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Fire Escape Collapse

There was no escape.

By Oluremi Adeoye Published about a year ago 5 min read
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Sandra was a waitress in a bar just three streets from her home. She usually resumes work around 5 pm daily. Her job makes it convenient for her to take care of Eddie, her 5 -year-old son, a student at the elementary school relatively close to their house; thankfully, it’s a public school, so she isn’t spending any money on school like she had to do when he was still in day-care as well as Pre-school.

As a waitress at George’s coffee shop, she works 40 hours a week and isn’t earning that much, so not having to take public transport to her place of work is one of the significant reasons Sandra loves where she is living.

However, the challenges she faces in the building sometimes seem to outweigh that of it being just a stone’s throw from work. The building was quite old, and Romeo, the janitor, wasn’t very cooperative regarding repairs but was always eager to come to collect the rent. Her son Eddie, however, is his best friend in the building. So, most times, when Sandra needed to run errands or was running late at work, her mind was always at rest, knowing Romeo would gladly take care of Eddie.

Sandra knew that her situation wasn’t likely to change anytime soon, especially with her accommodation, and even if given an opportunity to leave for a house with better facilities, as long as it wasn’t going to be in that same area, it wouldn’t serve her purpose and she probably not move.

As she got ready for work on that faithful, she smiled at her son. He was such a well-behaved boy for his age, and she was very grateful for that and every other thing concerning him.

She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry anytime she remembered Gabriel Eddie’s father. He was from Chicago and had come to New York through a major construction organization as their head plumber. He had come into her life, had swept her off her feet, and given her the best six months of a relationship.

Once again, she smiled when she remembered how he had walked into the cafe requesting a snack and a cup of coffee to go. It became a regular morning ritual, and soon enough, they started talking, from friends to lovers and live-ins. He was a very responsible and caring partner that Sandra hoped had come to stay. Unfortunately for Sandra, Gabriel had other plans. He hoped Sandra would follow him on a trip to Kenya, and he hoped to settle there for a few years. Gabriel’s contract came to an end at about the time Sandra found out she was pregnant.

She was excited about it, but he wasn’t when she shared this with him. He told her he didn’t want kids and didn’t want to be tied down. Instead, he explained his plans for the two of them to go to Africa, no strings attached.

As for not wanting to get married, he gave his reasons as being that the toxic relationship he witnessed his parents display as a married couple had made him vow never to go through such or put any woman through that kind of life.

And that was how he left her and stopped calling when he realized Sandra was determined to keep the pregnancy.

Sandra’s family lived in New Jersey, which isn’t too far away, and it was convenient for her to move back home for support during the last trimester of her pregnancy and the first two years of her son’s life.

She, however, moved back to New York and was lucky to find that her former place of work was ready to have her back, but her former house was no longer vacant. She was, however, able to find an older apartment in the same neighbourhood, which she grabbed without thinking twice. The apartment was on the fifth floor of one of those old buildings.

It served so she didn’t complain if she could help it, which wasn’t often. She could never keep quiet about water or heating, especially during winter. The good thing was, most times, she wasn’t the first resident in the building to complain.

While reflecting on her past, Sandra could sniff a burning smell. She checked her apartment but didn’t notice any of the sockets in her apartment being the cause. She shrugged it away and went into her bathroom to put her makeup on. While in there, her son called out to her. There was an usual urgency in his voice that got her to the sitting room quickly, only to find that everywhere was filled with smoke. She could hear the fire truck sirens and knew their building was where it was heading to. She grabbed her son, but when she opened their front door, she realized the whole corridor was engulfed in the fire, so she quickly closed the door and ran back in. Soon enough, the fire found its way into her apartment, so she knew the only other option was to use the fire escape.

Gingerly finding her way down the first few steps, she encouraged her son to follow. She could see he was scared, but he was brave enough to follow her instructions. Looking down, she could see that a crowd had gathered. Still, the fire service truck hadn’t arrived as she took a few steps down the fire escape to make room for her son, she noticed that their weight was dislodging the screws holding the fire escape to the building. At that instant, Sandra knew they were going down and that there was so little time left, Sandra made a last request ‘Lord, please save my son.’ And this was granted because she hit the ground first, softening the fall for Eddie.

The End.

The Fire on Marlborough Street photograph is the uploaded image used for this story because it inspired me to write it. The Monochrome photograph by Stanley Forman won a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 in Spot News Photography.

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About the Creator

Oluremi Adeoye

An accomplished writer who loves contributing articles and stories to Vocal media. My writing focuses on a variety of topics and is known for clarity, insightfulness, and practical advice.

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