a childhood walk

How beautiful and poignant. When I did it myself, I got stuck at the empty lot next to my parents' house. I couldn't seem to move from that place.

I still remember the fire. The windows popping and shattering and their family standing terrified in front of the house on the street. The fire engines showing up. The smoke. Everyone from the neighborhood gathering around them weeping. My dad spraying the side of our house with hose for fear that it would catch.

The neighborhood turned judgmental weeks later when they found out that the owners had no insurance and that the fire had started with someone smoking a cigarette in a bed. Suddenly no one was saying, "thank god no one was hurt" any more.

I was very excited to try the idea but the very first thing I discovered is that the big willow tree in the back yard is gone. Now I shall curl into the fetal position and cry.