June 10, 2022
The night their house goes up in flames, April stumbles out the front door with her baby in one arm and a book in the other. Otto points his little finger over her shoulder at the house, yelling unintelligible warnings.
Leo is still inside, grabbing Sadie from her bed.
A fist of dark smoke punches through a window and races out into the sky. At the sound of glass exploding, April glances back. The fire is coming from the kitchen.
Her legs carry her away from their home of almost a decade, her lungs eagerly drawing in air. She blows on Otto’s red face as she runs—the heat came fast. Sixty yards down their driveway, she turns around mumbling, “Why aren’t they out yet?” Coughing, she can’t do anything but watch flames pour from the kitchen window. She doesn’t realize it, but she is repeating Sadie’s name.
