My story

      Breaking news "House burned to ashes with child inside".....whaaaatt.

          That was my response when I heard this news one afternoon, especially when I realized that it was just blocks away from my home. I never knew that I was next. The next morning my parents went to work and I stayed home with my siblings. The day just seemed to be going by so slowly, so my sister and I decided to go to our mother’s grocery store to help her out. The sun was beaming so brightly and there was a swift wind blowing through the air as we passed through the squeaky gate of our house to embark on our journey to the store across the street parallel to my house. I ran with my sister trailing behind me into the store and began to help my mother ring up orders. After about three hours business was still constant but the morning rush came to an end. Later, during six o’clock business had taken a drastic pause so I decided to go on break. 
     When it finally reached seven o’clock, we closed up the store and began to head home. Upon my return I was called by my mom to come in the kitchen and was directed toward the dishes that awaited me from earlier that morning. I was instructed to come back and clean them after she had finished adding all the ingredients to the beans cooking on the stove. I later came in and being too short to reach the sink I grabbed a stool and begin to wash the dishes. With all the anger in me I scrubbed so recklessly not realizing the pool of water escaping my grip and falling to the ground. This continued for a while until there was a noticeable puddle of soapy water around my stool. As I stepped down my stool slipped from under me and I flew landing on my back head first. As I landed my feet kicked the table that the portable stove was placed on which was parallel to the sink and it all came tumbling down. The scorching hot beans in the pot was first, it came rushing down and I was its main target. I could feel my skin begin to cook with it at that moment. 
       Next, the stove landed on the ground and quickly engulfed the whole kitchen with fire and I found myself right in the center of it all. Even though I was in the fire I never burned with it, the only pain I felt was from the scorching beans in the pot that had spilled on me earlier. I began to scream with every strength I had left in me, and it got my families attention because they all came rushing in but the fire was too much for them. I remember the pain in my mothers’ eyes and how she tried to pull me out even if it meant her life for mine. Every member of my family was instructed to grab water and sand to try to quench the fire but even that did not stop it. It was almost like that fire had a purpose and it would not be quenched until it was accomplished. I remember during all this commotion I continually tried to crawl out but something unseen would pull me back in. Suddenly all the noise faded out and my attention was turned to the red plastic bottle filled with kerosene that was in the corner. The amount of kerosene in that plastic bottle was enough to take down two houses but amazingly it didn’t even melt. It was as if God was telling me "don't worry I will get you through". Then everything became real again, and I could see my brother at the kitchen door continually stretching out his hands to grab me but the fire as if to warn him slightly burned the hair off his hands. After two hours the fire stopped and my mother out of panic, grabbed me and ran to the nearest hospital which was two miles away, the cool evening breeze burned my skin even more as she ran through the whole neighborhood. At our arrival the hospital staff was shocked at the fact that I was still conscious and at my mothers speed. After that everything else was a big blur.


     Everyday I thank God for that incident because it reminds me that life is too short.