The fog wove in and out of the trees, making the dark of night seem even darker. The light from my high beams disappeared into the void, swallowed whole by the night. I’d driven this road every night for as long as I could remember, yet tonight it felt new. Strange. Ominous.

I heard it as I rounded the curve, a kettle’s high, whining song, only much, much louder. Home was just within view, and just out of reach. And then, engulfed by a blinding fireball, it was gone.

I sat for a moment, watching the blaze. And then I backed up, turned around, drove into the night till the flames were no more than a memory. The fog wrapped itself around my car as I drove, and I let it envelop me like a warm blanket.

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