It was Ilham's voice that woke me up. In actuality, I was not really sure if it was him who called me, but I knew well enough that he was the only one who would ever call me by that name. "Wake up, Jamu! Wake up! You need to get out of here!"
I could not see a thing as the smoke was getting into my eyes. It was hot, too. But Ilham kept leading me towards the exit. "Here! I know you can't see anything, so listen to my voice, okay?"
Our office was on fire. When we heard the explosion, everyone's face turned white. They panicked. "Fire! This room is on fire! Get out of here!"
We were all running when a fat young man accidentally hit me with his elbow and I fell down on the floor. Then the same guy banged the door so hard that the file cabinet got opened and all those thick hardcovers dropped right on my head. I lost my consciousness. But seconds before I blacked out, I noticed the tables, chairs and walls were burning fiercely, and I was the only one left.
"Wake up, Jamu! Wake up! You need to get out of here!" Ilham came back to save me. I followed his voice and slowly walked out of the room. My hands got burned pretty bad while trying to protect myself from the burning walls. I wondered how Ilham's hands were.
Outside, I saw them crying. Either they were shocked or happy to be alive, I could not tell. And I could not find Ilham. I was sure he was right in front of me. I searched for him. Then one of my colleagues said, "Jamil! Oh, I'm glad you made it. Thank God! It was close! When the kitchen exploded, it killed Ilham...and you were just right next to him. But I'm glad you're here."
On that second, I remembered witnessing the fire eating my brother alive. He was screaming for help, but I ignored him. I panicked and I ran as fast as I could. I did not even look back. Then that fat guy hit me.
Why I English
1 month ago
8 comments:
damm dat fat guy!!!LOL~
suying: haha. accidentally lorh~
salam.
that leaves me speechless. that's all. if something like that ever happened, it's terrible.
phyto: u mean the fire accident part, or the voice part, or the running while ignoring a brother's cry for help part?
this story's a humorous tragedy,i think there's a name for it in literature-but there's nothing about it to laugh about anyhow because someone died. so it's the whole story, i'll say. because he only recalls ignoring his brother when made to understand that his brother couldn't make it. so,it happened in the middle of the story, when he was too panicked to help his brother up. and he made it out alive,with his brother's voice guiding him (ironically). he left his brother to die,but he helped him out. him,being now dead. it's either his soul or just jamu's illusion. that part,is terrible to imagine. jamu's going to spend his remaining life trying to reason out what he saw and heard. two contradicting facts-or a fact and an illusion. it's in another way a social criticism. you leave someone to die and you make it alive,but you won't feel good about surviving either. did you intend for it to leave that effect?
phyto: my intention was to let people see how the world is, from an accident's point of view. so, yes, i intented to leave that effect that way.
well done! :) not easy to get it the first time. there's a thrill that adds joy to reading, worth the while though it's a short one. literature-wise, it gives an instant shocking effect. you feel shocked as soon as you finish, because in the middle of the story you didn't expect it to end so, though you've noticed that something's not right. then there's the issue of humanity versus conscience. well put. :) keep such good ides coming!
phyto: sangkiu. :P
Post a Comment