Light engulfed the dark, encased by nothing but smoke, ash and fear as heat drizzled into every crevice and the stench of burning bark seeped into every particle of air. My feet fumbled as I began to run, the screams of women and children following my footsteps. Maybe I can make it I thought. The quite lake where I had spent most of my days with a laugh in my throat and sunscreen on my face was only a few more faltering steps away. It seemed so far to my little legs. Every tree along its edge was enclosed in a fiery hedge of orange, red, and white. There was no warning in the night, there was no hint, the world awoke with a fierce crack of flame and spurred the earth into panic, fire erupting from every inch of forest. The glimmer of water caught my eye and without another thought I jumped. Cool crisp ripples of water welcomed my furnaced flesh. My face surfaced above the silvery waves and my eyes burned with the horror of what was around me. Every house, every tree, every unfortunate person was left to the heat of the flames. I didn’t want to watch but I couldn’t pull my eyes away. Distracted by my fear I didn’t realize that the sky had given way to gentle forgiving rain. The water recurved with every drop and the burning wisps of flame recoiled. A strange sense of relief flooded my mind though my heart still pounded with the intensity of rolling thunder. I was safe. I had lost everything I ever loved but I was safe. With that I fell into a steady weep.