on a operating table had always felt to me like fixing a broken toy, that's probably why I loved it so much. Like a mechanic fixes cars, I fix people. Of course the paycheck made up for the long hours, my wife and two kids however would probably disagree on that one. I on the other hand loved nothing more than work and I sometimes well I was often, told that I should spend more time with the family. That's one of the reasons why my Boss the head of the Hospital in London, relocated me to the countryside. He had told me as he handed me a fat cheque to "Take some time with the family for a few months, work less hours and spend time with your kids for once". So here I was in the countryside of Cheshire working at one of the smallest hospitals I've ever worked in "Leighton" Hospital .

As I drove home that evening, driving past the green hills that stretched on for miles I thought about how terrible work had been today. The staff were complete idiots who chatted nonstop asking him billions of questions he hadn't cared to answer, the hospital itself was nowhere near as advanced as the hospitals in London and on top of that one of the other surgeons was a complete A-hole.

"I heard you got sent here from the Cromwell hospital" The man whom I had already forgotten what his name was said as we prepped for surgery.

"Must be a bit of a shock coming here, bet you are only used to the private hospitals" He had said to me mockingly causing me to glare at the man.

"Hospitals are hospitals, private or not I still sew a person up one way or the other" I snapped as I put on my pair of gloves and walked into the operating theatre.

Rolling my eyes as I thought about that horrible man I drove my car up the hill towards my new temporary home. As I drove closer to the house I could see a strange dark fog start billowing from the windows of the house. Getting out of the car I immediately smelt the burning smell of smoke floating through the air. Grabbing my phone from my pocket I called 911.

"Oh my god there's a fire , MY HOUSE IS ON FIRE!!" I shouted into the phone as I ran towards the house. " Sir what's your address??" The 911 operator called out.

Shouting the address at the lady on the phone, I threw my phone on the patio and ran inside the front door. The heat inside the house was brutal, thick DARK smoke entered my lungs causing me to cough loudly as I crouched on the floor for air. After crawling up the stairs I found myself getting to the hallway where I could see the two bedroom doors covered in flames. Feeling the urge to scream as I saw mine and my wife's bedroom door completely engulfed in the tongues of flame I quickly without hesitation ran towards my children's bedroom door. Bursting the door open I quickly found my children who were still asleep or rather unconscious from the smoke lying in their beds. Jumping to action I carried my two daughters down the stairs watching as the hallway behind me was completely engulfed .

Running faster and with an urgency I had never felt before, I reached the front door and opened it. And cradling my two girls in my arms for the first time in months, I stepped out.

Weakly I fell to my knees, still cradling my girls who gasped for air.

Hearing the sound of sirens in the background.

Finally I could breathe.