“Mom?” I cry out. “Mom, are you in there?”
“Dexter!” she sobs, her voice heavy with emotion. “Dexter, help me, please!”
“I’m kicking down the door, move out of the way!” I yell.
The sound of her sobbing tears my heart apart. I attempt to kick down the door, but it’s no use. It’s locked, and it’s not giving in.
“Mom, it’s locked,” I manage to get out, coughing from all the smoke in the air.
I can barely see through the thick grey cloud now, but I’m still trying to get through to her.
“Where’s Dad?” I ask, my heart beating faster than ever.
But there’s nothing except for the sound of my mom’s soft crying.
“Mom?” I ask, my voice breaking over the word. “Mom, what happened to Dad?”
“He’s gone, baby,” she sobs. “He’s gone, he’s gone, he’s gone…”
“Mom!” I cry out, banging my fists on the door. “I’m breaking in the window on the door. Step back!”
The sound of her crying lessens, and I smash my fist into the glass. The hole helps some of the smoke escape, but not large enough for either of us to get through. My mother’s hands reach through the opening along with another wave of thick smoke.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay,” she tells me as I begin to cry myself. “You need to get out of here, son. You need to leave right now.”
“I can’t,” I cry out. “I can’t leave you here, I can’t just go!”
“You have to,” she sniffles. “Before it’s too late for you too.”
I start sobbing, not giving a shit who sees of hears me. With our fingers interlocked, Mom and I stare at one another through the small hole.
“Go, Dex,” she begs me. “Please, just run away from this smoke… Get back!”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry, Mom, I’m so sorry.”
Her fingers tremble in my hands, the sound of her crying getting softer and softer.
“I love you,” she whispers as her fingers finally slip out of my hand and she’s enveloped by the smoke that has now claimed the rest of the room.
There’s so much smoke now I can barely see through the dark clouds. The fire is spreading, the room next to my mother’s atelier ablaze as well. I know I have to leave – I don’t have a choice. I also know it’s a decision I’ll regret for the rest of my life.
I stumble down the hallway, my lungs filling with the smoke as I try to get out. But I’m seeing spots. There’s nothing to hold on to. All there is, is this thick cloud of smoke hanging above me.
My knees give out. I fall on the floor, stumbling, crying out for my mother who’s been lost to the flames. I can’t breathe. I can’t see. I can’t move. And then everything goes dark.
* * *
“Dexter? Dexter, please wake up!”
“Honey, he can’t hear you. Just wait a little while longer. He’s going to be okay; I promise you.”
“Dexter, please! You have to look at me, Dex, I’m begging, please…”
My eyes slowly flutter open and I sputter.
“Dexter!”
A small body throws itself on me while a female voice tells her to let me breathe. I recognize Lily Anna’s frail body in my hands, and I hold her tightly against me as the last memories I have slowly trickle back in.