Take My Hand

Chapter One

Reminiscence

"Mum! Mum, he.. he fell in the river!"I howled in ecstatic's to my mum who was cleaning the dishes in our kitchen as I sat contently on the sofa watching some TV show that made the most idiot look brilliant. Many people were falling and accidents were occurring, but they were all hilariously narrated by a comedian named Harry Hill and funny music played in the background on every frame. It always made my Saturday nights.

"Oh dear!" Mum cooed entering the living room with a smile on her face as she watched the next few frames of the TV program, letting out a giggle every now and then when she found something funny. Mum sat at my side, placing a pillow on her lip as we watched the television in a comfortable darkness, hysterics over powering our bodies the more the show continued to play.

It was the perfect, yet predictable Saturday night. Me and mum would always sit on the sofa in our two bedroom home, watching silly programs that made us smile and in a way; helped us bond. We loved our Saturdays. No work. No school. No worries. It was the best. Perfect.

I was twelve at the time, enjoying my life as I entered high school with high expectations and good grades to get me to where I wanted to be when I was older. I would have loved to be a pediatric nurse; a doctor for children. It's such a silly thing to want to be at twelve years old, I was still a child myself yet nothing felt better than the thought of helping those my age or younger, maybe a little bit older, with conditions that couldn't be helped with a spoonful of sugar and a hot water bottle. I wanted to be the person to save lives and help those in need.

My mum was proud of my achievements at that point, she loved the fact I was determined to be the best I could be, in society and in myself. My dad passed away a few months after I was born, unfortunately I have no memory of him, barely any photos are around to help give me an idea of his appearance but I just had to live by my mothers stories and her own memories of my dad. All I knew, was that he was a taxi driver and a part time employee at a big company somewhere. He was on his way to pick up his fair when he was in an accident, he was so happy i was in the world, finally. He was working extra hours to gain more money for his family, but mostly me. That's what my mum told me anyway.

The silence between the advertisements was spoilt in a split second when a heavy knock at the door startled us both, we exchanged confused glances, unable to really picture anyone needing our assistance at half past eight at night on a cold Saturday night. Mum sighed, raising herself from the leather seat an heading in the direction of the front door, "I'll be back in a moment." She lightly kissed my forehead before walking off. I hear her unlocking the door and opening the creaky hinge, but so suddenly a piercing scream echoed throughout the halls and a loud bang practically threw me from my seat, sending me to the floor as the screams continued to scare me. I turned my head to the door, flames began to flood onto our cream carpet, almost instantly spreading along furniture and the walls, turning them black and brown as they burnt quickly. I crawled away to the corner, the only place safe and sound for the time being as the fire expanded in front of my eyes.

My blood was racing through my veins, my heart beating too fast to slow down within the breaths of smoke and pollution slowly killing me. I was curled up in a corner, rocking back and forth, squinting over the crackling flames surrounding me in the living room that was just under ten minutes ago; perfectly normal. I called out for my mum, more than I tried to catch my breath. She said she'd be gone for no longer than a moment, she was gone for longer than a moment and I hadn't heard or seen her since.

I choked on an inhalation of smoke, unable to filter out the oxygen I was desperate to feel in my lungs. Suddenly, the window smashed into a thousand shards, shattering around my feet as the glass glimmered almost blindingly in the amber flames getting closer and closer to my body. A figure appeared from the window frame, surrounded by smoke and covering their mouths and noses with their arms as they searched the place anxiously, unaware of my presence.