A Young Boy Walks Into a Fire Station With a Note, and As He Reads It Firefighter Breaks Down

The Address of Despair

At the bottom of the page, Toby had managed to scribble an address: 402 West Street. Elias knew the area. It was a block of dilapidated houses that the city had mostly forgotten. He looked at Toby and saw the hollows under his eyes.

“How long has she been sleeping, Toby?”

The boy held up three fingers, his lip trembling. “Three sleeps,” he whispered.

Elias felt a surge of adrenaline and fury—not at the boy, but at the world that had allowed this child to sit in a dark house for three days with a mother who wouldn’t wake up.

“Mount up!” Elias roared, the “Lazy Sunday” vanishing instantly. “Medic unit, on my tail! Toby, you’re coming with us. You’re our navigator.”