Last Sunday my house burnt down. Caught fire. Fire grew. House burnt.
We escaped. Just. I don't wanna think about what could have happened should anything have gone differently. We probably would have survived: our friend & neighbour called the fire brigade (on her way home from work after her shift was unexpectedly cancelled) and they arrived just as we all cleared the building. I am now ready to go into detail, and give you my limited account of the whole thing.
I awoke to the sound of my girlfriends voice and a sense of violent disquiet. "Babe, I think there's a fire" she said in a calm, sleepy voice. My eyes snapped open to my room hazy with smoke. There was a feeling of activity in the rooms below us and the room was very warm. I lept out of bed and opened my door. Hot thick yellow smoke billowed through the portal, clouding my vision and filling my lungs. "FIRE!" I heard myself yell. "There's a fire, get out of the house!" I bellowed into the smoke corridor that used to be our hallway, pounding on my best friend's door at the same time.
Pulling on a set of jeans that later turned out to be my girlfriends, I opened the window and jumped out, helping my lady follow me out. We hopped across the roof and I jumped down to G. "Jump down!" I yelled. "How?" came the reply. "Just jump!" and with the gleam of fear and madness in both of our eyes, the owl flew to the wolf. I ran across the yard and pulled the neighbour's fence down (its amazing what adrenaline does to the body), hardly stopping to look up and see K-Dawg (another housemate) clambering out of his window in his jocks before pounding on their back door. Eddy answered; he looked alert and ready. We cleared the house (the houses are connected in a 4 building block) and fled on to the street to watch our house burn, as the firefighters arrived in a blaze of sirens and punctuality.
I awoke to the sound of my girlfriends voice and a sense of violent disquiet. "Babe, I think there's a fire" she said in a calm, sleepy voice. My eyes snapped open to my room hazy with smoke. There was a feeling of activity in the rooms below us and the room was very warm. I lept out of bed and opened my door. Hot thick yellow smoke billowed through the portal, clouding my vision and filling my lungs. "FIRE!" I heard myself yell. "There's a fire, get out of the house!" I bellowed into the smoke corridor that used to be our hallway, pounding on my best friend's door at the same time.
Pulling on a set of jeans that later turned out to be my girlfriends, I opened the window and jumped out, helping my lady follow me out. We hopped across the roof and I jumped down to G. "Jump down!" I yelled. "How?" came the reply. "Just jump!" and with the gleam of fear and madness in both of our eyes, the owl flew to the wolf. I ran across the yard and pulled the neighbour's fence down (its amazing what adrenaline does to the body), hardly stopping to look up and see K-Dawg (another housemate) clambering out of his window in his jocks before pounding on their back door. Eddy answered; he looked alert and ready. We cleared the house (the houses are connected in a 4 building block) and fled on to the street to watch our house burn, as the firefighters arrived in a blaze of sirens and punctuality.
Those watching seven news (bleargh) on sunday night would've seen me and my best friend, dazed and shaken, recounting how the fire had ripped through the building that had, only hours before, been filled with a hundred people. How everything played out the way it did still boggles my mind, and it is simply impossible to explain all the details, coincidences and hidden meaning here. But there I go again sounding like a whacko.
The reason the fire started was, unfortunately, due to the collective irresponsibility that arises in a party environment. For those that attended our (quite frankly awesome) Halloween bash, the people rolling beer bottles off our carefully constructed decorations into the public footpath/road was symptomatic of the same irresponsibility. It is saddening that when you put a bunch of people together (especially when they're trying to have a good time), there is always Some Dickhead leading the way for humanity's decline by engaging in Dickhead behaviour. This is one of my big beefs with music festivals. But I'm ranting about something else now.
The fire occurred as a result of people not paying attention to their surroundings. I was just as guilty in this as everyone else. Perhaps more so, as a host; I went to bed at 6 and didn't even think to put the tea-lights out that were burning on the mantel (one of many possible causes of the fire). However it happened, this fire is yet another destructive event in my increasingly (and perplexingly) zen life.
Destruction follows me. I follow it. I am attracted to tearing things down, breaking things up, starting anew. I try to channel these energies in productive ways; such as capoeira, building fires, challenging ideas and engaging in extreme sports. If you are a bit hippy dippy, I'm an Aries (whatever that means). If you believe more in theory and research, I am 'the Executive' from Jung's personality archetypes.* Whatever the case, I seem to ruffle feathers.
This is a bit of a shame, really. For people who don't like getting their feathers ruffled, I come off as aggressive, dominating, rigid, uncaring...a bit of a dick. While it sounds cruel, I tend to write these people off pretty quickly. Not because they are bad people, but because they have nothing to offer me. If someone spends a significant amount of their energy avoiding the conflict that I thrive on, I move on and try to cut them out of my life. They're like a sinkhole, best avoided. I wish I could get on with everyone, but I just can't. My love of change and challenge is like a thirst that is never quenched. If someone is being a wet blanket, I'll suffocate.
Halloween is my favourite holiday, bar Christmas (family). Halloween is death, life, change, sex. If your costume ain't sexy, you're doing it wrong :P It is about doing away with the old, bringing in the new, celebrating out inner humanity/animality. I love it. Those of you who attended our bash know this.
Which is why it is disturbingly appropriate that the house burnt down the next day. We had manifested a huge amount of energy that night; everyone was feeling the Halloween vibes. It was intense, exciting; the possibilities were thrilling and people were feeding off each other like the many costumed zombies that attended.
Don't get me wrong. This fire was one of the most disturbing things that have happened in my life. But the timing of it all, at this moment in my life where everything seems up for grabs, is downright weird. Hopefully the HorseHouse will be resurrected from its ashes; for now though, that looks unlikely.
To all the readers, take time to appreciate how glorious this life is, and the people who fill it. We are so lucky to be alive, especially in this time of abundance and change. Take care of yourselves and those around you.
For now, I'm laying low in the burbs, eating a lot and studying. It is a welcome change of pace from the last few days. Catch ups soon. xx
*These Archetypes are really useful for self-knowledge and growth. They are also based on SCIENCE (not biological tho...), which is a win I think. Check it: http://similarminds.com/jung.html
U NEVER SAID HOW THE FIRE STARTED??? HOW DID THE FIRE START
ReplyDelete