“All these years of work…wasted!” His anguished roars bellowed through the shack, and surrounding forest, as he lifted her viles and bottles deliberately smashing each one to the earthen floor. Losing his balance in this forceful act, he fell in a heap on the broken bottles. He stood dripping small bits of blood as he walked towards their bedroom. He screeched while he wildly clawed at the linens, ripping his nails back in the process. He welcomed the pain, it felt better than the pain in his chest where his heart was once whole. All at once, the rage took over. Flames launched around the room from his body. He held his quaking hands before him, watching the fresh beads of blood sizzling from the heat of his skin. He wished he could feel the flames scorch his skin, but instead thought of the cool touch of her skin. One last howl thundered into the night, as he collapsed under the weight of his overwhelming sorrow.

Fighting off the desire to let himself cry, rain tore the sky open flooding the last remaining flickers of fire. His skin also cooled in the rainfall, steam rising from his crumpled form. His rage had fully succumbed to despair. He had allowed himself to love her so fully that he left himself vulnerable. A mistake he would never make again. His home, his love and his future were gone. He stood and vowed that, like their love, her and her lover’s future…would end in ashes.