Gone

One of the most beautiful homes across the lake from my house burned to the ground last night.  That girl, Kevin, and I were down at the lake swimming just before dark when we first noticed smoke.  At first we could not tell if the smoke was rising up from directly behind the house or from the roof.  The smoke thinned and thickened over the next few minutes.

 

By the time that girl and I had walked back up to the house, the smoke was getting pretty thick and rolling against the nearby mountainside.  I thought I saw activity around the house (but no flashing lights).  I called 911 when I detected flames clawing against the fading daylight.  The 911 dispatcher assured me that first responders were at the scene.

I went to bed and fell fast asleep.  Sometime around midnight, that girl shook me awake to tell me the house was completely aflame.  When I peered out my bedroom window I saw flames steepled high into the night.

Posted is a photograph of all the remains of the home this morning.  I cannot imagine how I would feel if I had to watch my home and all of my personal belongings flare and vanish into a pile of blackened rubble.

    

--Mitchell Hegman