Mayfly Melodies

Forty-Five

Caroline

The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect—Peter A. Levin

The attic was cramped and stuffy. It was dark, only a single illuminated bulb hanging from the ceiling to provide light for Caroline as she poked through the boxes. They were stacked irregularly, random piles creating a maze-like structure that she had to walk within as she searched.

She was going through some of the belongings she and Noah had managed to salvage from the wreckage of their childhood home when they'd packed up to leave Wichita Falls. She was looking for a picture album that contained some of the only remaining photographs that she and Noah had of their parents and Aaron. Sure, there were images online on social media sites but these photographs were more special. Baby and wedding photos, childhood sports championships and school pictures.

Caroline hadn't looked at the photos since she'd first recovered them from a safe that managed to survive the house fire. It hadn't contained much, just the photo album, some of her mother's most expensive jewelry, and things like passports and birth certificates. Before it had simply been too painful to think about the photos, much less look at them. She normally made to remember her deceased family in her thoughts, not by the few damaged material possession she and Noah still had of theirs.

But as she'd started working on lyrics to a new song she wanted to show to Bailey, one that had made her think of her family, she'd felt a sudden rush of longing for the people she'd lost. So much so that she'd taken a break from the guitar to wander up to the attic. Caroline had half a mind to bring their belongings downstairs to place in their living room and in the kitchen.

Caroline had just started rummaging through a box containing the photo album and some of Aaron's junior rodeo trophies when she'd felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. She stopped what she was doing, letting one of the trophies fall back into the box with a dull thud. What was more, her nose was suddenly picking up scents from a nightmare a lifetime away. Caroline, feeling a burst of panic, rushed to the attic ladder and looked down towards the main floor.

Her eyes widened and she let out a scream of terror. Shock. Fear. Disbelief. These were the emotions that clouded her mind. Caroline couldn't begin to explain how it had happened again but somehow her house was on fire and she was trapped in the attic with no way out. Flames were already climbing the walls and reaching for the ladder. She felt its approach as a blast of heat scorched her face and made her cough.

She stumbled back in a panic and immediately her mind began throwing out options for how to get herself out of this nightmare again.

Option One: climb down to the main floor and hope that she could stumble her way to the front door. The smoke was thickening, becoming dark plumes that she knew would be suffocating if she inhaled any of them. What was more, the heat from the fire was steadily increasing and she knew that would blind her just as much as the smoke.

Option Two: close the door to the attic and hope the floor didn't give way as she waited for authorities to come put the fire out. But Caroline had left her phone in her bedroom, leaving her no way to call for help, and she had no idea where Noah was. Last she'd seen of him he was in the barn finishing up his nightly chores. She didn't know if he'd come into the house or perhaps even left the property, though she doubted he'd do that without saying goodbye. Most likely he was still in the barn and if he hadn't seen the flames yet then he undoubtedly would soon. Once he saw them, he would call for help and come looking for her. Just as he had last time.

And finally Option Three: break the small circular pane of glass that led from the attic out onto the roof and hope that the drop to the ground wasn't that bad. But the worrying thing about that option would be the influx of oxygen that would cause the fire to burn with more intensity. At least right now it was running on a limited supply of oxygen to fuel it, the breaking of the window would provide it with a constant source.

Still, Caroline knew what her choice was. She pulled the ladder to the attic up, effectively shutting the door, hopefully buying her a little more time, and rushed over to the window. The glass was thicker than she anticipated but Caroline already had a plan to break it. For the second time, Aaron was to become her saviour. She reached for one of her younger brother's heavy trophies and hurled it against the window. It took five tries and two trophies before it gave way but once it did she had an effective exit.

Just before she pulled herself out onto the roof, Caroline reached for the boxes of her family's belongings. She knew they might break or become damaged but that was better than leaving them to burn and so she threw each of them right out the window to the ground. She didn't care where they landed. All that mattered was that they were safe.

Then, with a backwards glance to the smoke that was starting to rise between the slits in the planks of wood that made up the floor of the attic, Caroline made her way onto the roof.

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Music recommendation:  Misfit Parade by Mackenzie Porter