"Nionel!!" Shouted a distant voice. "Hold on! I am coming for you!""My head…It hurts... I can"t think straight. What happened? Where am I…?"
"Ambulance is on the way!" Resonated a male voice somewhere far in the distance.
"Someone is calling... Mom?"
"Where are you?" He shouted.
"Something is not right... Where is everyone? Dad!?"
"d.a.m.n it, d.a.m.n it all. I can"t lose her! Not like that…" The man kept cursing on his own while making his way to the upper floor.
"Why can"t I move my body? My eyes are sore...? Why can"t I force my mouth to speak?! What is going on??"
"I will get you out of there! Just hold on!" His voice resonated through the thin walls.
"Who is this? I can hear steps..."
"It is gonna be alright, I will take you out of here, I promise!" Said the man, while his voice sounded more like he wanted to rea.s.sure himself.
"I feel tired…I want to see my mom… Where is she…"
"Nionel?" He kept shouting relentlessly.
"I know this voice…"
"If you can hear me, please, answer me!" He begged.
"Uncle Noah…?"
"Nionel, where are you? Can you hear me?!" Noah shouted a couple of meters away.
"It is dangerous in here; I have to tell him!"
"We must hurry! It is not safe here!" He kept moving and flipping stuff over in the room next door.
"I need to get out from here…I should not be here…Something is not right; I need to leave…Help me!"
"NIONEL?!" He ran into another room.
"I have to tell him! I must speak up! have to tell him that I am right here! Why can"t I open my mouth??"
"Nionel!! Give me a sign so I could find you!! Anything!!" He kept shouting while investigating the other side of the floor.
"…Why do I feel pain? Is it an illusion!? Am I dreaming? I can"t tell… But the heat… It is all around me…It hurts me…Mommy…What is going on?! It hurts… Why does it hurt so much?!"
"Nionel!! We must leave before the whole building collapses!!" Noah shouted.
"I feel pain! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!! Mommy!! Make it stop! Somebody, help me!!"
A wave of pain and agony suddenly washed over, enveloping the little 6 years old girl who happened to be trapped under the debris in one of the rooms of a house that caught fire. Unable to move, while her body began relentlessly shaking, her throat gurgled as she struggled to breathe. She was the prisoner of ravaging flames while the carbon monoxide had imprisoned her sanity. The pain was merciless.
"MAMA!!" She screamed with all of her strength.
The second she screamed an electric shock from the open burns went through her body.
"HELP ME!!" She screamed hysterically while the flames were devouring her skin.
"NIONEL!! I AM COMING!!" Noah ran on the spot and then threw himself to the ground while covering his mouth.
"What did I do…" His eyes watered in agony and pain as he witnessed the half-burnt body of a little girl who helplessly screamed for help.
"Uncle Noah…Please…" She extended her arm trying to reach her saviour as she exhaled her last breath and completely lost her consciousness.
-/-
"…I hear someone crying… I know that smell of lavender cologne… Uncle Noah. Why is he crying…? That"s… sad… I wonder why…Maybe something bad happened to him…? Maybe I… Can help…? I like uncle Noah; He is always nice to me and my mommy.... If I… can make him feel better… If I… can help him… That will make me… Happy…"
In silence, Nionel has slowly raised her arm and gently poked Noah"s check.
"Uncle, Noah…" She slowly exhaled. "It is going to be… All right…" The blood began dripping from her mouth as she spoke.
"I am sorry…I am so sorry… It should not happen like that…" He sobbed in a way if he has lost everything he ever had.
"Everything is going to be… all…right. I am sure… If it is you… Everything… is going to be all… right…" Slowly p.r.o.nounced Nionel as she took a deep breath almost every time she tried to speak.
"Not… this time…" He slowly caressed her head, which had almost no hair left".
"You can always… Start over…Right…?" She tried to smile but her internal pain was more than obvious.
"I can"t…" Noah cried. "I can"t…Not this time… I am so sorry…" He lowered his eyes, trying to look away.
The air smells of burning wood that has attracted the neighbours and bypa.s.sers. Each second the crowd grew in numbers as if people were gathering for a firework. Everyone was watching the house that was slowly collapsing, one part at a time… n.o.body spoke a word.
Minutes later, every heart on the street skipped a beat as the sirens of the fireman and ambulance vans were rushing to the accident location.
"I feel… tired…" Nionel has slowly removed her arm that dropped like a dead weight.
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"Your mother… Now you… I only bring death and misfortune…" He stopped in the middle of the sentence.
The screeching tires and the flashing blue lights were illuminating the crowd. Every head turned to follow the medics rushing to house. Only at that moment, the crowd has noticed a silhouette of a young teenager who was holding a burned corpse of a little girl; Unnoticed by everyone, he kept crying in the complete silence…
"Uncle… Noah…Thank…you..."
Nionel Valentine – Deceased [20.06.2070]