A sharp pain seared my forehead. I rubbed my palm against my skull, but the headache remained. I opened my eyes, only to be blinded by piercing sunlight.
I pushed myself off a stretcher. I found myself on the street between white-and-green ambulances, black-and-blue police cruisers, and red fire engines. Smoke twirled up into the sky. My mind traced the vapor back to its origin. My house. The building had transformed into a blackened ruin. Flames and smoke still spilled out of the first floor. Firefighters doused the house with water. Police officers redirected traffic and marshaled curious neighbors to secure the area. I shut my eyes. This scenario was only playing in my head. A bad dream perhaps? Yet the surrounding bustling didn’t stop.
I peeked again. The same scene played out in front of
