PROLOGUE
We all have defining moments. Some of them we realize in the instant and others we don’t understand until years later.
For some, it’s graduation, the birth of a child, the start of a new job. For me, it wasn’t a joyful occasion.
My eyes scanned the horizon as I stood watching in a combination of wonder and dread. I couldn’t decide if I was truly awake yet or not.
Was the sky on fire or was it just the dawn?
How could such a perfect night be followed by such a terrible morning?
As the charcoal plume billowed into the orange expanse, I realized that everything I worked for over the last two years had literally gone up in smoke.
