Memories of being trapped in the blazing fire in the shopping mall were still vivid in my mind. Everybody was engulfed in the thick smoke, coughing and choking. The air was pierced with high-pitched screams, still ringing in my ears until today.

As my father and I stepped into the air-conditioned shopping mall, my sweat instantly evaporated and I felt so refreshed. We headed straight to the supermarket to get some food that my mother had forgotten to buy earlier this morning.

After choosing the food, we went to the counter to pay. My jaw dropped wide open when I saw the long line of people paying for their groceries.

” Owww, what a long queue!” I grunted impatiently, longing to go home to try out the new computer games I had just downloaded from the internet. Many people stared at me, disgusted at my rudeness.

 Suddenly, the fire alarm went off. My heart skipped a beat. The whole shopping mall was a perfect pandemonium and the din was terrific.

” Dad, what’s happening?” I squealed as my eyes revolved in terror. Thick smoke soon filled the air, shrouding the surrounding in total darkness. I could not even see five inches infront of me. In that moment that followed, hundreds of horrible screams pierced the air as the flames spread quickly to the other floors of the building. My father ordered me to crouch as low as I could in an attempt to avoid the toxic smoke. Everybody was fleeing so frantically that I thought the scene was even more chaotic than a war zone.

I clutched my father’s hand so tightly that my knuckles had turned white. I did not want to be lost in the midst of the flames. My lungs felt like they were going to burst anytime. I soon developed a stinging headache due to the lack of oxygen.

” Dad, I don’t feel so good..” I whimpered,  choking from the thick smoke. 
” It’ll be okay, dear. We’ll soon be out.” my dad replied bravely, full of confidence.

Soon, I heard the loud wail of the fire engine sirens. There was not a moment to lose. The brave firefighters worked hard to extinguish the flame as soon as they arrived. Finally, the blazing fire was put out and people were evacuated. 

Although most people made it out alive, there were some people trapped in the inferno and burnt to death. Their corpses were charred beyond recognition. It was a terrible sight and I was sympathetic towards the unfortunate victims. I thanked the firefighters repeatedly. After that incident, I learnt to treasure my family as accidents like this could happen anytime and take away our loved ones abruptly.