A Blaze
The house was in a blaze. Roland dropped everything and sprinted over to the door. He knew he had to act quickly if he wanted to save lives. But he didn’t even have the faintest idea of how many family members were in the house.
Then the thoughts of pets raced across his mind. He had to think of an overwhelming amount of things, but things would only get worse.
Same Routine
Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened to Roland. He was stuck in the same daily routine and never thought anything mildly interesting would happen to him.
His job had him drive for most of the day. Eight hours a day, Roland would make deliveries to hungry families on his bike. He enjoyed seeing the smiles on their faces, but one day he’d be faced with a horrible dilemma.
Roland McAvoy
Roland McAvoy lived an exceptionally ordinary life. His father still lived in Britain, while he and his mother lived in Little Rock, Arkansas. Roland loved the region, known for its rocky hills and rivers just a few miles from the city.
Straight out of high school, Roland got a job to help his mother pay for their living expenses. He found a position at a local pizza restaurant as their delivery driver. But when he got the job, he had no idea what he would be in for.
Loved The Job
Even though the pay wasn’t the absolute best, Roland appreciated other small perks. He loved seeing how happy he made families when he brought them hot comfort food. Sometimes customers even rewarded him with more than just their graces.
Sometimes Roland got generous tips that allowed him to spoil his mother back home. Roland loved seeing people happy, especially his mother.
Empathy
Roland had more empathy than most people. He noticed this when he’d see kids hurt themselves on the playground, and he’d feel their pain. He would rush to their side to make sure they were okay.
This empathy made Roland care a lot more than most. This grew into a passion for helping people in any way he could. But he had no idea this trait would put him in a hospital one day.
A Delivery like Any Other
It was a Thursday night, and Roland was nearly finished with work. The restaurant stayed open until nine o’clock at night, and it was close to closing time. Roland was waiting around by his bike, ready to feed a hungry customer.
Just in time, one more order came through, it would be the last order of the night before the kitchen closed, and Roland was happy because it was one more opportunity to feed a hungry family and maybe get a tip in the process. He just was unaware of what he would walk into.
In A Quiet Suburb
The order was made over the phone from a house in a quiet neighborhood. Roland enjoyed driving at night. The air on his arms and the quiet roads were relaxing. He rode closer and closer to the neighborhood.
The looks on the family’s faces when he delivered the pizza flashed across his mind. He smiled at the thought, but he had no idea that things would be dire in a matter of moments.
Orange Glow In The Distance
As he got closer to the house, he noticed an orange glow in the distance. It would have been weird for someone still to have Christmas decorations on their house in July.
At the time, Roland didn’t think too much of it. But as the last mile shot by, he’d soon learn what the glow was, and it would put him in a situation he never thought he’d be in.
A Fire
Roland looked forward to delivering the last meal of the night and then heading home. If he got a good tip, he’d even be able to take his mother out to lunch that weekend. But when he finally arrived at the house, he felt a shiver down his spine.
All of the empathy he had developed over the years went straight to the family of the house. That’s because he could now see what the orange glow was - the house.
A Blaze
The house was in a blaze. Roland dropped everything and sprinted over to the door. He knew he had to act quickly if he wanted to save lives. But he didn’t even have the faintest idea of how many family members were in the house.
Then the thoughts of pets raced across his mind. He had to think of an overwhelming amount of things, but things would only get worse.
Children Trapped
Roland felt the heat from the blaze on his face. He frantically checked the front door, it was unlocked, but the heat made the handle burn his hand. That didn’t stop him, though. What kept him going was one thing and one thing only.
It was the cry for help he had heard when he got there. It sounded like a child trapped inside the house. He knew going into the inferno could have ended his life, but he didn’t care. His only priority was saving whoever was in there.
Getting Them Out
Roland sprinted into the inferno without a second thought. He found a child close to the front door, he could tell they were frightened, but he grabbed them and pulled them out of the house.
Thankfully, Roland was working alone, and the father of the house was at the top of the stairs getting the rest of the family out. After everyone was out of the house safe, Roland collapsed on the front lawn.
A Trip To The ER
Soon after everyone was saved, the police, fire brigade, and ambulance arrived to provide aid. Roland and the family were taken to the hospital to make sure they were alright. Roland was checked in for his hand burnt hand and also for all of the smoke he had inhaled.
The entire time, Roland didn’t think of himself. He thought of the family that he had helped, but it didn’t take long to see how they were.
A Visit
The family had been discharged from the hospital earlier than Roland and decided to visit him while he was still recovering. The father of the family told him how grateful he was. He told Roland that he wanted to thank him once he got out properly.
After two days in the hospital, Roland walked with only hand injuries from the fire. But then he decided to pay the family a visit.
A New Friendship
Roland met the family in a park near the hospital. There they had a picnic and got to know each other. He was ecstatic that they were all okay. In his mind, that was the most important thing.
Roland could tell this was the beginning of a new friendship. And the father of the family had something special for him. The largest tip he had ever received. The father said, “We expect most delivery guys to deliver our pizzas but never has one ever saved my family’s life.” In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.