The first thing that you notice about a burning house is not that it is burning, but that it is burning with such intensity. James watched the house across the street as fire engulfed it from all sides. There was fire everywhere; the roof was on fire, the doors and windows were on fire, fire was even coming out of the house through various openings, looking like a fire-breathing dragon was inside the house, puffing away vicariously. The flames burned deep red and amber, almost livid purple as James saw various firefighters trying to put out the fire. Fortunately, there was no one inside as the whole family had been out for dinner. Nothing inside was likely to survive the fire, James thought as he saw some flames licking up in the air with the wind, trying to catch something else on fire, and finding nothing but air, disappearing into the windy night, like disappointed flutters.
It all began about an hour ago. James was in his room and he thought he smelled something burning. It smelled like a heated soldering iron or as if some wires and rubber was being burnt. The first thought that crossed James' mind was that it was his computer and that it had begun to fry. But then after a careful inspection ruled out that possibility, he started back at his homework. He could not really concentrate as the smell persists. He was convinced now that something was very wrong and went downstairs to inspect his kitchen. It was as he was going down the stairs that he noticed something out of the window. It looked like a fluttering red bird that had just flown by and as James try to catch another glimpse, his curiosity turned to horror as he realized that the house across the street was on fire. He ran downstairs and dialed 911, explaining what he had seen and pushed his way into his driveway.
The house in front of him had just started to smolder in the fire. The first thing that crossed his mind was what if there were people inside. He thought of going inside the house and looking for some people, but the extreme heat that was coming out the house thwarted him instantly. He could not go further than being a good hundred feet away from the house. It was excruciatingly hot and he almost felt his eyebrows burn. He was still very worried. Alex lived in that house and he had known him since they were kids. Not knowing what to do, James ran back in the house and called Alex on his cell phone. He watched through the kitchen window as a crash brought down the ceiling of the house, bringing the whole roof down with a loud crash. Alex picked up the phone as James saw a bellow of ash and smoke rise out of the house. It was mildly relieving to James to find out that Alex and his whole family had decided to go out for dinner and none of them were inside the house.
Soon, the firefighters arrived and looked at the full-blown inferno in front of them. The fire had gotten quite out of control now as the whole house was on fire. The firefighters evacuated the street and told everyone to go inside their houses. James had no choice but to retreat to his room where he could see, feel, and hear Alex's house burn down. In a few minutes, the house had been reduced to a pile of rubble, ashes, and smoldering wood and items. There was a very putrid smell that took over the whole neighborhood, like a bad barbeque party gone horribly wrong. The smell was so overpowering that it took James almost two weeks to get it out of his nose. The house had burnt down to nothing within a few hours, making James realize the futility of the human life and ventures. It takes man many years to build his dream house and it takes nature only a few minutes to completely destroy his dreams.