Architect of Fire

Dear Delyara, I used to think that burning bridges was a failure. I tried to keep every connection alive, even the ones that were poisoning me. I thought loyalty meant staying until you were consumed. Tonight, I realized that some bridges were built to be burned. I sat at this desk and I lit the match. I wrote a letter of release to the people who took more than they gave, and the habits that kept me small. I am watching the old structures of my life go up in smoke. It isn’t a tragedy; it’s a clearing. I am using the heat of that fire to forge a new version of myself—one made of iron and stardust. I am not a victim of my past; I am the architect of my future.