My heart is blazing. With all its thin-lined walls and leaking valves, I can feel it burning in my chest. It beats irregularly, pressing and straining. Squeezing and pushing. My lungs boil, and all of a sudden, air seems too rare, too valuable, just out my reach. There's always something just beyond my grasp. Pain shoots through me, affecting my toes, my pelvis, and my chest. It's odd that the thing that should be keeping me alive is currently killing me. On the other hand, it has attempted to murder me my entire life. This time, it might work. It will be successful. I press my cheek into the mud and swivel my head, my hair flying across my temples. Every color—red, gold, grey, black, black, black—is a blur. As dark as the periphery of my vision. like dark like the pins and needles on my skin. dark hair. dark eyes. In the distance, I hear someone calling my name, and for an instant, I see gold. Golden eyes. Golden eyes that change color from yellow to grey to black. My name is called once more, but it's not me. The sound of the fire engulfing my veins and destroying my brain is all I can hear. across my legs, arms, and fingers. extending outward akin to forest wildfires. Maybe I'm just a forest and the factors that shape my strength are beyond my control. Maybe I've never really had any power at all. Then I close my eyes and ignite.