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The house stood serene under the morning sun.
The courtyard was freshly dewed and emanated the aroma of peace.
Near the center, a child’s swing set stood idly by.
His son had loved that old thing. So had he when he was a boy.
Chad walked on the stone pavement to the door of mahogany white. He
turned the knob and gently pushed the wooden door back.
Sudden light bathed the high-ceilinged interior as he took his first
steps inside.
Everything looked more polished and cleaner than they ever were.
Here lay the living room, with its simple yet adequate furnishings. Adjoined to it was the kitchen with its metal basin and massive oven.
There sat Bryan’s room, with its rough blue and dark yellow decor.
Karen had wanted a “boyish” look. “Lets make sure he grows up a boy,”
she had said with a tinge of paranoia.
A clear glass window adorned the sidewall, overlooking a gently rolling
slope beyond the perimeter of the white picket fence.
Bryan used to be fascinated by the rhythmic swaying of the tall trees
that grew at the bottom of the hill. The winds got pretty strong here late
into the summer.
“Look Dad! They are dancing!” He used to say excitedly when Chad caught
him staring outside.
He would look through that window no more - his Bryan.
Just beside Bryan’s room, stood the master bedroom.
Here, the wealth of the household resided.
A small fireplace at the far corner provided warmth during the cold
seasons.
Other treasures included a personal bathroom with an automatic water
heater; a lavish, king-sized bed with a springy King Koil mattress,
decorated with lush down feather pillows. And last but not least, a
built-in wardrobe system of sturdy timber that stretched from wall to
wall.
How his Karen loved that bedroom.
“I wish we can stay here forever,” she had proclaimed on a cold winter
night made comfortable by the crackling fireplace, and a romantic
cuddle under the blankets.
She would lay on that bed no more - his Karen.
Then the bright light dimmed, throwing a gloomy outlook on the whole
building. Blackness seeped through the ceiling and traveled to every
room and curvature. Everything it touched crumbled and decayed until nothing
but ruins remained.
The present flung the house into pandemonium.
“I’m sorry you lost your home to the fire,” a sympathetic voice reached
him from behind.
He looked around at the appalling destruction and sighed.
Yet a smile reached his lips as he turned to the policeman in blue.
“It’s all right officer,” he replied, his voice cracking involuntarily.
“My house may be destroyed,” he began, looking towards the silent Bryan
and Karen. Eyes wide and mouth set, each was ensnared with personal
memories of the place.
As was he.
He knelt and circled his arms around them.
“But my Home is safe.”
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