dinsdag 25 november 2014

Burning crosses

Burning crosses

The night sky lit up as the fires below in the city started raging. The wood of the houses and shops had dried in the last weeks of summer, when temperatures had gone up higher than ever before, as long as people could remember. Now some unfortunate soul had tripped and knocked over a candle or torch and the city turned into a blaze.
Thick clouds heavy with rain moved high above the fires, reflecting the light and turning night into day. Slowly the fires made their way through the city, while its inhabitants fled for their lives or ran for water in an attempt to stop the flames from destroying their homes.

From the top of the church, it was clearly visible that the city did not stand a fighting chance against the raging inferno. Down in the streets in front of the church, there were carts being loaded up with the valubles from inside. A big wooden cross that had been hanging above the altar was now being dragged onto one of the carts.

The priest gave an ironic laugh when he saw the people struggling with their load. After the last fire some fifty years ago, the church had rebuilt the city in its own image. Altough very impractical to defend, the town had become a holy place. The shape was visible from the nearby hills and had become somewhat of a tourist attraction on its own.

The embers came in through the open doors. The sight of the fire through the doors was one that could only be described as the sight of hell: buildings burning, the heat that struck everyone that looked out, and the realisation of the fact that there were people in those flames. As the heat of the fires became unbeareble, the people that had stayed behind could only look at the glow from behind the doors and pray that the blaze outside would not destroy the church, and them with it.

The heat of the flames became to much for the doors and set them on fire. For those who had stayed behind, it was the moment of realization that the church was also lost. Some decided in this last minute that they wanted to survive and ran to the back door in an attempt to escape the blaze. The door opened, and through it came scorching heat.


From the top of the hills, those that had escaped the city could see the tragedy unfold. To some the thought occurred that their world was coming to an end with the burning of the city, and that god had lost his throne. Before them, the city build like a cross was fully ablaze with its church at its center. Now all the crosses in the city were burning.

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