My house burned down when I was 16. This is what I learned.

I was rehearsing my dramatic performance piece for a competition I had the next when the bus dropped me off in my suburban neighborhood in Boca Raton. My house was only a few blocks from the stop, about a brisk 15 minute walk; which I looked forward to everyday as a way to decompress from a long day of school. I was 16 years old and in my second year of high school. I made the competitive speech team at my school and we were headed to compete at the Zephyrhills State Competition the following day. I was beyond excited and remember thinking, "this is it, this is my chance to win something I worked really hard to achieve and make my family proud!"

I spent hours everyday for weeks rehearsing my piece. It was about a woman who confronts her home intruder. It was full of drama and excitement! My brothers and sister enjoyed watching me perform it and loved it when I got to the really emotional parts.

As soon as I arrived home, I found my dad packing the car. "Navene, yalla, go change and bring your school bag and homework with you. We have dinner with Luna today." Luna was dad's girlfriend at the time. She had two daughters, Riley and Katie, who were my brother and my age. We got along with them real well and thought of them as sisters already. Luna was a fantastic cook and the sound of that made me nearly jump up and down in excitement.“Okay, Dad! Where are Ryah, Ryan, and Ameer?”

“Inside,” he replied.

I rushed on in and found Ryah and Ryan on the table drawing. Ryah and Ryan were 8 years old at the time, fraternal twins and cute as buttons. I practically raised them growing up and felt more responsible for them than a big sister, more so like a caretaker. I love all my siblings very much and we were always very close. “Hi, Ryah. Hi, Ryan. Whatcha doin’?”

“I’m drawing a dinosaur!” Ryah shouted with excitement. I smiled at her picture, “Looks great!” “I’m going to go change. Daddy said we are eating at Luna’s today!” “Daddy packed our bags!” Ryan said.

I ran into my room and chose an outfit for tonight. Something comfortable and in my favorite color — maroon. After a while, Ameer came into my room, “C’mon, Navene, Daddy said we’re leaving.”

I grabbed my book bag with my agenda, homework, and dramatic performance piece inside so I could practice while I was there. I was so excited to show Riley and Katie my work and hopefully they could give me some pointers, too! I rushed outside and piled into the car with my brothers and sister.

When we arrived, we quickly ran up the stairs to their apartment, where the door was already open for us. The sweet aroma of tomato sauce and garlic pasta filled their home. Luna was making pasta from scratch. Pasta was my favorite food ever, and I was so excited! Riley, who was my age and basically my best friend at the time, ran up to us and gave us all hugs. Katie, two years younger than me, led us inside and insisted that she play us a song she learned on the ukulele. We huddled on the carpet floor while she played us the hit song, “It’s Not Over” by Daughtry. We were mesmerized by her voice and words that night. With her last strum on the ukulele, we all burst out in applause. Behind us in the kitchen Luna said, “That was beautiful, honey. Now who’s ready for some garlic bread?” “Me!” we all said as we got up and headed to the kitchen where my dad and Luna passed out our plates full of pasta and garlic bread! We carefully carried them to the dining room table and ate. We laughed at each other and made fun of each other between bites, and it felt really good to be around family and enjoy a nice meal.

After dinner, we all gathered around for dessert, one of our favorites — cheesecake. While eating, Luna asked, “So how is your prep going for your competition, Navene?” I lit up with excitement, and before I began to explain, my dad got a phone call...

It was Lucia, our neighbor; she was screaming so loudly on the phone we could all hear her. “Omar?! Where are the kids—are they in the house?!” “No, the kids are with me, why, what’s wrong?” my dad responded. “Omar, your house is on fire!” “What?” We all looked at each other in horror. “We called the fire department—they are on their way. Come quick!”

My father’s face was blank as he told us to get our things quickly. Luna, Riley, and Katie followed us home in their car.

It was silent on our way home that night. I held my sister’s hand in the back seat, scared of what this would mean for us and wondering what we would find when we got home. It was like we were moving in slow motion; we couldn’t get home fast enough.

Finally, we turned into our street and I saw the structure of our house—but it didn’t look like our house anymore. It was all black and beat up. Fire trucks were surrounding the place and neighbors standing outside, watching as the firemen were coming in and out of the home.

My dad got out of the car and yelled back at us, “Stay here.” He looked on in sadness and horror. “I can’t believe my house burned down.” My little brother and sister had tears running down their faces as they looked upon what used to be our safe haven. Our playground and our beloved place we would lay to rest at night. The place we spent staying up late watching movies, playing games in the pool, and making ice sundaes in the kitchen. It was all gone. “And what about my clothes and my jewelry?” I thought. “And all our movies and toys—does that mean they’re all gone now, too?” “Would I still go to my competition tomorrow?”

Lucia, our neighbor, came to the car, “Hi guys, are you okay?” We nodded, our fear-stricken faces. “It’s okay, you’re all going to be okay.” My dad returned and told us we’d be staying at a hotel tonight and that Lucia wanted to take us to the store. “For what?” “She wants to get you some clothes.” Right, all we had were the clothes on our backs and our school backpacks. Lucia returned with her SUV and we all got inside. She took us to Target that night and grabbed us some pajamas, a shirt, jeans, and underwear. I remember thinking how nice of her to do that but also scared because no one had ever had to do that before besides my parents. It felt strange to be walking around and having someone else buy us things.

When we finished at the store, Lucia took us to the Ramada hotel not far from where our burnt-down house was. My dad was waiting for us. He thanked Lucia and led us to our double bed hotel room. “We’re going to stay here for a little while,” my dad said. “For how long?” I asked. “Maybe a couple of weeks till we figure out what the bank says.” Ryan started to cry. “Shh, Ryan, don’t cry,” my dad yelled. “Daddy, are we going to school tomorrow?” Ameer asked.

“Yes, of course, now go brush your teeth and yalla let’s get ready for bed.” My dad replied.

My sister and I shared a bed and my brothers shared another. My dad slept on the pull out couch. I didn’t sleep much that night. I held my sister tight and thought, we may not have our living room that we watched TV in, or our pool we played games in, or our beds that we slept in, but at least we have each other. At least we were all together, and at least we were all safe.

The next day, I ended up going to the competition with a suit that Luna lent me. I didn’t place first that competition, but I did place third. I was happy with that. I was happy that I was able to compete and even placed despite what happened the night before. But most of all I was happy that my family and I were safe.

We ended up rebuilding our lives after that, and it taught me life could be fleeting. You could have everything one day, and it could be gone the next. So cherish the moments and most of all cherish your loved ones.

From left: Ryah, Ameer, me and Ryan kneeling.