A Short Introduction

The family room curtains were completely gone. In front of the window where gauzy, rose-colored curtains had once hung there was now nothing, not even a plane of glass. At least traces of other furnishings were still there: the burnt frame of the couch, the wiring of a lampshade, and scattered plastic globules, which before being melted had been Jake’s action figures. Everything smelled of smoke. Although my mother said to think of it as a fresh start, I couldn’t look at the destruction of my home with her level of optimism. The night of the fire wouldn't stop replaying in my head.