I watched for hours until the flames died down. There was a faint glow in the dark of the night. I listened to the soft crackle of the embers, and the hiss of gas escaping some remaining piece of wood.

I was the last one. Alone. They had all fled in the beginning, or had died in the chaos. I wonder if any of them made it out.

Silence.

The wind sooths my pain, its tender fingers kissing my tear streaked cheeks. I closed my eyes. A smile.

Amongst all this. The pain. The death. With all of everything that had happened; I smiled.

The breeze continued. It spread over to the coals before me. I watched the ember: a dance of orange. It faded quickly.

Still sitting, my knees wrapped between my arms, I drifted into sleep.

- - -

That’s when I first saw the girl. She was curled up next to a field of ash--her soft face smeared with dust.

It was cold that night, but the coals still gave off a large amount of heat.