The First Thing

• Alisha Ingham, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2015

The first thing I heard was the crackle of fire. My eyes shot open, the gigantic flames were circled around me, the smoke slowly crawling through my throat to my lungs. My shelf suddenly fell on my leg. I didn’t know what to do. The pain was so great that I was happy to chop off my leg. I quickly snatched my white pillow that had turned as black as ash and try to cover my mouth but the pillow was burning. I toss it away, the smoke was stuck in my dry, hot throat and I couldn’t stop coughing. I struggled to get my leg out from under the huge boiling shelf. My vision was going blurry; I could only just hear the fire engine sirens going off before I got woozy and fell, not caring about the hot flames under me and the ceiling came crashing down to the floor. I felt a hand lifting me up from the floor. That was the last thing I saw, and I feel my leg being freed and the world around me went black.
The first thing I had to do was try to walk across the small hospital room. I sat on the bed with mum, dad and the doctor carefully looking at me. I stood up from the white bed. I was standing there for at least ten minutes then I lifted my burnt leg and took a step. Then ‘CRASH’ I fell to the floor. Mum and dad came rushing over but the doctor stopped them and said,
“See if she can get up?” The pain in my leg was worse than ever. I grabbed the white sheets and they came off the bed. I grasped the leg of the bed and pulled myself up and sat on the soft mattress.
“Stand once more” said the doctor and I took a step and I balanced myself. I took another step and I tripped but I kept my balance. I walked over still stumbling and fell into my dad’s arms.
The first thing I felt was pain in my heart like someone beating you up and lightning striking at the same time. I screamed a high-pitched scream. I was still screaming when mum, dad and a doctor came rushing over and I felt my heart stop. I unexpectedly fell off the bed and banged my nose really badly on the floor. Dad and the doctor lifted me up on the bed and I faint. Then I see my life flash before me. Then, for the last time, my life goes black, my hand clasping my mum’s. Her warm, soft hand holding mine with a firm grip, her warm tears slowly sliding down her face and falling onto my hand, and my dad’s sticky hand holding my other hand. I smelled the doctor’s perfume, and the taste of blood coming out of my nose and that was the last thing I touched, smelt, heard and tasted.