When the smoke clears,
My cheeks wet with tears.
All that I loved is now gone.
i found a page of a book in the sloping back yard. only one side of it was burned. it looked as though the flames had burnt up the spine, setting free all of the paper attached. i walked all around the property, searching for any sign of the cat. i even traversed the overgrown yard filled with prickles and thorns. nothing. but then i came to a spot in the yard and i stopped. the breeze flowed over me, and it was like i was hearing whispers. the trees weren’t moving, and neither was the grass. all was still, except the air flowing around me. and i looked at her house, all remaining black bricks and black wood and black ash, and felt a pulling. the whisper was still there and i could not put my finger on where it was coming from. and even in the silent pull, it felt like someone screaming for help. like a string was being yanked from the house and straight to my heart, pulling me forward. whether it was screams of the lost or whispers of the living, i couldn’t tell. but it hurt. it ached, somewhere deep inside the cavity of my chest. my ribs were sore from the pounding of my heart and even as i walked, i felt like i should run. but there was nothing. not a peep out of anything. the smoke was gone, the ashes settled. but my heart had not calmed with the surroundings. all i wanted was closure. but closure was nowhere to be seen.
so like the page in the yard, it seemed as though i would be lost and disconnected … forever.
♡, shortie
