A New Beginning

It was a late Friday evening, and I was delivering my last pizza for the day. As I pulled up to 4452 Lakewood Drive, I noticed smoking slithering out of the open window in 4453 Lakewood Drive. I squinted my eyes to see better, and noticed a deep red glow in the room. At once I realized it was a fire. Quickly, I dropped the pizza and ran across the street. I began banging on the door and yelling for them to come outside. 

There was no answer. It occurred to me that there may not even be people in there at all. As I hesitated, I heard screaming coming from inside the house. It confirmed my worst fear; there were people in there. 

My yelling had begun to attract other people as well, and they began to surround the house. The fire was spreading very quickly, and I knew there wouldn’t be much time before the family in there would be burned. 

I threw a rock into the window and hurried inside. Smoke filled my lungs and I gasped for a breath. People were yelling at me to turn back, that firefighters were already coming. But as the son of a firefighter, I knew the firefighters wouldn’t be fast enough.

As I raced up the steps, I prayed the family would be okay. It seemed as if the family had just gone to sleep. When I reached the top, a teenage girl was holding her baby sister. She was frantic and crying. 

“What’s wrong?”

“My other sister, her name is Lily! I can’t find her.” She coughed out. Fear struck me deep. “Where are you parents?” 

“Not home!”

I noted the girl was burnt in several places. I paused, and thought of my boy, Johnny, at home. He was no older than three. I wondered how I would react to the news that Johnny had died in a fire. 

“Go, I’ll get your sister for you.” As she opened her mouth, I disappeared into the rooms. The fire was creeping everywhere, fast. I yelped as the railing caught on fire, and it skimmed my arm. 

It was a fairly small house, and there weren’t many rooms. I quickly peered into each other. 

“Lily! Lily!” My voice was starting to grow hoarse from the smoke. Distinctly, I heard a faint cry. “Lily? Can you hear me?” The crying grew louder as I neared the bathroom. Sitting in the tub, I could barely make out a young girl. The smoke was growing thicker, and by now the fire had consumed half the house. “Are you alright, Lily?” 

The girl continued to cry. Quickly, I picked her up and she sobbed into my shoulder.

“Mommy!” She wailed. “I want my mommy!”

“Shh, it’s alright Lily. Your mom will be with you soon.” I ran out of the bathroom, only to be met by a wall of fire. I panicked and veered left, as the right was aflame, into a bedroom. Fire licked the walls. I searched for an escape route. The stairs were no option, the fire had already taken them over. Darkness began to fight its way in my vision, and I struggled to wrestle it away. 

There!

My eyes landed on the window. As fast as I could, I opened it and glanced down. A crowd of people had formed, and in the distance I could hear sirens. The girl and her other sister were being comforted by their fellow neighbors. 

I was not a fan of  heights. They had always scared me. Although the actual distance wasn’t very far, it seemed as if I was standing on the top of Mount Everest and looking down. I gulped, and clutched the baby tightly to my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and without a second thought, I jumped. 

I felt a sharp pain in my left arm and leg as I landed. I saw a group of people immediately rush towards me and someone took the girl from my arms. The rest of the night was a blur as darkness had finally won the fight. 

***

When I awoke, I was in an ambulance. At once, I jolted up. “Is the girl okay?” 

“Please settle down sir,” an EMT by me placed a hand on my shoulder. “The girl is okay, thanks to you.” 

“Is he awake?” A woman's voice came from the corner of the ambulance. “Good! I just want to say, thank you so much for—”

“Yeah, of course. I have a family at home. I don’t know how I would feel if my Johnny had died.” I smiled, and closed my eyes. 

“Hey! Sir? Sir! I need you to stay with me!” The EMT yelled.

The last thing I heard was a distant beeping. 

***

When I opened my eyes again, it was a beautiful sight. The landscaping was breathtaking, and it seemed to change every second. It looked like a shining lake, but as I looked closer it turned into a grassy field with colorful flowers. 

“Where am I?” I whispered to myself. 

“You deserve a second chance in life, young man.” A deep voice echoed throughout the scenery. I nearly jumped out of my skin. “Thank you for saving the girl, you exchanged your life for her life. As a result of your kindness, I would like to grant you the opportunity to live a second life.” 

I was too stunned to speak. Was this the afterlife? Did I die? “W-what?” I stood there, confused, processing what was happening. 

I had died. 

Immediately, I thought of my wife and children, at home. How would they feel when they would hear the news I had passed? I began to cry. What would they do? How could young Johnny handle the knowledge his father had passed away before he had even seen him graduate first grade? 

“It is alright. Everything will be fine.” The deep voice said. Strangely, it was comforting. My tears began to fade. I took a deep, shaky breath and looked up. 

“I would like a new life, please.”