Between Flames and Promises

their mornings started at the crack of dawn, with rigorous physical training followed by intensive skill-building

s on the training ground, I noticed their soaked uniforms clinging to their bodies, faces flushed from the

of weakness escaped their lips. Their exhaustion was evident, ye

, Lorenzo suddenly asked, "Do you know wh

l fixed on the determined fi

en everyone else is running away, someone has to run toward the da

here was a steadiness and resolve in his expression I hadn't seen before-a mix o

o action, dropping what they were doing and rushing in the same direction. Shadows blurred past me as I stood there, unsure

yself-I followed at a jog, watching the orchestrated chaos unfold. In under five minutes, every firefighter was suited up

renzo in his gear, sitting tall and resolute. He look

top him, to ask him to stay. But I knew better. He wasn't running

ties firsthand, to understand that from the moment he donned that uniform, his life wasn't sol

oved him, how could

er brought up the topic of L

s the surprise that awa

ome strange illness. Sitting anxiously, waiting for the doctor's diagnosis, I prepared myself for the worst-only

tement and joy wrestled with fear and uncertainty. It wasn't unt

like a child on Christmas morning. He lifted me in his arms, twirling me around the living room until I had

oice thick with emotion.

ars welling in my eyes,

ry-eyed and overwhe

padded every sharp corner in the house with foam and wouldn't let me touch any heavy chores, insisting he'd handle everything w

I'd often rest my hand on my growing belly, a serene smile on

had oth

ning my clothes. Terror gripped me, and I nearly fainted, but the thought of my baby gave me the stren

y conscious. The pain was unbearable, but a ti

wheeled into the operating room. As the doors closed behind me, sealing

ke it. He wa

Just like that, he was gone. I wanted to break down and cry, to scream at th

tionless on the bed, my complexion washed out and frail under the harsh hospital lights, brought him to

rents, his voice laced with guilt and pain. "I'l

ill. My father, equally devastated, placed a steadying hand on her shoulder and guided her out. Before l

my gaze fixed blankly on the ce

orry I wasn't here sooner." The emptiness in my eyes wavered, and withou

e was he? I had called him more times than I could count, each unanswered ring a fresh cut to my alread

. He was probably in the middle of training o

han anything, I wished he had been there, ho

my voice hollow.

Lorenzo whispered, holding my cold hand, his exp

y, a bitter smile cr

's get a divorce. Please, don't

my eyes. His face was a mix of shock

ne. Trul

when I faced challenges I couldn't handle alone, when I just wanted to see h

uld endure the constant anxiety, the fear I felt every time I saw news of a fire, wondering if he was there, if h

the moment I was at my most vulnerable, and the person I thought I coul

away, the panic was suffocating. I was terrified, desperate, clinging

nd that kind of fear.