It started merely as a passing thought- “burn it.” But it nestled in the back of their mind- it grew, as these things do. It evolved into a full-fledged idea. And now, it thundered through their head “burn it down.” They tried to reason it out: “After all, how can you hope to move on unless you’ve closed the door to the past?” They stood there, overtop all the work they had done, all the money they had spent, all the time they had invested. Years of above-average effort. Years of long nights. Years of tears. Years of shattered dreams. Years of life. In that moment, they knew that thought in their head to be true; there was no way to move on, no way to turn the page, close the chapter, start the new book, without cutting these ties to the past. They also knew some people would think them drastic, others insane, and still others- it a publicity stunt or a scream for attention. But none of that mattered. It was all of those and none of those. It was their work. It was their life. They wondered what their problem was, this inclination to burn. They pondered what the solution might be, drifting into a zen state realizing there was no solution, because in fact there was no problem. There were only things we perceive under the construct of problems. Their mind snapped back in that moment but it was too late. Their hands had not been so meditative and had already ruined everything. Everything was doused in lighter fluid. “No saving it now,” they thought. The match was struck and it flickered in the wind, cautioning how easily it might be extinguished- as all things might be. With a long exhale, they watched the match fall from their hand and set ablaze years of their life.