Awakened by a flash of heat, I cough out unbreathable air. Light dances across my eyelids. They fling open and tears blur my vision. I blink and stare at flames crawling across the wall. Paint blisters and blackens. Curtains disintegrate into floating ash.

A smoke detector dangles, broken and silent.

Rita Riebel Mitchell writes and lives in the Pinelands of South Jersey with her favorite beta reader. See more at rrmitchell.com.