It was silent. So so silent. Maybe if I closed my eyes I could pretend the silence was from a peaceful day and not from an explosion damaging my eardrums. Maybe if I closed my eyes I could pretend the heat was from a beautiful sunny day and not the fire burning the houses neighboring mine. Maybe if I closed my eyes I could pretend the smell of smoke was from our neighbor’s barbecue and not from my memories burning to ash. Maybe if I closed my eyes I could pretend my legs were tired from chasing my baby sister around the house and not running for my life. Maybe if I closed my eyes… maybe I could pretend everything was okay. But it doesn’t work like that. If I close my eyes now, I will only have to open them again later. And reality will hit harder, harder, harder. So instead I keep them open; I look for a way to survive this. To survive the silence hinting at death. To survive the pain of my knees hitting the concrete ground below me as my legs finally give out…