Living Silently

Silently

"Noel"

I walked through the cold winter streets of downtown Austin, Texas. The twinkling of Christmas lights overhead cast a festive glow over the sidewalks that would be utterly gloomy with the overcast above if they weren't present. My lilac scrub pant legs swished against each other loudly, I remembered when the sound would annoy me but that time had long since past, and I was acclimated to the sound, so I ignored the sound of cloth rubbing against itself.

It was my lunch break, and I needed the brief pause to re-caffeinate myself at my favorite cafe, "Cafe Cloud." It was the first place that I came to eat when I moved here from southern Virginia. As I was walking, I passed a few strangers engrossed in what looked to be a rousing conversation. I wondered how it felt like to have companionship, platonic or otherwise. The only people in my life were my two foster siblings Chloe and my older brother Joseph or "Jojo." Since I was five years old, we had been together going from foster home to foster home. We had been lucky enough to be grouped together. I made a left turn seeing my destination immediately and walked right into the building not having to open the doors since they were almost always propped open even though it was cold outside. Somehow the rustically designed building maintained a comfortable temperature inside and smelled of rich coffee beans and fresh pastries. I walked up to see my name "Noel" written in a sizeable dark font on a cup that was placed on the serving counter. I smiled at the barista I knew as Jessia, a tall latina girl with rose gold colored hair that was pulled into a neat bun. She knew me since I came there every day for my java fix. I watched as she pressed the touchscreen-enabled computer helping another customer. Her fingers, that were covered in tattoos like the rest of her exposed body danced along the screen as I placed a twenty dollar bill on the counter to cover my next weeks coffee needs. I then grabbed my drink feeling the warmth radiate through my ungloved hands and smiled just a little. Looking around I found a chair in the corner next to a window and decided that would be a great place to watch the happenings of the city outside. Walking past groups of people I took the seat and looked out watching as a group of people got on and off a tour bus while they perused the hot spots of Austin.

"Oh my god," I heard a shrill voice screaming instantly drawing my attention to a thick cloud of smoke filling the air and swelling outward throughout the open cafe interior. For one I was impressed that I daydreamed despite what was happening, and secondly, I noticed that someone had closed the doors making it hard for the smoke to ventilate outside the building. Not taking too much time to do more analysis I got up and made my way towards the doors along with other people in the building. Moving swiftly I got to the doors only to notice a lean Asian woman yanking at the women's' bathroom door that was almost always getting jammed. She looked desperate as she threw her shoulder against the wooden door.

"Tiara, push you have to help mommy," she shouted through the thick wood that wasn't budging in the slightest as she violently pulled in order to save her child. I noticed that she was holding back coughs as she was trying to talk. I stopped mid-run and turned to go aid the mother who had tears streaming down her reddened face.

"Ma'am you have to go right now you are breathing in too much smoke," I said to her while noticing just how thick, and dark the smoke was getting. I began coughing myself which is when I decided that I couldn't be polite I would have to take charge of the situation. Taking a deep breath of the acrid air, I grabbed the woman by her arm and dragged her to the door kicking and screaming. I didn't even stop after we got outside and the people caught her. Urgently I ran back into the black smoke filled building. Going at my top speed, I ran to the door grabbed the knob and twisted it while dropping my shoulder to allow allowing it to collide with the door then pulled it open after breaking the tension.

Just a few feet away was a petite girl with red cheeks and eyes holding onto a ragged looking teddy bear that she must have had for a long time. I smiled at her then turned to notice just how dark the smoke that was pouring into the room was and immediately shut the door knowing that the flames were probably getting close to us. I had a pounding headache which wasn't helped by the sound of the piercing sirens getting nearer.

"Hey princess I'm Noel, it looks like we're stuck here but I'll get you out and to your mommy safe and sound," I said while pulling off both my scrub top and t-shirt before walking over to the sink and running water over the items of clothing even though I was getting significantly tired. When the garment was soaked, I walked over to the girl and handed her the scrub top.

"Breath through this, it will block some of the smoke from getting into your lungs," I said to her and received a nod of acknowledgment. I then stood up and placed the wet t-shirt near the door to block some of the smoke that was filtering under the door from degrading the air quality any further.

"Okay let's find a way out of here," I said looking at the walls and noticing a small window just big enough for Tiara to get out. I could hear the shouting of many men outside and quickly decided what I had to do.

"Go to the corner and close your eyes," I directed Tiara who did as told. I retook a deep breath coughing and realizing just how fatigued I was. The moment I was close enough I cranked my hand back and punched the window with all my strength. Painfully grunting I looked at my bloody hand and the now shattered window. The smoke seemed to flow out quickly as it was no longer contained and I took in some air only to cough violently.

"Come here," I said in a weak voice to Tiara. She walked over, and I grabbed her by her waist and lifted her up with a lot of effort. The adrenaline pumping through my body had caused me to take in a lot of the toxic air around me and I was already feeling the effects since I wasn't substantial in size

"Your mom is in the front of the building we are in the back, there should be people out there okay," I said, and she nodded with my top still to her face. With a smile, I placed her through the window making sure not to cut her on the sharp bits of glass still attached to the sides of the walls. She just barely fit through, but luckily I was able to drop her down. Not long after I heard the sound of people shouting. I smiled as a sank to the floor knowing that there was too much soot in my lungs for me to remain conscious for much longer.

"So this is how you die Noel, alone without a sound just like you lived your life,"I thought to myself as my eyelids became heavy and my breathing started to slow down. I was aware of people yelling, and the sounds of powerful jets of water hitting hard surface before I found myself falling to sleep.