Victoria's eyes were filled with despair and grief. The light in them slowly faded, overtaken by the finality of death.
"Mommy, no! Mommy, wake up! You promised to take me to the beach for my eighth birthday... Mom… Mom, what's wrong? Somebody help! Take her to the hospital, my mom is sick, she's sick!"
Seven-year-old Eric couldn't comprehend that Victoria had jumped to her death. In his mind, she was just ill—her fall, the blood, all of it must have been caused by her being unwell.
By the time the paramedics arrived, Victoria had no pulse. Eric collapsed in place, too devastated even to cry.
A fierce wind swept through, and suddenly, everything disappeared—the paramedics, his mother—and then there was fire, a blaze that consumed everything.
"Ella… Ella! Where are you? Where are you?"
