The Sign

Molly sat on the couch with her husband, David, on a Wednesday afternoon. She had just gotten off of work, so it felt nice to be with her husband, relaxing. She decided to watch some TV for a little before she would leave. Earlier that day, her coworkers, Matt, Mike, and Martha asked Molly if she wanted to go to the bowling alley at around 6 that evening. Molly was never the one to turn down an event, although she did enjoy her relaxing time. She just loved spending time with others.

Molly is 4’11. However, her height never determined what she could and couldn’t do. She was always one to be honest. If Molly had a problem with something, it’d be impossible not to know. This didn’t only apply to problems, it applied to most aspects in her life. People liked and sometimes envied this about her. Why is it so easy for her to speak up, they would think. Although Molly could be rude or brutally honest, she wasn’t. She never really snapped at others even if they may have deserved it. She tried to be levelheaded, but she wouldn’t let others walk over her or the ones she loved. It always seemed like she could get out of a bad situation. Molly is what people would consider a social butterfly. She never really struggled making friends, which was why she was able to become very close with her coworkers in no time.

5:30 came around and, to her husband David’s disapproval, Molly decided to start getting dressed. Her husband never really minded if she went out with friends, but he also wanted her to stay home with him. He knew Molly though. Once she was ready to do something, she was going to do it. 

As Molly touched up her makeup, she saw her phone light up. She put down the powder and walked towards the phone. Martha had texted her that they were outside. Molly hurriedly threw her sneakers on and walked out the door. She got into the car and greeted the group. 

Mike sat in the passenger seat, while Matt was the driver. Molly sat in the back with Martha.

“How far is the bowling alley,” Molly asked Martha. 

“I think it’s about a ten-minute drive.” 

Good, Molly thought, I have some time to put on my lipstick. 

The drive went by fairly quickly, and they reached the bowling alley. The friends got out of the car and walked up to the door. The sign on the door read Closed.

“What? The hours are literally right here,” said Matt. 

That was true. On Wednesdays, the bowling alley closes at 10 p.m. What changed? 

What they didn’t know was that the worker in charge of flipping sign had never flipped it. The bowling alley was open. 

“So what do you guys wanna do,” Mike asked.

“Well, there’s a restaurant 4 miles out. Do you guys want to go there,” replied Martha.

The group agreed to go to the restaurant. They didn’t want their outing to be ruined cause of something minor. The friends got back in the car and completed the seven-minute drive. They arrived at the bar and walked to the door. Fortunately for the group, the restaurant was open. 

They walked inside and the hostess seated them. Their seats were close to the kitchen, so they could basically see inside if they looked in that direction. 

            The friends ordered their food and decided to chat while they waited for it to be prepared. 

“How did you know about this place, Martha,” asked Matt as he took a sip of his water. 

“I’ve been here with my family a couple of times. It’s a nice place.” 

The friends continued to wait. 

As the waitress came out with the flood, Molly saw a glimpse of something behind her. It was something glowing orange. Is that a fire? “Oh my god, it’s a fire,” Molly shouted, which caused everyone to look, including the waitress. Molly stood up and ran to the fire alarm. Molly yelled, “Out, out, everybody out!” 

Everyone started to scream and run towards the door. As everyone exited the building, Molly saw someone running in. What the hell, Molly thought. Why is he running in? The man fell from the pushing and shoving. Molly could see the man get stuck, but she needed to get out before it got worse. Should she save him or should she save herself. As she made her decision to save the man, she saw a gun fall from underneath him. She instantly chose to leave. By the time she got outside, the fire department were there. Molly told them there was a man trapped inside who had a gun. They immediately ran in. By the time they got inside, the man was severely burned. They couldn’t even identify him. Who was he? Why did he have a gun? So many thoughts ran through her mind. Did I just save all these people? There was too much going on for her to think. Little did Molly know she had indeed saved everyone– not just from the fire, but from the man who lay inside.