Short (but not quite short) Notice

Dave: "Honey, where are you now? Are you in the doctor's office?"

Lila : "No, I 'm not. I'm in Drea's Hair Saloon and Tattoo."

Dave : "You want to have a hair cut there? But Baby, I love your hair."

Lila : (smiled) "I'm not going to have a hair cut. I want to get a tattoo, same like yours."

Dave : "Tattoo?! But honey, that wouldn't be good for the baby."



Lila : "It's just a temporary one. It's not like I want to have it on my belly. Anyway, you don't have to be worried. They refused to do it, even though I told them that it was our baby's request."

Dave : [Laughed] "I know they would."





Lila : "Don't laugh about it. They shouldn't have let a nine-months pregnant woman like me waiting on the line while reading a stupid book for nothing."

Dave : "Hey, don't be angry. You know .. you're often upset lately. To pay for your disappointment, what do you want me to bring home with today?"

Lila : "...."

Dave : "Why are you so quiet? Just tell me. Do you want some roses of your favorites one or ice cream?"

Lila : "No, I just want you to come home."

Dave: (smiled) "Of course I will, but you must promise me not to do silly things again like before."

Lila : "Silly things? Like what?"




Dave: "Like three days ago, you begged me to play football with you."

Lila : (giggled) "Oh that. The baby and I had a great time. We even defeated you 2:0."

Dave: (not amused) "That's because I threw the game."

Lila : "Huh, is that true? So, what else that's silly?"

Dave: "How about yesterday when you came into the fire house?"

Lila : "Yesterday? I didn't do anything strange. I only brought lunch for you and the crew."

Dave : "Yes, but after that, when I returned from the scene, I saw you sliding down to the base floor."




Lila : (giggled) "That's the easiest and fastest way.... I know what I want now. You don't have to bring me anything. Just a massage on the shoulder like yesterday. It felt good."



Dave : "Okay, anything for my angel and my baby. So, what are you going to do for the rest of the day?"

Lila : "Don't know. Maybe playing kites."

Dave : "Huh..?"

Lila : "I'm kidding. I'm just getting bored without you or my job. I may go to the garden and plant some seeds there."

Dave : "That would be good. Anything... as long it's not dangerous."

Lila : "Silly, I will never do anything dangerous for my little one and ... how about yourself?"

Dave : "What about me?"

Lila : "Yes, what about you? You came home at six in the morning and rushed back again to the office. I called the station. The fire had ended hours before, and they told me that you went home immediately."

Dave : "Oh, that? Baby, that's.. that's because I fell to sleep on the street."




Lol!

Same as Dave, I haven't got enough sleep for these couple of weeks, completing a deadline. That's why the updates of Dreams Upon a Pillow got delayed for weeks. I'm sorry about this. The updates will be posted next month. Meanwhile, while I was browsing through my files I found my old screen shots (about two years ago) from TS 2. I want to share with you all - sharing the memories of TS 2.





Does she look like a woman taking a commercial break?





Be careful with those candles there! Don't we love this pillow fighting? Just take a look at those feathers!



"How ya doin', Gramps? Have never seen snow before?"



"Oh-oh, a love letter." (Too bad it wasn't for her)



It's really - really annoying. She should be glad that there isn't one in TS 3.



Yay, Birthday Party!



A really awesome Birthday Party!



And finally he got a chance to dance with his secret crush. Of course, big old bigfoot just have to watch over these two.



There's nothing special about this picture (except for a witch in the middle).




Not until I found the whole family gathered around, admiring the paintings and then asked the woman in this family to make tutty frutty the following day.



"Grams..."

"Eh, Uhm, yes dear...."



"Are you two playing now... Can I join?

"Eh, Dear... just play with your parents, okay? Gramps and I are pretty busy right now."




"But, they are busy outside too."

***

Knight Family:






"Come on, Honey! Turn me into a witch too!"







"Aye there! Here I come to become a warlock!"



"Tell me that I'm just imagining things!"




Perhaps, he would like to become a ninja too.

"Well, that one is quite difficult."

***




"David..."

"Yes...."



"Do you think we are able to save the world?"

"Pumpkins, with love all around us, our world is great. And just being with you and our children, my life is perfect. "









***




"Sleep tight, my little brother!"


***

The Love of a Firefighter End of Chapter Part 5 - Eva - To Fix What Has Already Been Broken

We sat on a bench at the Esplanade that morning. It had been several weeks passed since our last meeting. Lots of things had changed since then, but I had not heard any news or clues about her at first. She looked a bit calm than the night she came to me. I couldn't even see the trace of tears on her cheek. 

She took a deep breath while gazing at the lake in front of us. I could hear it stuck in her throat as she cleared it off before finally spoke.

"It seems everything is going well between you and Lila."

"Pretty much." I answered. I was going to say: "It's been great." but not upon noticing the look on her face.

The Love of a Firefighter End of Chapter Part 4 - Finally

Finally....

After all the crazy thoughts, troubles she's been through, thinking that she has gone; finally, we made our vow. I love her, and there's no one else I wanted to become my wife and the mother of my children.
I promised to cherish her all my life. Together we will build our dreams.

The Love of a Firefighter End of Chapter Part 3 - Closer than Ever

"Dave! Where have you....?"
"been... I know, Manne, where is she? Where's Lila? Have you seen her? Do you know where she is? Tell me, Manne!"
 "Whoa Dave, slow down, will ya? We've been trying to contact you and..."
"My cell phone was dead. There was a fire at a factory and Lila was taken into the hospital. Manne, where is she? Is she okay? I must find her."
Before she could answer my questions, a man who escorted me into the morgue had come to me and said:
"Sir, you left this at the morgue. Again, I would like to say  I'm glad that she's not your friend. Have you found her?" he said, handing me my helmet.
"Morgue? Dave? You tried to find her at the morgue?" asked Manne.
"It was a long story. It wasn't her. Have you seen her? Tell me! She's alive, right?"
"I'm.... Dave, I'm sorry... ." Manne looked at me with a pitiful face.
"What?! It couldn't be. She's - she's not in the morgue. She's...."

The Love of a Firefighter End of Chapter Part 2 - Hope at the Last Moment

****
[sound of sirens, smoke appear at the top of the building, fire blazing out from windows, a blast and people panic]

"The firefighters have been trying to put out the fire since 6:00 a.m., but strong winds and abundant flammable goods inside the building fueled the flames. Firefighters told the ABC News that the low water level was a serious obstacle in battling the blaze. At 7.00 a.m., a large explosion occurred in the third floor, most likely caused by a gas canister. Until now, no death reported, 10 people injured, and one firefighter has been hospitalized due to structural collapse."

On the scene:
 

"Command to Engine 41, Tell us your position!"  
"Command to Engine 41..."
"Engine 41!" 
"Damn, Lila, answer it!"

I yelled  in  panic after calling her without response.  Realizing that my effort was useless, I turned to the other firefighter. 

"I'm going to get Lila. Terry, take over the Command!"



The room filled with smoke and gas.  I could not see clearly on my way to find her. If she had stopped moving, her PASS should have made a sound, but it had not.

Fire continued to flare and blocked our way. It  difficult us to find the source of the gas leak. Lila had been out to the third floor, but it's been thirty minutes without any sign of her. 

I needed a sign, the sound of her PASS alarm.


 Then, after a few steps onward, I heard it.


It's not very far from my position. 

"Lila!!!"


[Dave cough]

I knew it must have been her PASS alarm. She's in front of me, only a few feet away, but the fire blocked our way.


 "LILA!!!"

 ****
November 2010:

[sound of footsteps entering a room]

"She's right there!" said a man who escorted him into the morgue.
At the end of those words and after seeing the view in the direction the man pointed him, he was instantly frozen. 

 He did not dare to move an inch toward it. He clenched his hands, trying to hold the shake that was coming from his fingertips. His heart beat faster and harder, much faster than the time when he  walked along the alley and into the morgue and much harder than the first time he was confronted with fire or even when he saw the death of the person he failed to save.  

He never thought that he would see it again, the corpse of the person he loved, lying  on the table with remaining pain from the fire reflected on its skin. His  father died because of fire and then the woman he put a hope for, the future he desired,  had to experience the same death. 

Deep inside, he felt guilt for not being there  when she was still fighting the fire, but guilt has no use...

"Sir?" the man broke off the silence and brought him back into reality.
"Thank you, if you don't mind, I...."
"Alright, Sir. Take your time." 

After the man had left, he continued  to stare at the body bag. It was only a few feet away from him. He swallowed hard, extremely hard....and then took a first step toward it, until he arrived - right in front of her.

****
Sometimes, I did have nightmares of our team or me being trapped in a fire, but my most nightmare was a dream of Lila being trapped and I could not reach her.

Still...

I've never thought that those dreams would never be compared to the reality: to see her lying in front of me, wrapped in a body bag.



I could not hold the shaking on my knees as I instantly collapsed.  My hands succeeded to hold the weight of my body on the side of the table. I knew I should open it, even though by opening it, everything I had would be gone in a second: her and the hope to be with her.  I could not face the truth or to imagine how she had suffered through all the pain.


However, I must face the truth....Still,  I believe that the corpse inside the body bag wasn't her. I didn't know, I just felt it.

"Dear Lord, please don't let it be Lila."

The Love of a Firefighter End of Chapter Part 1 - Could it Be?

I found that it was only a dream and not a reality.

I had to remove those stupid imaginations from my head before I was completely insane. So, I grabbed the towels and took a shower, hoping that the cold water would chill out my head and erase  the love I had for her or made me forget about the dream I had the night before.

Yet, as the water flowed throughly onto my head and ankles, and the palm of my hands pressed the  pale white wall in front of me, I could almost feel the gentle touch that I yearned so deep inside my heart -- her hands caressing my waist. That day, Monday, 06.00 a.m. November 22, she would wear a white chiffon dress  I had bought for her the other day.

Without shoes or slippers on our feet, we would  stroll down along the beach to enjoy the lovely sunrise, walked side by side so close to one other. Her head leaned on my shoulders and her arms around my waist.  I would kiss her forehead - with all my attentions centered on her.  I have to let her go once she noticed a seashell got stranded in the sand by the tiny waves that carried it into the shore.  After a smile of victory and showing off  her findings,  her hands would once again reach for mine.

She would be so beautiful in that white dress with her face glowing by the morning light. Her laughter filled  the air and her joy sunken into my soul. With all of that, she would drag me into the salt water, splashing it around and onto my face that makes us immerse in laughter until I pulled her in my arms and onto my chest.

There would be silent between us except for our pounding hearts as our eyes lock into each other's, beating fast, heavy together, wrapped in one another so close without any slight of distance between us. I would kiss her tenderly until the waves  hit us both and the water sank into the drain and slowly brought my mind back into reality.

I realized it was nothing more than an illusion. Still, no matter how I tried to forget her, those thoughts kept coming back inevitably. No matter how I wished the dream to happen, those tickets to Fiji Island had turned into nothing but useless papers. It was time to face the truth and to let go all memories and the shadow of that cold hearted woman.

I knew I had to face her, to question her reason for leaving me at the altar.

Lord, please help me not to yell at her. Yet, I found that it was quite strange and funny that no matter how angry or disappointed I was, I still missed her and yearned  for her love and  her touches even more. No. I quickly increased the volume of the shower faucet in a hope that the cold water would chill out my head and bring me back to sanity.

After finished taking that cold shower, I walked heavily to the bedroom and found Eva there. Poor woman got her heart broken, just like mine at the same time. I hate to wake her up, so I let her sleep on my bed while I was being stuck in reveries in front of the mirror.

That morning, instead of waking up with a blissfulness after an unforgettable night, enjoying a day for a beautiful honeymoon,  I had to arrange few words to explain to my colleagues the reason of my failure to slip a wedding ring on her finger. I wanted to escape, rather than to face it. Even though, it would be useless because I could not hide from them either, and cover it up like nothing ever happened. Though, it was quite true in some parts that nothing ever happened that day between Lila and me that would lead us into a more committed relationship.  I grabbed my shirt, dressed up and tied my shoe laces.

It was time to face the truth.

 

 I decided to stop by at her house before going to the fire station. I had to ask her personally.

After pressing her doorbell several time, I waited quite long until finally I decided to leave. When I arrived at the fire station, Tim  was the first person who greeted me there. "Dave, I heard about Lila. She's...."

"Don't talk about her right now. I want to forget about it, Tim."

"But..."
 

" Tim, I know I was so stupid to let a woman left me at the altar like that, but please... I would buy you a drink or two if it would satisfy you."

"But, Dave... Could you hear me first? Lila is..."

Before Tim could finish his lines, the emergency alarm rang. We had to go to the Twinbrook Hospital as soon as possible. 

  

 

An x-ray machine  had a catastrophic malfunction and it drew enormous amounts of electricity, causing a lightning strike to the hospital building.

 

For about three hundred thousand volts of electricity were carried into the hospital in  just a few milliseconds. It then traveled around metal wires and pipes inside the building. The lightning rod could divert it, but still, up to fifty percent of it had already spread over different conductive elements inside the building.
  

It caused damages on integrated circuits in computers and electronic equipments.  Some nurses and patient were trapped inside rooms with shorted out electronic locks. The lightning almost hit a visitor outside. He was a lucky person to be able to avoid it, but, the vital impact hit the electronic devices that support patient treatments, including life support machines. We must  handle the situation as soon as possible. 

At 3.00 p.m., I had finished handling a fire that caused by a small explosion inside the building and made sure that everyone managed to get out of the locked rooms safely, but  then I found Terry there. Strangely though, he wore a patient robe and not a uniform. I noticed he was quite surprised to see me.

"Dave! You're here. I've got a small injury because of the fire in a factory on the north bank side. Why didn't you answer your phone? I tried to call you, but your phone was inactive or something. I forgot it was your wedding day until Lila reminded me."
"Lila?"
"Yes. She kept calling you, but you didn't answer your phone. She called one of your friends to send the message to you. Lila thought that you would come, but we didn't see you around. She planned to come to the wedding as soon as we have rescued all the people who were trapped inside the factory, but on her way out of the building while assisting them, part of the roof fell on her. We had to bring her to the hospital. "

"What?! Is she okay now?"

"I don't know, you have to check on her. She's probably in a room somewhere."

I hurried off to find  her and then asked a nurse to check  the patients list, but the main computer was  still not working and it ended up for nothing. I had checked in every room, but  there was no sign of her.

I was in a real panic trying to find the person I cared so much. How could I've thought that she didn't come because she didn't want to marry me?! I should have known that she's not that kind of woman, and she might  have good reasons for it. If I saw her, I would fall on my knees and ask her for her forgiveness.

Still, everywhere I tried to find her, I could not find her. Then, a moment of shock hit greater than a lightning strike could have ever been.

A nurse said that a woman named Lila was being treated in a room. When I arrived there, there was no one in the room. The white sheet neatly covered the mattress. It seemed the room had already been emptied. Not long, a janitor came out of the toilet. She had finished cleaning the room and was about to clean another one until I stopped her before she could reach the exit door.

I asked her about the woman who was being treated in the room, and the truth unfold itself again in front of me. The nurse said that the woman died because the life support machine had stopped working after the lightning bolt.

She died?

She.... died

LILA DIED?!!! 
  

 

My world had really fallen apart.

For once in my life, I wished my life would end too.

To Be Continued...