(no subject)

[kievala.livejournal.com]

For the last few weeks the question had come to her over and over again. Was it London that had become so alien in the past ten years? Or had she changed so much that the city she had once loved, had grown up in during her student days, simply stood beyond the way things should be? All minds were one mind yet this struck her with such discord. Still there was plenty of time to meditate on the matter and reach reasoned conclusion.

“...Japan Airlines flight 420 to Tokyo Narita International Airport is now...”

The rest of the announcement went by largely unnoticed as she gathered up her belongings in preparation to move towards the gate. As she reached to pack away the book a distant booming touched her hearing. It may have been nothing, likely was nothing to appear on her radar, but none the less a sense of... wrong. That was when the phone went off.

Operating on pure instinct she answered in Japanese so it was a mild surprise for the reply to match.

“You have not yet left London. This is good. Your time there will need to be extended and it is unclear when that may change. It would appear... Tokyo is burning.”

Her mind went numb with shock. Then the television in the lounge changed to a breaking news broadcast... the whole world. The world is burning. Millions of voices crying out in pain, suffering, death.

She cried with them.