I was very young, and didn't know much about the real world. Five years old and all I cared about was which doll I was going to play with today. It was the simple, easy life of a five year old. All I can remember is sitting in my parents bedroom, not feeling so good. My mom kept telling me I was going to be okay. This was the day we were going to celebrate my little cousins first birthday. I was so excited. But all of a sudden this day started going straight downhill. Everything was okay until we heard the boom. The boom that struck fear in my mothers eyes. We had no idea what was going on.

“Get downstairs”, my mother screamed. I don’t think I had ever been so confused. The house was shaking, and so was I. I can remember looking out the window and seeing my dog sprinting around my backyard in circles. I could only imagine the confusion she had. I was going outside with my hand attached to my moms, when I noticed that she had the house phone in her hand. We made it outside to the front yard safely. I glanced around and saw my neighbors flooding the street, and this is when I started getting worried. I looked back at my house and saw the gray smoke everywhere. It smelt like ash and dust, which resembled how i felt. I knew this wasn't a good sign. The smoke was coming from the garage, and I knew that my dad had been in the garage because he was working on the corvette. Young and confused, I soon realized that something was missing. It was the person who had always been right by my side since day on; my dad. I began to panic, and tears started rushing down my face.

“Who are you calling?” I asked my mom.

“The fire department”, she explained. Since my mom was calling 911, my neighbors started to comfort me. They tried to distract me by talking about other things. I felt out of place because I didn't talk to them much. The smoke was getting thicker and thicker. My mood was getting out of control, and time was ticking. Every word that came out of someones mouth was a blur to me because all I wanted was my dad. My dog, Dusty, was right by my side the whole time. She was just as confused and scared as I was. The wait for the fire trucks to get to my house seemed longer than the wait for a ride at Cedar Point. Finally they arrived and started to put the fire out. With my dog, neighbors, and mom right by my side I knew I was going to be okay. Thinking about how my dad was still in the garage was still in the back of my mind. It felt like my heart was beating at 100 miles per hour.The firefighters were beginning to put the fire out as I saw the door on the side of my garage begin to open. Everyone turned their heads and looked, and before my dad was fully outside I was already right by his side.

“Haley!”, the first words to come out of his mouth, that I will never forget. It was the biggest relief ever. My mom and I ran up to him. After all of the weariness and irony that was leading up to the moment that I could give my dad the biggest hug ever, it was all worth it. He told us that the fire started because the engine on the corvette had something wrong with it, and it basically exploded. It was so great to know that he was okay. I never thought I was going to see him again. I could not love the hero that saved my dad more. He is the reason that my dad is with me today, and I’m thankful for that everyday.