A painful throbbing constantly kicked at the walls of her skull as she struggled to stand up, dazed and dizzy. Liz swiftly grabbed onto the counter’s edge and pulled herself to her sore feet, as she desperately attempted to recollect her short-term memory. The only images she could dare remember was a packet of raw soup falling to the ground lifelessly. In an absent-minded attempt to pick it up, Liz and Jade furiously dove down at the same time, colliding their fragile skulls, which resulted in their massive aches. Jade remained planted on the swerving ground, begging for the endless pounding to disappear forever. Suddenly, an event so traumatic and wrenchingly silent quickly transformed into an uproar of laughter and humor. The two girls have their backs turned as a pot continued to perform its forgotten mysterious simmering dance, persuading the water to disappear more and more into the atmosphere. The two were unknowingly about to encounter a cruel fate of madness, together.

In the midst of the roaring laughter, the previously sunless, chilly day was slowly transcending into the foggy darkness of a misty night. The bright balls of flaming white light sparkled back and forth at one another, as if exchanging greetings. A lone blade of slick green stands tall among the other freshly cut blades of grass, as they begin to grow moist with the chilly darkness. The clouds that wrapped the sky in a blanket of grey and white suddenly tinkled droplets of rain, pouring faster and faster as the eternal clock ticked on by, unnoticed. Inside the kitchen, a light suddenly flickers on, instantly warming the room. Liz sits in a glossy wooden chair, conversing with Jade. Remarkably, after seven youthful years, the two are still the best of friends, cackling and giggling uncontrollably. Their happiness is subtly reflected into the glimmering room of warmth.

In the unwatched corner of the room, as the stove sits motionless on the ground with the pot of dancing water, a daring flicker of orange and red was suddenly ignited. The small blaze gently and gradually grew with more intensity, as it wrapped the pot into its fierce clutches of inescapable heat. Without delay, the room became dreaded in strange feelings of horror and fear, as a sound so alarming quickly pierced through their cackles. A wave of guilt and regret overcame Liz’s body as she quickly glanced over at the forgotten stove, which was standing tall with blazes of fury rising quickly. Eerie clouds of unidentifiable fumes promptly swept through the room, trapping the girls into a chamber of unknown horrors.

In all ways of misfortune, the two girls collapsed abruptly from the toxic, deadly fumes. Liz was the first to be overpowered, as she fell lifelessly out of her chair onto the stable ground, with a thud so loud it overcame that of the roaring inferno. Horrified and alone, Jade panicked as she witnessed her motionless friend plummet to the ground. Seconds later, the eternal clock ticked on as Jade unexpectedly fell to the earth, as lifeless as her dear friend. As the unconscious girls struggled to regain full consciousness again, the unforgivable flames of injustice stretched across the kitchen gradually, leaving little time, and ideas left for escape. Finally, Liz helplessly dragged herself up to the terrifying flames, as she became overwhelmed.

Out of nowhere, a violent wave of piercing pain shoots up her thin arm. As the merciless fate begins to take it’s vengeful place in time, an ear-piercing shriek forced itself out of her mouth. The ball of blurred shades of orange and red quickly enveloped her body as forgotten images thrust themselves into her raging head. Events unrecognized from her youth and childhood immediately slowed and stopped in a matter of seconds. Losing the unfastened grasp of life, Liz fought for it. She fought for a chance. Sounds faded, as lights grew dimmer as her vision swiftly swirled into an unfamiliar darkness.

Temporarily, Jade’s vision became more vivid and lifelike as the alarming sounds and colors gradually began to show through. Instantly, Jade recalled exactly what was going on, as her heart suddenly stopped in its fast tracks. As she fixed her swollen eyes at her fallen friend, so limp and lifeless as the third degree burns were clearly scorched across her body, Jade knew that there was still that meager chance of hope, a chance of survival. As she crawled low to the heating ground, she inhaled her last breath of decent air, swiftly hopped to her feet, and examined around for an untouched cabinet. Surprisingly, there was a lone plastic bowl nestled on the burning ground in front of a crippled black cabinet. The plastic was slightly melted on the sides, as it was slightly tinted black. Her hand met the burning dish of hope as she sprinted out of the lone back door, which, thankfully, was barely untouched by the flame’s wrath.

The white door thrust itself into the wall as the screen door burst forward with much force, and the girl scanned the fresh outdoors quickly. Her gazed hopped and skipped around the drenched yard, as her vision barely hopped over a spark of hope. Jade dashed out on the soaked wooden deck, as her whole body weight suddenly dropped to the ground as her skin was torn open by single splints of thick wood standing menacingly tall. Unable to trace even a hint of blood or a dash of pain, she sprinted forward as she shoved the cooling bowl into a muddy puddle of the not so glorious, dirty rainwater. As she made her way back into the doomed house of misfortune and grief, she darted toward the door, as the smoke began to creep its way through the crowded, small cracks of the door. The door thrust open, with an enormous wave of suffocating smoke quickly invaded the misty outdoors of the dark night. At once, she jerked the bowl of water forward as the glistening, foggy droplets of freedom sprinkled at the raging flames. Her shoulders sank as barely a tenth of the flame was extinguished. Just then, her heart began to prance and her face lit up as her exhausted mind discovered that just enough water had been sprinkled to rescue her motionless friend. A disturbing sizzle hastily sounded as she dove to the ground to drag her almost unconscious friend over stacks of steaming hot rubble out to the isolated door. Just as she reached the fresh outdoors, Jade’s vision abruptly faded into a cloudy dimness of the unknown, and all feelings evacuated her body.

Liz awoke in dreadful pain of her seared, raw skin as her vision finally began to return. All possible masses were hidden with vague, unfamiliar blurs. A wave of sweet relief overcame her body as the blurs were in different shades of white and baby blue, and the temperature was glamorously relaxing to her severely damaged skin. As the blurry objects began to reveal their true form, some sneaky sound unexpectedly made it’s way discreetly into her off guard ears, and she jumped at the sudden beep of precious sound. As beeps began following one another in tune at the same pitch, Liz was restrained to the soft mass of cotton white fabric as she took note to her gloriously fresh breaths of air, with no trace of hazardous toxins. Despite her astounding amount of pain, she finally took an observant look at her surroundings. Various instruments with both sharp and dull ends hung on the baby blue cabinets, as random plants relaxed calmly in the dim corners of the vast room. Unfamiliar pairs of eyes began to meet with her thankful, burning dark brown eyes. As she continued to scan the room with little strength, she could have felt her heart skip a beat with overwhelming happiness.

Tiny droplets of happiness welled up in her stinging eyes, as they finally met with that of her best friend, her hero. Jade rested weak in the invitingly cozy bed across from her, as a gentle tear strolled down her scarred cheek. Sympathy and guilt surged about in Liz’s veins as she observed her friend’s dry, crippled skin. She closed her eyes in disbelief; disbelief in the fact that her Jade risked her life just to make sure that Liz’s fallen self would survive the ruthless blaze. Regret immediately poured into Liz’s exhausted head, unaware of how ignorant about the true value of one’s life. Years and years of a joyful life may blossom, and in less than a second, it can be ruthlessly taken away. The vision of a blessed life immediately faded as her heavy eyelids slowly clamped shut, and her head sank into her supple pillow. With each fresh breath that she took, one after another, Liz finally fell into a deep sleep of peace, without any possible worries. She dozed off into a sleep of a thousand dreams, as her faint smile began to fade away. Miraculously, they both have been given a second chance.