Most people love fall. I’m not most people.

Autumn always leaves me with a gnawing, gut wrenching dread. Every year is the same. I always lose someone I love.

Last fall, my mom died in a car accident. The year before that, my girlfriend of three years spontaneously broke up with me. The one before that, my best friend just stopped talking to me.

This year, I’m not going to let anything take m...

A scream echoes outwardly.

A small, old stone building, at the center of this Mediterranean town, is the origin of the city-wide fire. A fireworks accident set the town ablaze.

I turn my head torwards the sound, but hands push me forward.

Overwhelming heat envelops me, inhibiting my ability to think clearly. Sweat drips down my face. The flames lick at my skin, smoke filling my ai...