I N F E R N O

01| INFERNO

Inferno: English language.

Origin •| Mid 19th century: from Italian, from Christian Latin infernus.

People never really take much thought about how they would die. Humans in general are a very self-preserving species, we are taught that survival is a basic instinct: much like 'do or die' and 'fight or flight'.

I always thought that I would die in a very boring way, simply fading away with old age. Many years of happy marriage between Hayden and I, and plenty of smile-lines to prove our happiness. Perhaps our children would attend my funeral, and maybe even their children would attend the funeral. The death would be quick- more or less, I didn't like the idea of passing away with only hospital staff and life support as my only companions to ease me into death's arms.

And here I was.

At the fairly young age of twenty-four, I was not expecting death to come so soon. Hayden has ultimately lead to my demise, my seemingly perfect dreams with him were shattered just like the mirror he had shattered just last week when I came home later than what he allowed.

Yes, I fully understood that he was no good; and I knew I should have left him as soon as he hit me for the first time all those many months ago. But I honestly believed I could have changed him. Instead, I found out that good ol' Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey changed him more. 

That brings us to my impending death, my apartment was currently burning to ashes- and I was going to burn within. My lungs were already shutting down from the fierce black smoke that promised to claim my life. Hayden was no where to be found, maybe his life was already lost in the flames or maybe he decided to leave me to burn in this inferno after he locked me in my own apartment and set fire to it?

I wasn't too sure about my own whereabouts, if I was in our bedroom or just about to step into the bathroom. It wouldn't matter, I decided, as the fire was going to consume everything in its petrol-fuelled rage anyway.

The smell of burning flesh and hair was palpable in the air- my clothes had caught fire in the first few moments of the fire- therefore I was dressed only in my underwear as the rest were charred somewhere else in this apartment. The vague reminder that I shouldn't worry about who would find me because I would be found in the form of ashes and maybe teeth was fairly comforting because then no one would have to look at all the bruises he inflicted upon me.

Glass shattered somewhere fairly close, their fragments softly plinking on the wooden laminate floor; giving my ears a quick break from the sound of fire crackling, replacing it with loud wailing sirens from somewhere outside. 

At what point does glass shatter under the heat?  My mind was fuzzy, the adrenaline was replaced by tiredness and fatigue. If somewhere in this house a window panel shattered, this idea of a room with clearer air was intoxicating- much like this smoke that was trickling into this room at an alarming rate. Just try and find it Adeline! Could I somehow find the strength to find which window had shattered under the heat and pressure of this hellfire?

Yes, I could at least try to catch a last glimpse of the sky before retching my last breath. My palms and knees made contact with the floor, my body attempting to move towards the loud and beacon-like sirens.

Yes, maybe I had hope.

My eyes were tightly shut from the smoke for the past few minutes, so I was completely blind in that aspect. The sirens were becoming increasingly louder, the loud wails were filling me with hope. I quickly opened my eyes.

Daylight streaked through the shattered window, and the black smoke filtered out making the air just a little bit thinner. The window frame punctuated the azure of the sky, giving the appearance of a broken reality outside.