I snapped out of my thoughts as screams came from the manor and a bright flash of light enveloped me. The loudest thunderclap I had ever heard came on its tail, along with a rush of air and pure force that knocked me flat on my back. The smaller trees around the clearing were knocked down and a few of the larger ones wobbled threateningly.

From up on the hill, I could see smoke rising from a fire but I couldn’t hear the screaming anymore. I clapped my hands together, and again there was no sound. I didn’t have time to wonder though, and I ran up towards the fire. The hill was steep, but I was not even out of breath by the time I reached the top. The adrenaline must have given me strength.

At the top of the hill, there was a scene of pure chaos. The house itself was barely standing, with the windows and doors had blown right off. The upper stories had collapsed in parts and the roof had completely caved in. It was a scene of complete devastation. The remains burned, and people ran everywhere.

In the commotion, I saw Hugh attempting to direct people while the survivors tried to flee. The well manicured garden had been almost completely eviscerated. The smoldering fire of the house was overshadowed by the swirling inferno of the surrounding gardens and wood. In the midst of the ruined garden was a crater. As I peered through the smoke, I could see that within the crater there lay a misshapen white stone as tall as me and equally wide imbedded deep into the ground, as well as chunks of the stone surrounding it.

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I yelled to Hugh but no words seemed to come out. I continued to yell and while I could feel the vibration of my vocal cords, no sound left my lips. However, Hugh looked up and saw me. He saw straight into my eyes from across the garden and gave me an unforgettable look of disgust and fear. He turned and ran off into the woods without turning around, speeding away from me the the destruction of our life.

Rage swelled inside me and my face became even hotter than the fire around me. Despite our differences and our fights, I could have never imagined he would act like this. I was still his wife and Hugh had always been dutiful, if nothing else. Why would he leave me now? I could not keep the anger bottled up anymore, and attempted to scream at the top of my lungs.

I ran through the flaming garden, away from Hugh and the rest of the fleeing party who had long been out of sight, and felt stronger than I ever had before. I did not often run, but I could feel pure power flowing through my body as I bounded over hedges and along the path out into the woods. The flames licked at me, but I couldn’t feel them. I just felt the intense strength that each muscle afforded me as my legs propelled me through the inferno. Ahead of me, the flaming hedges of the gardens disappeared and the unkempt dark wild of the forest engulfed me. I continued on and on leaping over branch, root, and briar. The forest behind me became alight as the fire spread and the stray sparks from my dress danced into the trees.

I did not stop fleeing until the moon began to fall, the stars disappeared, and from the horizon the sun rose. As the light of day washed over me so too did a wave of exhaustion and I lay down beside a tree, closed my eyes, and slept.