JULIO TINOCO

MS. WELLS

AP LIT

05/25/14

Morning, he told me, was because he and a friend had rescued a man from

a burning building the night before. He’d said it so calmly it took me a moment to

hear it. He’d saved a man’s life.

What did this mean for me?

Suddenly, my empty breakfast bowl became filled with wonder. The day

unrivalled before me like a sacred scroll. All who saw me would become blinded

by my second-hand glory. I wondered if the lucky ones might even touch the hem

of my hand-me-down garment and be healed…

My father had saved a man’s life.

Sunlight crowned his head with gold as Dad recounted the night’s events in

measured tones: The man had been drinking. He had fallen asleep with a lit

cigarette. He had kept trying to go back inside to find his dog… There must have

been fire trucks. And ambulances. Sirens, probably. I couldn’t believe I slept

through it all; couldn’t believe they let me sleep through it!

I couldn’t believe my dad had done that. And he was still eating Wheaties like he

always did, just with shorter eyebrows.

Today, on the way home from work, unit number 31 was on fire. There was

nobody inside, so I knocked on the door of the man at number 32. Sitting on the

footpath as the fire trucks arrived, he told me he had been partway through The

Lion King when I saved his life. I was pretty sure the setting sun was crowning my

head with gold, but I don’t think he noticed. Yet I was still having flashbacks on

the fire, couldn’t really believe myself “really I couldn’t” didn’t think I had that in

me it was just something that came about in a matters of seconds which really

surprised me” yea dad things like that happen once a life span, you never know

when but it will happen, let’s remember dad that you saved someone’s life your

there hero!! Now you got to understand that, your someone’s inspiration now

aren’t you happy?... well yeah of course I’m happy who wouldn’t like to think that

some thinks your there hero… it’s amazing I think that’s a mile stone a lot of

people don’t have in which I do, what thought when I seen the fire was I got to

safe the people that are in there and all of the sudden this energy came about

and went inside