Stories that land

Nagomido and the Day the House Burned Down

Nagomido was in the first year of high school when a fire broke out at home. Grandma had been getting ready to make tempura for lunch.

At home with Grandma

Nagomido recalls a day in high school when Grandma was getting lunch ready. Here’s the story in Nagomido’s own words.

Grandma was making tempura

I’m Nagomido.

This happened in my first year of high school. Our house burned down.

Grandma was going to fry up some tempura for lunch. She put a pan of oil on the stove, turned on the heat, then went out to work in the garden.

I was watching TV when I noticed a strange smell. Smoke was pouring out of the kitchen. I opened the kitchen door, and the floor was going up in flames. This was way past the point where you could grab a fire extinguisher.

I called the fire department and went outside. Then Grandma said, “I’m going to turn off the gas.”

“You can’t! You’ll get yourself killed!”

The fire truck came, but we’d caught it too late. The whole house burned down.

Grandma said, “It’s my fault. I did this.” She was completely crushed.

The neighbors were all trying to comfort her. “It’s all right, Grandma.” “It’s not your fault.”

Then, in this tiny voice, Grandma said, “I never want to see fire again”—and as she said it, she lit a cigarette.

The neighbors all drifted away after that.

A boy with glasses, a white T-shirt, and blue shorts stands beside an older woman wearing a white cooking smock and a black skirt. Both look stunned; the boy is sweating with his mouth open. Motion lines surround their bodies, and red dots resembling embers float against a pink background. At the upper left, a firefighter’s legs are visible in gray protective pants with yellow reflective stripes and black boots. At the upper right, a neighbor’s legs and sandals are visible.

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