A Great Warmth

I woke up at 4am this morning to a great warmth in the room. I slept shirtless and in my boxers. I sleep by the window in my family's living room. I took a look outside and saw the vibrant colors of a fire raging next door. I raced out of bed and into my sister's room to notify her. Only for her to walk out and then freak out at the sight of the fire. My mom went into a bit of a hysteria. I quickly threw on a jacket, shorts and shoes. I tried to find my wallet with no luck, but did snag my iPhone. I tried to snap a quick snapshot while outside and heard the fire engines making their way onto our street. I wasn't able to. My sister and I then noticed that my mom wasn't behind us and then I started noticing that our fruit tree started catching fire and that the winds were aiding in the spreading of the fire. Everyone in our building was making their way to the front of the building and we all collectively saw the action unfold from the other side of the street as the LAFD and LAPD went to work. I started thinking about key things that I might've lost then and there. Important things to me like photographs, letters and journals. The timing of this fire couldn't have been stranger to me as I went through a massive cleanup the previous day. I went through a little soul searching while cleaning and tossing things away. I held onto too many things in my life. Abandoned projects. Things that I had no intention on returning to. Ideas and projects from a different time and place. It wouldn't be honest to who I am now. About 45 minutes went by or so as I tried to reach my brother who never came home and eventually we were let in by an LAPD officer. The black smoke was thick and we made our way back. We surveyed the damage and tried to get everything back to a certain normality. Crazy start to a day.