Our upstairs neighbors have kids, so we are used to a certain amount of running around. But the night before Christmas there came loud thumps, as of large objects falling, followed by screaming. I went out into the hall, following the sound to the well of the interior staircase. I heard a child yelling, “Fire!” then a man hurrying downstairs past me repeated, “Fire!” I went back to our apartment and got on the intercom. “It sounds like there’s a fire on the floor above us.” “We know,” said the doorman, tersely.
What does one take away from a housewarming? I grabbed a bag — idly, from surprise and incredulity. Soon enough there were sirens in the street. There are always sirens there, whether from fire trucks, EMS vehicles, or police cars. As I expected, these sirens tolled for us.
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