Excellent opening paragraph. However, look at the lines where you used the word “was” and “would” and “had” and think about you could revise them to eliminate passive voice. Grammatically you are excellent here, but I think you could make a few adjustments that could turn silver into gold. For example: “It was with good reason that I tossed them into the trash.” could just simply be “I tossed them into the trash.” It’s more direct, more potent. Food for thought.

I like using photography to illustrate the challenge. Cool.

Clever. And very bitter. I like =]
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Ah, quite lovely. And as I read along I didn’t even realize it was for the challenge so you set it up really nicely without being ridiculously obvious or anything.

Ah, quite lovely. And as I read along I didn’t even realize it was for the challenge so you set it up really nicely without being ridiculously obvious or anything.

A little angsty for my taste, and the interpretation a tad direct/obvious. I do like the idea of the controlled inferno that the POA unleashes in the last sentence, the power she exerts in exchange for the one she lost.