somewhere, someone was screaming.

maë just shrugged it off as the kids down the road playing hide-and-seek, continuing to look at the stars.

"maaaaaaë," her grandmother called from upstairs.

the girl rose from the grass and turned toward the house, the lily she'd found this morning, slipping from her hand. as her grandmother walked onto the back verandah, she continued yelling,

"dinner's ready, darl, whenev--

gale stopped and maë watched her face slacken, her eyes on something behind the girl.

the house was bathed in light.

heat flushed against the back of maë's neck.

gale grabbed the railing, leant over and opened her mouth to scream.

maë's head snapped back toward the sky to see what--

and then nothing else.

just a blinding light, searing heat and finally, the faint b o o m.