Newlyweds enjoying new adventures together–sometimes involving scouting out where mysterious smoke is coming from.

Last night Zach and I were enjoying Netflix on the couch when a strange smell pricked my nose.

“I smell something Honey. Do you smell that?”

Zach agreed he could smell it as well, but a survey of our little apartment proved fruitless as to where the smoke was coming from. We shrugged and sat back down, wondering if it was perhaps drifting in from outside. But within seconds the smoke smell was even stronger.

“Let’s go check in the apartment hallway.”

We shoved on shoes and right as we stepped into the hallway a smoke alarm started screeching and the neighbor below us opened her door. We hurried down anxiously. Smoke was billowing out of her apartment, and she was inside frantically looking for what was causing the startling billows.

Zach bolted right into the smoky depths instantly to help and I felt initially upset that he was being so risky, but then I quickly followed. I figured that if he got burned, I wanted to be in his same boat rather than safely on the outskirts. Oh and our neighbor needed help. (Yeah, that selfish nature of mine. I know I’m a work in progress!)

The smoke was choking as the three of us rushed to find out where the flame was. I coughed and my eyes stung as I looked high and low. Our neighbor is older and not in the best of health, and I was concerned for all of our health in that moment.

“Ah, it’s the microwave! Careful!”

Popping open the metal door, black smoke rushed out. There was a blackened piece of bread inside that must have recently been on fire.

We could breath (or choke out at least) a sigh of relief that it wasn’t worse, but it remained a mystery how the bread had gotten so hot in the microwave.

Zach deposited the ruined appliance out in the dumpster, and after opening windows, chatting reassuringly to one another and double checking that all was put safely to rights, we bid one another good night and returned to our hamlets for the evening.

Zach and I hugged each other in relief and settled back down to finish our episode of Hyper Drive.

Adventures of apartment life as newlyweds. I took away from it the blessing of such experiences helping us build friendships with our neighbors (despite trying circumstances), admiration of my husband’s boldness to help without a thought, (and thus inspiring me), and thankfulness to the Lord for His mercy on such situations that could have been so much worse.