Beyond the Ashes

Black, Grey, and White

As I walked past the burned wood and rubble, I tried to find anything that could've survived the damage. There wasn't much. It seemed that every bit of ashes that I stepped on were beloved memories, and I was crushing them beneath my worn out feet. Before long, I had reached my destination. The faint remainder of

colors from my bedroom were scattered all over the dirt like thousands of lifeless raindrops. If only those raindrops were there that one night. When I truly needed them.

I had grown up in a small town known as Hampton. It was near the border of California and Nevada, but it was on Californian soil. Hampton summers were warm, but spring was burning. When I wasn't at school, I would be at home. Nowhere else. That's because it's not very fun to drive around in an old Toyota without any AC. The heat doesn't feel too good on old pickup truck leather.

I was climbing up a small mountain of dust when something grabbed my shoulder tight. I slightly cocked my head in the direction of the contact. I could see the loose-fit sleeve of the fireman. "You're family is waiting for you, Samantha." "Sammy." I corrected him. We walked past my old bedroom, past the bathroom I always sang in, past the living room I spent all my life in. That is, all my life up until now.

As I made my way through the last section of the house I grew to love, I saw something white in the corner of my eye. It wasn't hard to see, as everything else was dark shades of black and grey. Before I knew it, my feet were sprinting to the patch of white, and away from the grasp of the firefighter. I couldn't help myself. I couldn't hold myself back. That little sliver of white, yards of ash away from me, gave me hope. Gave me comfort. It reminded me that no matter how hard it was for me to realize, there was hope.

I inched closer and closer to the little piece of heaven. It seemed that the more I traveled, the farther away from me it went. But it wasn't moving. Neither was I. I stood there like a lost puppy in a sea of grey, trying to swim it's way to shore. I was 'swimming' in circles. I was confused. I was lost. I was drowning.

"Sammy, come here" whispered my mom. She must've come when she saw how confused and lost I was. "Okay." We found our way away from my house. Or what used to be my house. It was spring break, and it was around 90 degrees outside. I nestled under the remains of an old pine tree that grew in front of the house. It still provided shade, although there wasn't much left on it's branches. My mom continued walking, as she made her way towards the old pickup that my dad was sitting in. The view from the Toyota overlooked the disaster. I could tell by the look on dads face. The tears that trickled down his cheeks gave me tears, so I looked away. As I turned my head away, I saw it. The white. It was there, and it wasn't going away. I had to know what it was. It seemed so impossible that there was any white in a situation like this, where colors other than black and grey didn't seem to exist. It wasn't impossible, they did exist. I was looking at them.

I speed-walked over to the little piece of heaven, hoping that I was getting closer. Before long, the unknown object was touching the tips of my converse. It was buried under layers of ashes, soot, and dust. I quickly swiped the thick and smelly powder away, as if it was going to burn my hands if I touched it for any longer. I picked up the piece of paper, hands shaking, and blew on the corner that was turning red from the heat that it held within itself. I focused on the small letters that were polluting the beautiful white with many marks of black, and I suddenly dropped the paper onto my shoes.