Refined

        

   I once heard the interesting fact of the Great Trees of California. The pine-cones of such a tree must first be set on fire.

 After an intentional scorching, seeds are released and the ones that are not harmed are free to begin in joining their relatives in the sky.

   The distant streaks of light I saw the night before ended up being closer to me than I thought.  The light spread across the mountain. The glowing menace threatened my life as I knew it to be. In searching for “necessary” items to rescue, I found my true treasures. These treasures could not be physically incinerated by fire.  They were revealed, like the great seeds, in the midst of the blaze.