The glare was blinding. I had never seen fire like this. Smoke filled the dark sky and stung my eyes as I watched the flames ravenously devour my home. Our home was burning. Where was my sister?
People scrambled back and forth, some bringing as many buckets, bowls and vessels as they could carry to scoop up snow and douse the flames.
The fire had spread to two other houses. The man next door had gone back to get something during the gathering. When he saw the smoke he checked inside my house because he knew that my sister was still there. Father and I had been at the square. He said she wasn’t there. Now he was busy helping with the fire and so was father. So many people were trying to stop it, but I just stood there.
Most of the flames had been put out as father came to me, tears streaming down his face. Everything was quiet now. He held me tightly and sobbed. His tears fell on my face; they were so warm. I shut my eyes tightly and cursed myself because his tears were the first to touch my face that night.
“Pinnacle” is the working title for a Fantasy novel by Matthew Munoz. The speaker in this passage, “the Champion,” she is one of the principal characters in the story.
MJ Muñoz 