Police lights wash red and blue across the house.
Neighbors whisper.
A NOSY NEIGHBOR, 50 year old Katerina Manchester, watches with binoculars from behind curtains.
Onya sits wrapped in a blanket, rocking slightly.
A COP kneels in front of her.
Gentle.
Officer Burbank:
“Sweetheart, do you know what happened to your mom?”
Onya looks past him.
Toward the dark space beside the house.
Where the light doesn’t quite reach.
She speaks plainly. No fear.
ONYA:
“The smoke ate her.”
The adults exchange looks.
Uncomfortable.
Dismissive.
They don’t write it down.
---
[CAMERA HOLDS ON ONYA]
Her eyes are dry.
Clear.
Unchanged.
Police lights wash red and blue across the house.
Neighbors whisper.
A NOSY NEIGHBOR, 50 year old Katerina Manchester, watches with binoculars from behind curtains.
Onya sits wrapped in a blanket, rocking slightly.
A COP kneels in front of her.
Gentle.
Officer Burbank:
“Sweetheart, do you know what happened to your mom?”
Onya looks past him.
Toward the dark space beside the house.
Where the light doesn’t quite reach.
She speaks plainly. No fear.
“The smoke ate her.”
The adults exchange looks.
Uncomfortable.
Dismissive.
They don’t write it down.
[CAMERA HOLDS ON ONYA]
Her eyes are dry.
Clear.
Unchanged.