On a dark moonless summer night, with only occasional bolts of heat lightning to relieve the blackness, Skyler stretched her stiff legs as best as she could while driving the rented moving van. All her worldly possessions were stuffed behind her as she drove the long five hour trip. She turned left onto a gravel road, almost there now, almost to her new home in the country and to her new life in nearby London.
Off in the distance, an orange, yellow, and red glow flickered on the horizon. A fire! Oh no! Skyler pulled into the long winding driveway as flames leaped, dancing in the wind, while devouring the old weathered wood barn. She jumped from the van and ran toward the blaze. That barn was supposed to be an animal shelter and headquarters for her new job. Skyler felt like she was watching a funeral pyre for her new life. What kind of sign was this for her new beginning?
The fire, hot as the hinges of hell, singed her chocolate hair as she ran into the choking cloud of billowing black smoke. She collided into what felt like a brick wall and her knees buckled.
"Whoa, little lady." Large gentle hands clasped her shoulders to stop her from falling upon impact, and then guided her back out of the heat.
