Victorious Inferno

• Esha Faisal, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2021

The girl watches as the sky is consumed by smoke, the wind howling like a wounded animal. Flames spread across the building, engulfing her house in a flickering shawl of heat and light. They greedily lick at the windows, scorching the edges. The glass shatters, covering the ground in a layer of crystal shards.

A loud explosion pierces her ears as the roof crumples, the flames reach out like fiery tendrils in the chilly night. Sparkling bright, the silvery moon shines in the sky, the fire casting a crimson glow on its luminous perimetre. Slowly, the grass around her house drains of colour, it quickly resembles deceased, blood-sucked grubs.

She is sad that her beloved home must burn, but nothing can be done to save it from the raging fire.

The girl sits in the shrubbery, the wind violently whipping her hair across her face. She vaguely wonders where she will sleep tonight. The thought soon drifts away, like a gentle breeze dancing in the twilight. Her eyes smolder from the smoke, they ache to be away from the wretched inferno.

She closes her eyes and listens to the sizzling of the fire as it relentlessly charges at her house. The house begs for it to stop but the fire is not a merciful one. Still, her house battles the intense heat, however they both know who the victor will be in the end.

When she reopens her eyes, her house is quivering with every blow of the fire. Finally, it heaves out its last breath and collapses in a charred pile of timber. A thousand memories are forever buried.

She abruptly stands and walks away.

She leaves behind the ashes of her life.

She leaves behind her swirling thoughts of despair.