The Fire by Maja Bavcevic (pg

The Fire

By Maja Bavcevic

I stood there, staring at the fire with her scream still ringing in my ears. All I could picture is her being pulled into the dark forest, flaming torch in hand. I see his hand on her wrist, pulling her into the woods, the darkness makes it impossible to see what happens next. I hear her scream. The high, ear piercing, screech of sheer terror that seemingly engulfs the whole world. Her silhouette fell to the floor. The torch in her hand illuminating the space just enough to see her body hit the floor. It hit the ground last and engulfed the pile of leaves on which it fell in flames. They painted the night sky with flicks of red and orange as the sparks flew, circling her body in a thick wall of fire. I could have left right then and there, but couldn’t bring myself to leave her there alone. I sat there for hours. Maybe I could have saved her; but maybe I could have died too. Whatever killed her was undoubtedly able to kill me too. For years I told myself leaving her was the right thing to do, thinking if I lied to myself enough, I may be able to drown in the lie the way she drowned in flames that day. The ‘what if’s’ would undoubtedly haunt me for years to come. But in that brief moment, I stood there staring at the fire, her scream still ringing in my ears.