Springing from the Ashes
I woke up to screaming. It was all around me. I'll never forget it. It haunts me still, almost thirty years later.
I ran outside. It was chaos. People were running everywhere. Houses were in flames. My family was there too. My mother screamed at me, "follow us, run!" I could hear the noise of the bombs, and T ran.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I didn't know where I was going, my family's screams died in the distance. Looking back, I remember passing my friends house, the town hall and my parent's store. They were all in flames.
I ran and ran and ran. I knew I was burnt, but I barely registered the pain. Eventually I collapsed from exhaustion. I could still hear the screams. I could still see the flames. The burn on my back was a constant reminder of my family and friends. I had no idea where they were. I don't know if I fell unconscious or if I fell asleep. It doesn't matter now. The last thing I remembered was the pain.
When I came to, I was in someone's wagon. A peddler's wagon. I also discovered that someone had laid me down on my chest and stripped my shirt from me. There was some sort of paste on my back.
The night all came rushing back to me. The screams, the flames, the pain. I heard a man's voice. He asked me how I was. He told me not to move and asked my name. I gathered my strength and answered him. The I asked him some things. I asked him where everyone was, where I was, will I be alright. I used the last of my strength to tell him, "I'm to young to die." Then I passed out.
Two years later, I was well. The man had become my "father". I traveled with him and we sold goods.
One day I realized I recognized the area. We came to my old town. New buildings were springing up. The plants had grown from the ashes. We passed the spot my house once stood on. My home was still ashes. Then I noticed something.
A photo, the one of my family and me on my birthday, was laying in the rubble. The glass was shattered but the photo was intact. I picked it up. It was then that I knew I had to spring from the ashes, just like the trees.