This morning, here in Pompey

This morning, here in Pompey

I awoke this morning to the creepiest of mornings. The time (adjusted for daylight savings) was 8:30 am, and my room was still dark. A sudden fear gripped me that perhaps my beach plans would be spoiled by rain. I stepped out on the front porch,which faces east, to investigate and saw a really beautiful sunset.

I watched in confusion for a few moments as the sun set in reverse- climbing the sky from east to west. I also noticed that the front-porch, which always kind of dirty, was this morning truly filthy, covered in about a 2 centimetres of dusty dirt. Extending my observation to the street revealed that the entire street looked filthy, and all the cars looked filthy too, and all the plants, mailboxes, roofs, and windows were filthy. Even the litter piled up in the gutter looked dirty.

My brother stumbled out of his room at this time and I told him to come out on the porch and take a look. He said "a fire, a really big fire." I had been thinking "alien invasion, finally an alien invasion." I got online to check the news and read about the humongous wildfires that have erupted around Los Angeles.

So now, an hour later the sky is still dark, and the light is still orange. The sun is a perfect red orb: lidless like the eye of sauron