("Gallows" by Jesse Bercowetz)

woman

It was like a wasteland inside me.

Trying to define the distance.

One for when we were apart.

Something else together.

But either way

…Destruction.

bonfire

You say that but you don’t mean it.

woman

I thought I’d never see you again.

I thought you’d come back in pieces.

I couldn’t figure out who sent you away:

Me? Or Them? Or the Fire…

And how much waiting

Was meant to equal

…love.

bonfire

When all the rage burns away

—if you listen real close—

You can hear the wind whistle through.

Here…listen…

He whistles the tune to “Blame it on the Rain” by Milli Vanilli.

woman

I’m walking down an endless flight of stairs.

Each landing is another layer of guilt.

Each step another chance to live.

The city erupts outside.

The stairs go on forever.

World ending in fire.

My heart on ice.

His whistling turns to the sound of a siren. The snowy ash whips into a fury. The sound of a huge structure collapsing in on itself.