---

Emergency call - A reason to suspect attic

Flashing blue light - Sirens scream

The salamander coughs to life

We are marching out to burn

To burn the unlawful books

We arrive at an old house

An aged woman opens the door

Not trying to escape

Standing still

My colleagues rush past her

The mechanical hound in front

But the woman doesn't seem

to fear our procedure

I don't know what to do

Like a pillar of salt

Unable to move

For a few seconds

I follow the other firemen upstairs into the library

Entirely overwhelmed

By the attitude of the woman

And her powerful eloquence

She appears to see so much in these books

So much emotion

So many feelings

So many memories...

A fountain of thrown books

Sloshes out of the door

And an open one falls into my hands

I read just a line, but it blazes in my mind

Meaningful gestures

Literary excerpts

Spoiler of our ritual

Bibliophile

Uninterested behavior

House into pyre

Show must go on

Dissemination of kerosene

Like controlled

By an invisible hand

I snatch some books

Put them under my garment

There's nobody holding me back

Something inside of me wants to know

More about these books

The emotions they hold

The procedure starts now...

10... 9... 8... 7...

The woman wants to stay

6... The counting stops

The woman shows a slender object

A kitchen match

We escape the inevitable

The stench surrounds her

The stench of burning thoughts