Warm glow from a fire

One afternoon, I arrived home late from school. While I was chatting to my grandmother about my busy day, my sister interrupted us wanting to know if we, too, could smell burning.

As my parents were overseas, the thought of a fire terrified us and we quickly checked every room in the house. Nearing the lounge room, I could see a glowing light and hear a roaring sound. To my horror, the mantelpiece was ablaze and smoke was billowing out a window.

I yelled to my sister and grandmother to get out of the house. My sister grabbed the phone to call the fire brigade and, together with the dog, we ran away from the house.

While we anxiously waited for help, a lady and her young daughter ran towards us to check if we were hurt. She had noticed smoke coming from our window and had already alerted the fire brigade. She hugged us and was very relieved to see us safe.

She led us to her car where we waited until the fire brigade had finished dousing the flames. She also helped us answer questions so the police could start their investigations.

Once the lady was convinced that some order had been restored, she apologised for not being able to stay longer, as she had to take her daughter to a dance performance. She promised to return later to check in on us.

I was completely lost for words. This kind lady had gone out of her way to make sure we were safe and now she was apologetic about leaving us. We thanked her profusely and urged her not to delay any further.

Hours later, we were allowed back into the house. It was about midnight when the doorbell rang. To my disbelief, it was the lady from earlier at the door.

As promised, she’d returned to check on us. She was relieved that we all were settled and gave us a warm hug before leaving.

Unfortunately, in all the commotion, I didn’t ask her where she lived so my family hasn’t been able to thank her properly for her thoughtful actions that day.

Saloni Misra, Epping, NSW