Reflections.

So this was my English exam story for this term, I got an A- so I thought I might share it with you.

The burning flames around Mildred flickered before the breath of the frost blew them into a memory, leaving her in the darkness. The only light was now the stars above her, shining brightly as if she wasn't looking down on the remains of the desolate and deserted town. Even as the air brushed against her skin, she could hardly feel it, her mind ignoring everything around her that evoked emotion or even made her feel like she was still living, like she had survived the bomb. The moments flashed by, the news of Montag being a fugitive and a murderer. The centre of the city disappearing in a cloud of black smoke, the screams filling the air before being cut short never to be heard again... but Mildred was still here, and still empty. The drumming of her own heart pounded against her chest, the white cloud in front of her, swirling in magical spirals as she breathed into the crisp, cool air surrounding her.

The fleece draping around and off her shoulders, was the only thing keeping her body warm, even if her mind was too numb to feel it. The colour of her cheeks begun to fade, and absorbed the colour of the ice around her, as her lips mimicked the darkened sky. Her eyes glazed over as her mind forced her to remember the scramble for order in the chaos. After the bomb fell upon the earth, those who has survived had been filled with terror, even as the time passed, the scars of that day remained ever so deep.

The moment Montag had picked up a book instead of burning it, seemed to derail a train of order, letting the train of destruction take track. Causing the terror and destruction that had rained upon the town, Mildred expected to feel regret, sorrow, fear, anger even ... but none of this came, only a void. Even before the destruction. When Montag was killed ... it was as if she never knew the place that had been lost. Even her friends appeared to have been a gust of wind.

As she realised that her friends, home and family seemed like nothing to her, she waited, to feel guilt grip upon her, like a tick, sucking out what little happiness she had left. But still ... She felt nothing. It didn't seem right to her, that after all that had happened, after all that had passed, she could not shed a tear could not feel anything. 

She yearned for all these emotions she thought she would feel, to come crashing down upon her, like a tidal wave crashes to the shore. Better to drown beneath the waves, then die from the thirst. Yet, even years later, after the shriek of the jets shook the earth, taking most with it, leaving nothing accustomed to her left ... she felt nothing

A slight flicker of light at the bottom of the mountain she sat upon, caught her attention. Over time, people had begun to rebuild the town, those who had survived were mainly on the outskirts of the town. Even though they were alive, most had lost someone, it didn't seem right to Mildred, that while those around her were mourning for those they had lost, she couldn't even feel disappointed from their absence, she hardly noticed it. This light was a reminder of that.

The sky above her begun throw down the delicate pieces of ice, as the cold begun to tingle at her senses, she threw of the blanket draped upon her shoulders, diminishing the heat it held, relishing the sensation upon her skin and mind. The coldness countered the nothingness ... and she let it consume her, as she had lived ... for nothing.