Olifina: Love And Trouble

26. A Fear Called Dread.

She screamed out, complaining about the heat from the fire burning her as we all worked together to pull her out.

When she finally came out, Oliver went to a door beside us and tried to push it open but it was jammed.

"Ahh!" he shouted as he pushed with all his might, I felt his bones had broken.

The wood underneath us cracked and my heartbeat increased in leaps. I looked down at the splitting floor. We were at high risk where we stood. The heat had increased over time and I tried so hard not to panic. I kept telling myself over and over again that we weren't going to die. We just couldn't. I didn't travel from Sinaloa to Tepoztlan just to end up dying in a fire with Dad, Mum, and Oliverio who had been so caring. My family couldn't just go down like that. My future couldn't just end like that.

Despite the urge I felt to give in to my anxiety and pace around in fear, I kept still. Besides, there wasn't much room for that.

Oliver let out a groan and my attention went back to him. The door made a sound as the hinges got weaker. On seeing this, Dad took some steps away from the door where he had been standing. He went as far back as the broken floorboards could allow him. It all happened in a flash, he stopped and took his stance then rushed to the door and kicked it open with his leg. We took a second to breathe out in relief before we all rushed into the room as if of one mind.

There was a large window. Mum and I stood at the side as Oliver went to look out the window.

The floorboard we had been standing on just outside the room, broke and fell into the fire. Oliver and Dad turned in the direction of the sound while Mum and I flinched out of fear. I moved close to her and held onto her hand tightly.

Oliver diverted his attention to us. "We need to jump. Can you guys do that?"

I almost burst out crying when I heard Oliver's statement.

"Do we have a choice?" I asked with a shaky voice.

Oliver sighed and turned back to the window. 

"You'll have to go first, Oliver," Dad said, "You have a bad arm so you won't be able to support them in jumping."

"We wouldn't need support in jumping," Mum retorted, moving towards the window. She looked out of it and turned back to us. "I've jumped out of this house a lot of times, not this window though, but same height." She paused for a while before adding, "Sometimes higher."

She focused her eyes on me as she came towards me with outstretched hands. "Come on, Rufina, we can do this."

I lifted my shaky hand and placed it in hers. A crashing sound came from behind us as another floorboard fell into the fire. The flame was now reaching into the room where we were.

"We need to go now," Dad shouted above the loud blazing fire.

"I'll jump first," Mum said, leaving my hand. She rushed to the window and climbed up on it.

"Be careful, okay?"Dad said behind her.

"I will," Mum replied, then jumped down out of the window.

We all watched as she landed safely. The cracking of the fire became louder around us. Smoke started to seep in through the ceiling of the room.

"Okay, Oliver, you'll go next," Dad said to Oliver who nodded and started climbing immediately.

He jumped quickly as if jumping down from the first floor of the two-storey mansion was nothing.

He let out a groan when he landed. His bad shoulder had been affected but he still looked up at us and nodded to show that he was okay. I knew he was lying. Jumping down there like that was risky and they must have felt a lot of pain.

Dad looked over at me. It was my turn to jump. My chest rose and fell as my breath came out heavy and restrained. I hesitated and took a step backwards as Dad moved towards me with an outstretched hand. Tears rolled down my eyes as I stared at him through the smoke.

The floorboard where I stood cracked and gave way beneath me. Luckily I was fast enough to jump in Dad's direction. He held onto me tightly until I got my footing. Looking downwards at the raging fire consuming everything beneath us, I held onto Dad in fear. The fire crept towards us as it formed a large hole in the floor of the room. We were running out of space. My breathing got heavier and my heart felt like it would falter any moment soon.

Mum and Oliver must have noticed the intensity of the fire and were worried about us. They shouted at us from below. Dad and I did not give them our full attention even though we could hear their shouts.

"Rufina," Dad called as he held my shoulders. I looked up at him through teary eyes. We both looked in the direction of the fire as another floorboard cracked and fell into it.

I looked back at Dad who had fear written all over his expression. A ball of sweat trickled down my already sweaty face as the heat seemed to burn my flesh. Dad was sweating too but he seemed to not care. His only concern was me. He could just jump if he wanted to but he stayed there to ensure I did so too.

"Rufina, you need to jump. Now!" his tone was commanding. I did not blame him though. I was behaving like a big baby and letting my fears get the better of me.

I nodded to show I was ready to jump. It was now or never. Literally.

Dad supported me up the window. Once settled, I looked down at the ground. It suddenly was the farthest distance I had ever seen.

"Come on, I'll catch you," Oliver said, coming closer to my expected landing spot. One of his arms was damaged but I still appreciated the gesture. I drew in a deep breath to try and reduce my fear.

"See yourself as a bird," Dad said from behind me, "fly, Rufina."

I let go of the window sill but still couldn't jump. The courage wasn't there. It just wasn't forthcoming.

"Rufina, if there's any time for you to jump it's now."

My heart thumped in my chest as I stared at the long drop to the ground beneath me. A loud crashing sound came from behind, startling me. A huge chunk of the floorboard in the room had fallen, taking the bed with it into the fire.

The place Dad stood was on the verge of breaking and falling into the fire. Dad shouted a command from behind me, asking me to jump immediately.

His shout came all of a sudden, removing me from the trance the sight of the fire had put me in. I became unstable and slipped out the window, screaming as I fell through the air.

Landing with a thud, my scream morphed into muffled cries. I tried to stand but my ankle felt like a knife had been hammered into it. I ended up staggering onto the ground. Oliver and Mum ran to where I was and helped me move out of the way so Dad could jump.

We stood there looking up to the window expecting him. We all got confused when we didn't see him for longer than expected.

The fire was now coming out through the window and there was still no sign of Dad. I looked over at Mum who also held a confused expression. She turned to me too and we stared at each other before I looked up again. As I continued staring at the window without any traces of Dad, my heart drowned in the purest form of fear. A Fear called dread.