One Monday morning at work at just after 11.00,he heard the wail of emergency sirens,they were all out watching as the police cars raced by,he saw a plume of smoke
coming from about the direction of Sues office block,immediately he sensed she was in danger and ran in the direction of the smoke.

The office was on fire,the police were keeping people back waiting for the fire brigade,the bottom two floors of the building were well ablaze and people were jumping from the third floor onto the gardens below,it was a long drop and many were lying injured, the police were trying their best but people were still  jumping and they prayed help would be there soon.Smoke was billowing from the windows on the third floor,Sues floor,where was the fire brigade?then he saw Sues face at the window,she was scared and for a moment he thought she looked directly at him before being pulled away from the window by people struggling for relief from the smoke.

No time to wait,he ran past the police and into the burning building,the stairs were a mass of flames but it looked as if the second floor was,nt too bad,so he pulled off his jacket and put it over his head and ran upstairs,the flames burnt and singed his skin but after a few seconds he was through the worst and rushing past screaming people on the stairs,burting into Sues office he saw here standing by the far wall,he rushed over and took her by the arm,she was scared but relieved to see him,”its ok,im here,dont worry,ill get you out” there was a brief smile that passed between them,somehow it was 14 years ago and he was saving her from the bullies again.

They headed for the stairs but then there was a loud crash  as the stairs collapsed,they were trapped.They moved back into the office to get away from the worst of the flames,from the window he saw  the fire brigade were not there yet,time was short,there were 4 people left,most had jumped,two were screaming from the window,one was laying on the floor trying to escape the smoke,the other an older man sat as if accepting his fate.John noticed a fire hose on the wall,it was,nt working but it gave him an idea,pulling it free from the reel he estimated it was maybe 30ft in length,he tied it around Sues waist and took her to the window,the window was smashed and the flames and smoke were now all around them,Sue realised what John was going to do but refused to leave without him,he looked her gently in the eye and she knew that she had to go,as she slipped from the window,she took one last look at Johns face,he smiled and mouthed “I love you” she tried to say it back but too late, he was lowering her on the makeshift rope.
As she got to the ground people caught her in the last few feet,she looked up and John was nowhere to be seen,the fire and smoke was by now intense.

She was moved away to a safe distance and the fire brigade came,they did all they could but nobody was getting out alive now,eventually five bodies were removed from the building,one of them John.

She found out from a friend of Johns at the funeral about his illness and understood why he had done what he had,but wished he had told her,she would have been there for him to the end.

John was gone,but he left her life the way he entered it,keeping her safe