Tag: denial

There is no fire
he said
They just want you to think there is so you will be afraid

But there is smoke coming out of the vents
I am afraid.
Shouldn’t we leave?

That’s not smoke
he said
It’s vapour from the air conditioning

But those people over there are dying from smoke inhalation
I am afraid.
We should leave.

They are not dying because of the smoke
he said
(wasn’t it vapour?)
They are dying because people die

But the door is hot to touch, and there is smoke coming from underneath it
I am afraid.
Can we leave?

The smoke is because the door is burning
he said
(wasn’t there no fire?)
But it’s just the door, not the room we are in

But there are people screaming in the next room that they are burning
I am afraid.
I’m leaving.

The fire is in the house around us
he said, blocking the windows
(wasn’t it just the door burning?)
This room is not on fire, so we are safe here

But I am getting very hot, and the air is getting hard to breathe
I am afraid.
I wish we had left

The fire in the room is your imagination
he coughed
(did my imagination make you cough?)
The w