Solace

Lungs burning.
Ash falling.
Smoke rising, tendrils reaching up toward a canopy of stars.

The world teetered on the edge. Uncertainty clung to the air, filling his body with every puff he took.

Even now though the dark was still. Comforting. The croaking frogs and swaying branches an old friend here to soothe his worries.

Many things change, but the calm of night will always remain.