But when the flames finally died and the dawn revealed the devastation, a single house stood untouched. Margaret’s home—cozy, worn with age, and filled with family treasures—remained unscathed. It was as if an invisible shield had protected it from the blaze.
Neighbors, returning to survey the wreckage, gasped at the sight. The surrounding trees were charred black, the ground scorched barren, yet Margaret’s home was a beacon of hope amidst the ruin. The flowerbeds she tended every spring, though wilted from the heat, still held life. Inside, her kitchen table and family photos remained just as they were, as though the fire had never come close.
What made her house immune to the destruction? Some speculated divine intervention, while others pointed to a combination of luck and Margaret’s meticulous upkeep. She’d recently installed fire-resistant roofing and cleared the brush around her home—a decision she’d made simply to “tidy up” but one that may have saved her life.