The limestone walls seemed to be at the edge of crumbling. Cracks and dents slithered up the walls, small specks of dust nestled in between the crevices. The ground, which was once a path of damp soil and dewy grass, had transformed into a road of pebbles and rocks and pieces that fell from buildings. Only weeds thrived in the land.

   The sky was a canvas of ultramarine blue, smudged with a bit of slate grey and pearl white. The sun peeped from behind the clouds and lightly scattered its rays across the site. It was not enough to illuminate the interiors of ancient buildings; the golden rays stopped short of the windows, making it cold and dark inside. Speaking of windows, they looked more like holes that have been the result of a siege than an opening to the outside world. Their rectangular form had instead been deformed to a round, unknown shape. The edges were quite rough, like old sandpaper, and unlike modern windows, they had no frame or glass of any sort. An open boundary between the house and the streets.

   An oil lamp was enough to brighten the interior. A small antechamber held back unwanted guests from venturing further into the house. Marble figures and colorful mosaics festooned a now-quiet house. Tiles of baked clay formed a pattern on the frigid floor. Deeper into the house, vases and other ceramics laid shattered on the ground. Jagged pieces each had a story painted on them by a master potter: one of the pieces held the face of young maiden and her flowers, another was the home of a water-bearing manservant, and some others were the playground of young children playing with their wooden toys. Piecing these together like jigsaw puzzles would be a chore to do, but the end result would probably be worth the effort. For now, they were to remain broken and isolated.

   Wooden structures and treasure troves occupied the remaining rooms. A mahogany table sat in the middle of a large chamber, surrounded by chairs carved intricately from teak. Marble statues stood and danced at the corners of the room. These figures were sculpted so meticulously, the would've been mistaken for real people had it not been for the color of their bodies. Some of the stone women held jars of oil and wine, smirking suggestively at their male patrons. The marble men fiddle with lutes and harps, their fingers gently plucking the strings, and their mouths open to sing. Their gestures may be lifelike, but their eyes remained the same: blank, non-blinking, and dead.

   Doors made from the finest cedar wood guarded the treasure room. Fierce, fanged hounds sculpted from limestone waited at the sides of the doors, deterring the unwelcome from trespassing. They did not stop me from entering the chamber. My eyes widened at the sight that I beheld: bars upon bars of gold, a million sparkling gems, wooden chests filled to the brim with gleaming jewelry, and a mound of ancient coins piled in the center of it all. The wealth of an ancient family. The jewels tempted me to become a thief, but I resisted. They should be kept at a museum instead, for the world to see.

   The exit had no door, which was odd for a house containing that much wealth. I proceeded down the main road and took a glimpse of the old town. A large well, which had dried up, laid at the corner of an intersection. Large buildings upheld by stone pillars and columns had caved in, their roofs no longer visible. Tree stumps occupied the places where tall trees used to stand. An open amphitheater was carved into the hillside, its empty stage and vacant seats now partly reduced to rubble. Debris the size of boulders spread around the town. Elsewhere, the smaller houses had been destroyed. Ash and charred bricks implied that the structures were engulfed in a fire. Bones laid still on the ground, waiting for a proper burial to put them to peaceful rest. Some of their arms pointed towards the large house I had just visited. Their hollow eye sockets glared at the home of the wealthy. Anger, envy, and ill feelings were imprinted on their skulls. I turned my back and continued my way.

   The town looked peaceful from the outskirts. Brick walls that lined the borders have fallen, revealing a skyline of jagged rocks and limestone blocks. The sun began to set. A sea of tangerine and bubblegum pink set a backdrop for the ruins. The image of a razing fire could be seen, dark shadows shrouding the land.