Cait’s Testimony

It was a rainy day in September of 2009 when my house burned down. I can remember it like it was yesterday. It’s almost  like I can still smell the smoke. Feel the stuffiness. Embrace the confusion that was soon to come. I was only 13 when I watched my childhood home go up in flames. 

It was early in the morning when I woke up out of a deep sleep. Everything looked a little fuzzy. I often slept in my contacts, so I thought they were clouded. It wasn’t until I walked over to the top of the steps and looked down that I saw the heavy clouds of smoke. Fear consumed me and the first thing I thought about was how my window often jammed. I wasn’t sure if I could climb out of it and going down the steps didn’t seem like a great option with the clouds of smoke and all.

I quickly ran to the window and started to push. It was one of those older windows that needed unlocked and pushed to the side. By the grace of God it opened right away. I started to climb out when I realized I needed to yell for my family. You see, up until that point I was running on adrenaline. Once I realized I could get out, I tried to yell, “Fire!” It felt like the words could barely escape my lips. 

My dad and brothers were downstairs. My mom wasn’t home at that moment because she was working night shift at the local hospital. I wasn’t sure if anyone was out yet, but I knew I needed to get myself out of my window and onto the porch roof that stood below it. Once I stepped outside onto the roof, I saw my dad and brothers. Dad put his arms out to catch me. I was afraid to jump off the roof, but I hesitantly did it anyways. 

Once I was off the roof, we all walked away from the house by a couple hundred feet or so. It felt like it was no sooner that I got off the roof that I looked up and saw the flames in my room. It was a gut wrenching moment to watch your bedroom go up in flames as you stand there in you undies and white t shirt with the black and colorful stripes across it. 

I realized my dad managed to drag our yorkie-chihuahua mixed pupper, Peanut, out. She was in a cage by the door, so he quickly pulled the cage out along with him on his way out. Unfortunately our cat didn’t have the same luck. 

I ended up at my neighbors house for a while after that. My mom was just getting home from working night shift at the local hospital and got the fright of her life before she realized we were all ok. Her freshly paid off truck wasn’t, but that no longer mattered. Her family was the most important thing. 

We all still had each other.