![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/467672446_491529940567085_1196403187252907244_n-254x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I fastened my helmet, my hands trembling but I never acknowledged it.
\nToday was Mom\u2019s birthday. Another one came and went without saying anything to us. I could almost hear her voice in my thoughts, as clear as ever: \u201cShe wasn\u2019t right for you, Ethan. I know what\u2019s best.\u201d<\/p>\n
I adored Sarah, really loved her, but Mom never understood. After our most recent dispute, she faked my messages to another female, giving a feeling that I had ch3ated on Sarah.<\/p>\n
The proof was too convincing, and Sarah never trusted me. I left home a month later, and since then, every birthday, holiday, and year has passed without me contacting her. But the pain never really subsided.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot_2-10.jpg\")
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\n\u201cHey, Ethan!\u201d Sam\u2019s voice drew me back, and I looked up. \u201cYou all set for tonight\u2019s shift? Rumor is, it might be a quiet one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t jinx it,\u201d I replied, attempting to shrug off the recollections. I smiled back, but my heart was not in it. Today\u2019s weight just wouldn\u2019t lift. But work was work, and tonight I intended to bury myself in it.<\/p>\n
Then, just as I was getting concentrated, our radio turned on.<\/p>\n
\u201cEngine 27, Engine 27,\u201d came the dispatcher\u2019s voice, urgent and steady. \u201cWe have a report of a fire at Crestwood. Repeat, Crestwood. Large structure fire, possible occupants inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sam\u2019s eyes narrowed. \u201cCrestwood? That\u2019s gotta be the old mansion out on the edge of town. Wasn\u2019t that place empty?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGuess not,\u201d I murmured as I strapped on my gear, a familiar low-grade flush of adrenaline kicking in. \u201cWe\u2019ll find out soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n When we arrived at Crestwood, fames were leaping out of the mansion\u2019s windows, sending thick, black smoke into the sky.<\/p>\n But, just as we were getting into position, I heard shouts.<\/p>\n An enraged, desperate man was pressing against a handful of cops near the barricade.<\/p>\n For illustration purposes only \u201cSir, you can\u2019t go in,\u201d an officer replied, holding him back. \u201cThe fire\u2019s too intense, it\u2019s not safe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the owner\u2019s son!\u201d he shot back, wrenching away from their grip. \u201cThere\u2019s something I need to get. It\u2019s all I have left.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cListen, kid, that house is a death trap right now,\u201d another firefighter warned him. \u201cNothing\u2019s worth risking your life for.\u201d<\/p>\n But he didn\u2019t appear to hear any of it. Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed a small fire extinguisher that had been placed nearby and ducked under the barricade, sprinting for the side exit.<\/p>\n \u201cHey!\u201d I yelled, lunging forward, but he was faster. The man sprinted straight through the commotion, avoiding police and firefighters and ignoring every call to stop.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, it was too late. He had already disappeared inside. I took a few steps toward the door, instinct propelling me forward, but then I heard a deafening crack as one of the beams spanning the entrance fell. Sparks flashed up in a blast of light, and I stumbled back, choking on the heavy smoke.<\/p>\n \u201cEthan, no!\u201d Sam grabbed my arm and pulled me back. \u201cWe can\u2019t go in there. It\u2019s suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n I had barely taken off my mask when I spotted him. Covered in soot and leaning heavily against an ambulance, he clutched a little, blackened box to his chest as if it were the most valuable thing in the world.<\/p>\n Medics were fussing over him and checking his vital signs, but he didn\u2019t appear to notice. I moved up, cautious not to interrupt, but he looked up, his eyes tired yet peaceful.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re lucky to be alive,\u201d I said, squatting near him. \u201cNot a lot of people could\u2019ve come out of that in one piece.\u201d<\/p>\n I nodded at the box. \u201cMind if I ask what\u2019s inside?\u201d<\/p>\n Photographs. Old, a bit scorched around the edges, but still intact. Black-and-white images show a woman happy and smiling with her hair in loose curls. She also has a couple infant images in which she is holding a child in her arms, and her face is filled with delight.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re all I have left of my mother,\u201d he said quietly, his voice rough. \u201cShe d.i.e.d when I was four. My father didn\u2019t keep much of her stuff around, but these\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n His voice cracked, and he gulped, blinking to relieve the sting in his eyes. \u201cThese were hidden away in an old wine cellar in the basement. Fire-resistant walls. I used to go down there sometimes, just to\u2026 see her face, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n He took a deep breath. \u201cWhen I saw the fire from the road, I knew I couldn\u2019t let her pictures go up in flames. She\u2019s\u2026 she\u2019s all I have.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou must\u2019ve loved her a lot,\u201d I said softly.<\/p>\n He looked up, his expression somber. \u201cI don\u2019t remember much about her,\u201d he admitted. \u201cBut I do remember her smile. And her voice. I remember how she\u2019d sing to me.\u201d He closed the lid, letting out a shaky breath. \u201cThese photos\u2026 they\u2019re my only proof she was real.\u201d<\/p>\n As he clutched the box close, I remembered my mother. I had spent years refusing to forgive her, letting each birthday and holiday pass without a call.<\/p>\n After my shift, I went to an all-night store and picked out a tiny flower. I arrived at her doorway a little time later, the house still decorated for her birthday. I stood there, nervous, but eventually I knocked.<\/p>\n The door slowly opened, and there she stood, looking as astonished as I\u2019d ever seen her. \u201cEthan,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\n \u201cHappy birthday, Mom,\u201d I murmured, extending the flowers. My voice cracked, and I was back at 12 years old, simply wanting my mother to forgive me and tell me everything was fine.<\/p>\n She glanced at me, her eyes welling with tears. \u201cOh, Ethan,\u201d she said softly, reaching forward and drawing me into an embrace. \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u2026 for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n I held her back, all of the old hurt fading away, replaced with a sense of calm I hadn\u2019t felt in years. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, too,\u201d I muttered. \u201cI should\u2019ve come sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n I fastened my helmet, my hands trembling but I never acknowledged it. Today was Mom\u2019s birthday. Another one came and went without saying anything to us. I… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/istockphoto-1398547026-612x612-1-300x169.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot_3-9-300x298.jpg\")
\nFor illustration purposes only
\nIn less than five minutes, we were speeding down the road, sirens blasting and engines roaring.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot_1-12-300x223.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI need to get in there!\u201d he exclaimed, his voice straining. He was probably in his twenties, wearing a dark suit and a white shirt that had already been stained with ash. \u201cYou don\u2019t understand \u2014 my father\u2019s things are in there!\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot_5-7-191x300.jpg\")
\nFor illustration purposes only
\n\u201cGet him out of there!\u201d someone yelled.<\/p>\n
\nHis eyes were fixated on the box.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot_6-7-298x300.jpg\")
\nFor illustration purposes only
\nHe stared down at the box, running his palm over its scorched edges. Slowly, he placed it on the ground between us, softly lifting the lid. But what was inside stopped me in my tracks.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot_7-7-300x199.jpg\")
\nFor illustration purposes only
\nI nodded, feeling a pain in my chest. I\u2019d seen individuals lose everything to fire, including jewels, money, and even their homes. But this? A few old photographs of his mother, whom he barely remembered? He had risked all to save her memory.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot_8-5-297x300.jpg\")
\nFor illustration purposes only
\nWe stood in the doorway, letting go of the past. I felt as if I had returned home for the first time in years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"