Room 602, Gu Xiaoer was awakened by the thick smoke. Her head was heavy and dizzy, her nose and eyes streaming. She got out of bed to turn on the light, only to find the power was out. Using the light from her cellphone, she looked outside then her groggy brain instantly cleared.
Her home was on fire...
For a good five seconds she was petrified, then a lungful of smoke hit her throat. She quickly remembered the fire safety tips her teachers had given her at school and was thankful she hadn't succumbed to sleep. She immediately found a wet towel to cover her mouth and nose.
Almost subconsciously, Gu Xiaoer touched the two keys hanging around her neck. One was for the apartment, the other was her mother's room key.
Gu Xiaoer thought her life seemed quite challenging. At five, she had experienced a flood. Now, at twenty-two, she was facing a fire. She had fought hard to survive, but it didn't seem to earn her any extra favor from the heavens.
Disaster always struck unexpectedly.
But this time, she no longer had her mother's protection and company.
Gu Xiaoer ran to the living room, glanced at the security door, and then at her mother's room. After half a second of hesitation, she backed up and rushed into her mother's room.
With one hand covering her nose, she took the key from her neck with the other, trembling uncontrollably as she shakily unlocked the door.
She was afraid of dying, very afraid. She knew that when disaster struck, no material possession was as valuable as a life.
But when you're personally facing such situations, there are some things that can't simply be measured against life. She had already lost her mother, and she didn't want to lose the only things left of her...
She had to get her mother's favorite pair of earrings!
The lock on the bedroom door was hot to the touch, and Gu Xiaoer had to find another towel to insulate her hand before she could open the door. She quickly ran to the dressing table, grabbed the quietly resting turquoise earrings, checked to make sure they weren't damaged, and then ran back to her own bedroom.
Bedside table, jewelry box, she didn't care as items scattered on the floor, finding the beautifully wrapped little box finally allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.
It was the blue diamond Da Luoluo had given her, which she now clasped to her chest along with the earrings.
Her mother and Da Luoluo, the two most important people in her life. Was it greedy? Perhaps, but they were her faith, her emotional anchors...
With a wet towel over her mouth and nose, Gu Xiaoer grabbed a thick coat, soaked it with water, and crouched low to rush towards the door.
The doorknob was too hot to touch, and the security door creaked and cracked with the sound of the fire. Gu Xiaoer kicked fiercely, but the normally reliable security door just wouldn't budge.
She tried smashing it with a stool, to no avail. Instead, the door frame began to wobble, indicating that more force could cause a collapse.
There was no way out!
As soon as this thought struck her, Gu Xiaoer realized how serious the situation was. In an instant, panic, helplessness, darkness, and a feeling of suffocation all surged towards her.
She hadn't anticipated this, thinking that maybe a fire in the neighboring kitchen had spread to her home. But now, she realized it wasn't so simple. If it had been just a small fire, the door would have opened easily.
Her eyes widened in horror as she watched her home engulfed in smoke, the fire spreading along the walls, many flammable items turning to ash.
The books she loved were burning; the curtains she loved were burning... Her eyes shimmered in the firelight, and at that moment, she felt as though her entire body was being consumed by the flames.
Darkness was endless, plaster fell from the ceiling, a manifestation of her powerlessness invaded by fear and despair.
Was she really going to die this time?