The power of words

My dads are always busy, leaving me home alone to my own devices which many may think that it’s great and you could go crazy, or the total opposite and it is more boring than going to watch a football game that your friend dragged you along to and you know nothing about; however for me it’s neither, I spend my time studying and working out, training to become a fire fighter like both of my dads.   

Whenever returning from station 37, which was the one they worked at, daddy ruffles my hair saying ‘How is my little firefighters day going?’ and my other dad would laugh, we are all close however from a young age since I was adopted into the family there’s always been a sort of expectation of me to become a firefighter like both of my dads and I've just grown into that since a baby, however now that I'm a young adult woman I've started thinking differently however when those nagging thoughts enter my mind I quickly rid of them, i wouldn’t want to let my dads down, after everything they’ve done for me, it’s not fair on them.  

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP went the sound of my firefighter shaped alarm clock, today was going to be a good day, I could feel it already in the early spring morning. Getting out of bed was never difficult for me, in fact it was the best part about my day, especially in the spring and summer because the window of my small room looked out across the city's rooftops and towards the early morning sunrise which always filled me with energy, I didn’t need any coffee because this was more than enough to kick start my day. I pulled on my light blue and heather grey leggings and white loose white running top, my hair was dirty blond, short and straight so it didn’t need to be tied back which had its advantages.   

I quickly pulled on my trainers, gazed out the window to the sunrise once more before skidding out of my bedroom like a hamster after it had drunk the human equivalent of four cups of coffee, before sliding down the polished wooden stair banister to the bottom floor landing and running out the door accidentally slamming behind me. “That’s ought to wake one of them up, let’s hope theoretically it didn’t” I thought to myself giggling. Even this early in the morning the air was hot and sticky, it always was at this time of year in London, but it was about bearable for a run.   

Running was my medicine, my help, my life, my way to escape, it was never really something I wanted to get into fully and do competitions for, it was just my way of living. The runs were never long and the first part of it was not the nicest because of the stone pavement was littered with holes, bumps, and hazards not to mention the awful smell of car fumes polluting the air. But my favourite part about the run was the end where the road leads to a grassy park and through some trees and eventually leading to a hidden path with overhanging lush green trees hanging over head letting only small rays of light through making it even more surreal, at the end of the enclosed path it came out to a beautiful small pond with the cliché swaying willow trees you see in sappy love stories however it was none the less as amazing and made it more special.  

On the way back I seen a strange man, or a woman? To be honest I don’t know anyways it doesn’t matter either way, however they felt different, there some weird aura about them and I didn’t exactly understand what it was or why, the figure looked slim, but it was difficult to tell since they had a large dark blue duffle coat on which looked amazing. The feeling the stranger gave off wasn’t dangerous nor threatening, it was more mysterious it felt like it was pulling me in and in all honest I would have at least said hi, but my dads would be worried if I took too long to get back. The stranger was on the corner of one of the streets around fifteen minutes away from where I live, the looming apartments on either side of the street which at the angle I was running at seemed to look to go on infinitely which briefly took my mind from the mysterious person and by the time I looked back they were gone. The rest of the run back seemed faster than it usually was, probably because my mind was trying to focus on the gorgeous hidden lake and the mysterious stranger together that the time just disappeared. 

“Hey kiddo” I was greeted with as I entered the front door of our home, it wasn’t big and was just another one of those large apartment building on the streets, our door was a nice sunset red with a polished brass door handle, on the inside there was sports trophies in glass cabinets everywhere, medals hanging from small nails, and what stood out the most was the numerous amount of firefighter photos throughout  both my dads lives which made the pressure so much worse and added more weight to carry on my shoulders, I want to tell them this wasn’t my dream, I want to say that I’m sorry and I know they’d understand or maybe I hope they would, but I don’t want everything they’ve done for me and what I’ve done for myself to be waster. “Everything alright?” Daddy said looking slightly concerned, putting his arm on my shoulder, and shaking it a little. “Oh, uh yeah sorry, just thinking, nothing to worry about!” I quickly put a smile on my face, I didn’t realise I had zoned out thinking about that. “Alright then, go get changed and come down for breakfast then tell us about your run why don’t you?” Daddy said. 

Daddy had blond sleek hair, not a lot of it however he always somehow manages to make it look nice and more of it than there is. Dad is the opposite, he has long dark blue hair tied back in a low ponytail and a skinny build while daddy has a more muscular build, their eyes however are both sapphire blue and at least one part of their body has a good few tattoos on it which fascinates me but I’ve never really wanted a tattoo, not because they’re ugly or a waste of money, but because I can never think if something I really like that I could stick with forever 

Breakfast was done, it was eggy bread which is my favourite which we all can agree on. Both daddy and dad had left, and once again I was left alone. At least I knew I wasn’t going to be bored, I like having structure to my day and first thing on my list was to go shopping, I didn’t have a car, nor did I have a bike and the shops was around a twenty-minute walk away, so I quickly pulled on my neon-pink and pastel blue trainers, a few reusable bags, grabbed the spare set of keys and headed off. There were more people around now, leaving for work or getting up for a morning walk with their dog, despite the fact I was wearing very visible and obvious trainers I kept my head down not to drag to my attention to myself, don’t get me wrong I love talking to others but only when I know them from somewhere or have been introduced to them by one of my dads.  

My legs were aching from the run earlier, and I was starting to regret not going later however it was too late to turn back now since I could already see the big orange and white store logo in the distance. I looked around to cross a road and as I did so they were there again, the person in the long blue duffle coat I recognised from earlier this morning and I froze, our gaze met from across the street, their eyes a dark emerald-y sort of colour and despite that their hood was up I could still see part of their hair, it was around shoulder length and curly, the colour was more difficult to tell because of the shadows cast under the hood. I quickly look to the floor again and crossed the road staring at the ground “What the hell was that all about? Are they stalking me? Is this a coincidence or fate? It doesn’t matter, all that matters is we get to the shops safely and back safely too.” Was what was going through my mind. HONK a cars horn blares as suddenly a car from the right side of the street heads towards the stranger who also happens to be crossing the street at the same time as me, quickly I grab the persons arm and throw them off the road to the pavement saving them miraculously myself at the same time, the car that almost hit the both of us went screeching down the street still at high speeds and I curse under my breath.   

“Oh shoot, the person” I realise suddenly, I run over to them as they are getting up and offer a hand. “Are you alright? I’m sorry I had to do that, I do hope I haven't cased you any harm I just didn’t want you getting injured!” I apologised profusely. The stranger accepted my hand and I helped them up, our eyes meeting one another's once more. “That was amazing, you just saved my life.” They said out of breath, a small group of bystanders had gathered around us at this point staring at us and muttering amongst themselves. “Of course, I wasn’t going to stand there and watch you get hurt.” I laughed awkwardly, I honestly didn’t know what to say, this mysterious person who I just randomly seen yesterday who we exchanged quick glances with I have just saved their life today, it was stranger than anything I had experienced in the past, which would be quite a few things by this point.  

“How about you, are you alright? And may I ask where did you learn to do that? Most people would have frozen or not noticed the car coming in the first place?” They asked. We were now standing about a meter a part and I could finally see them fully now, their hair was a light brown colour and curly at the ends but smooth from the middle upwards, their eyes were not just a dull emerald-y green, the green was tinted with blue making this a stunning crystal sort of colour.   

“My parents are both firefighters, they taught me this kind of thing since I was quite small” I smiled “I’m Clara, what’s your name?” I put out a hand, it would be rude of me not to ask of their name after all that has happened. “Nice to meet you Clara, I’m Darcy, shame we had to meet like this.” They said laughing, at least this person wasn’t all that serious which made me more relaxed into talking with them. “Are you also training to become a firefighter Clara? I’m sure you’d do great at it!” They smiled, Darcy was such a pretty name, I've never met someone called Darcy before. The crowd that had gathered earlier had started to disperse leaving just us two alone.   

 I hesitated before replying. “Well both my parents have always wanted me to become a firefighter and I've been trained by them for years now too, however in the past year or two I've been thinking differently... but I'm too scared to tell them because they’ve done so much for me, I don’t want to disappoint them by putting all their efforts in the bin” I said shamefully looking to the ground skidding my feet against the stone pavement. Darcy put her hand on my shoulder, she didn’t seem too much older than me, which wasn’t what I thought when I saw them yesterday. “Well Clara, what do you want to be then?” Darcy asked, and for just a split second my heart skipped a beat I looked up at Darcy, they were taller than me which made it slightly intimidating. “A fashion stylist, I want to become a fashion stylist” I said proudly with a grin on my face. “Well then Clara, you tell your parents exactly what you told me, you go become a fashion stylist because that’s what you want. Your parents sound loving and caring towards you and the last thing they’d want is you upset.” Darcy almost poetically said, like quoting this from some historical article from hundreds of years ago. The warmest and most inviting smile I had ever seen appeared on Darcy’s face.  

“You know what? I will do just that” I exclaimed with a huge grin hugging them. “I will do just that” I repeated.