I look on helplessly as the green all but disappears from the trees, replaced by orange tongues licking at the branches. I can hear the shouts of the other firemen as they race towards the danger, but I’m frozen. The fire licks at my chest and throat, filling me with a rage I had never known. I had grown up running in this forest. I had painted mud on my face. I wasn’t prepared to watch my childhood burn down. I reached down to dip my fingers into the ash before spreading it on my cheeks. I will save it.
I found peace in the chaos of the storm. Thunder boomed and I closed my eyes, content to listen to the symphony happening right outside my window. A particularly loud boom echoed in the room and my eyes flew open, going to the door right before my tiny hurricane rushed through it, tears streaming down her face. She flew into my open arms, fear glistening in her tear-filled eyes. I could never understand why she was so scared of the song. She finally fell asleep, her breathing adding to the music. It was the best sound I had ever heard.
I couldn’t stop trembling. Maybe the day was too much. It felt like everything was going wrong. How do you live when you lose everything? I stared at the wall blankly. Everything was crumbling around me. I noticed cracks getting larger on the wall in front of me, and then suddenly everything came crashing down. Panic set in as the floor moved underneath me. I couldn't balance, I couldn't get out, I couldn’t do anything. This wasn’t what I had meant. I was terrified - I had never experienced an earthquake before. I couldn’t stop trembling. The earth couldn’t stop trembling.
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