The Sleepless Night By Becca "We go in together, we come out together." I've heard it so many times, that it's become cliche. But it was our unwritten creed, our oath to one another. It was the way it had always been. The way it would always be. Only this day, it wasn't. Staring at the ceiling, I can hear the sounds. The creaking of the fiery board, the sickening thud as it falls and hits my unsuspecting partner. The force of his breath being driven from his lungs. The collapse of his body on the concrete floor. How I wish for rest, for just a few moments of peace. But the sounds keep invading my thoughts, my dreams. They tell me that he'll recover. Eventually. It shouldn't have happened. I should've done something different, seen it coming, warned him in time. "We go in together, we come out together." Damn. I close my eyes, and hear the sounds again. I turn my head into my pillow. No one can know I'm crying. Firemen don't cry. We are brave. We are strong. "Firemen run into places that everyone else runs out of." Another cliché. But it is our job. I know it. And so does he. |