Behind The Mask.

The man behind the SCBA mask.

The child hides in the closet, afraid of the orange substance that lurks in the household, along with the monster who walks in it. A white light originates on the monsters head, with big green and yellow stripes reflecting through the smoke. The monster is tall, and tan. He wears a big tank on his back with a mask. The monster eventually finds the closet with the child in it, a bright light shining through the crack. The door is pulled open, revealing the monster. The monster picks up the child, the child struggling at first, thinking that the monster was going to eat him or something of the sort. The child is taken outside into the driveway, the dark night of which he was once sleeping in was now filled with the colors of flashing emergency lights, and an orange Glow from the fire. The child is handed into the loving arms of his mother. The child looks up and stares at the monster in the mask. There being a human behind it with bright blue eyes. There were other monsters walking around, wearing the same clothes and gear. This monster was a firefighter.
And he was there to help, not to take.

The firefighter in the mask was not a monster. He was a human. The man in the mask had a family. The man in the mask had friends. The man in the mask had a life. The man had a job. His job was to help others and protect property. The man drove a big red truck with lights and sirens. The man has a risk of dying every day he goes to work. The man sees something unforgettable every day he goes to work. The man hears sirens every day he goes to work. The man is a human. The man is a first responder. The man is a firefighter.

And that man is a hero.