A Liar

"I nearly lost my life back then, but I never regretted risking it to save Alexander," Carla stated proudly, her smile wide.

Rain bit her inner cheek, feeling the weight of memories she hadn't fully processed until now. She didn't recall every child she'd saved that night, but she vividly remembered running back and forth through the conservatory, pulling out anyone still trapped. 

As she thought back, a particular memory surfaced… a boy, the heaviest one she'd had to carry out. She found him alone in the study room of the conservatory, his faint cries just audible over the crackling flames. He had been hurt, pinned by a fallen wooden shelf, and though conscious, he was too weak to move on his own. 

She had pulled him up, struggling under his weight as the fire closed in. She even remembered snapping at him in frustration, "Do you want me to die here with you? Try moving yourself, will you, and hold onto my back!"