I was on the top of Grandfather Mountain, with my legs dangling over the drop, when it happened.

There the city was in the distance, a twinkling electric skyline that was so far away you could mistake it for a string of Christmas lights. The sky above me was full of more sparkling luminance. Starlight had traveled across the vacuum of space for thousands of years so I could have something pretty to look at in the dark.

There was a bright flash, followed by a rapid succession of more, and then rumbling concussive thumps as the night turned to day for a few brief moments. A hot wind blew in my face as the rumbling stopped.

All the twinkling Christmas lights on the far horizon had went out. Only the stars shined now, as they always had. The place where the city should have been was a slash of orange flame spreading across the world.

My watch stopped, but I could read the dial in the glow. I noted the time, wanting to remember the first minute of freedom in my life, and tossed the watch over the side.