{"product_id":"nan-paperback","title":"NaN - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJ. R. Kruze\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe vision was always started the same: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA strong, certain woman walking toward me through the falling, blown snow.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDefinite, measured steps brought that mystery woman closer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA pace I was familiar with, somehow.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd yet vulnerable.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer sleeveless dress and soft flat shoes would be soaked by these moist white flakes by the time she reached me. Within minutes after, she'd be shivering in the gusts that blew her long hair about her shoulders, and make the long hem of her dress flap like a battle pennant.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJust as her walk was that of a conqueror.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer play was not a calculated risk or a chess stratagem.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe knew my responses. My gallantry will make me take off my heavy overcoat and wrap it close around her. And she will then fold into my arms as I direct us toward the nearest warm doorway.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eShe knew, I knew - not a number any longer.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExcerpt: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI shouldn't have been surprised to see the wreckage of that explosion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut I was. We were. The man who in a short time had become my friend and protector - and me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe seemed to hide any reaction to it - or honestly didn't have any.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll of my professional life and career was in those ruins.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe were there to reconnoiter, to weigh and evaluate the occurrence, to re-experience the devastation first hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe wreckage seemed absolute.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf I found anything that survived that firestorm to take with me, it would have to fit into my hands or pockets.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe many books, anything combustible - those were gone. Anything plastic or fusible - they were melted or also gone to ash.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe blast-temperature was high enough that little was left. Even the floor was somewhat buckled from the blast heat warping the steel beams beneath it, plus the weight of the pooled water the fire department used to extinguish it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe brisk fall winds had now evaporated or blown most all of the water and ash out that wide open hole in the side of that building.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy friend and rescuer was here for his own reasons. And I came along, like I did everywhere now. Because his immediate future was also mine, like it or not.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe only stood there now, turning and peering into what we could see. Statuesque, but not a statue.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs I stepped carefully among the husks of furniture and fallen remnants of building materials, my polished street shoes were becoming the color of that muddy ash.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor it was raining again, and the wind blew that rain back through the open gap where floor-to-ceiling windows once stood to keep all weather out on that corner office.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOf course, I was past crying about almost anything left of my former life now. The wetness on my cheek had to be rain or blown mist. Had to be.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy foot kicked something that tinkled, so I stopped.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe dim light showed some glint in all that sooty ash. We carried no flashlights, nothing to give anyone a clue that we were there. Streetlights and the surrounding buildings gave us any light to see by.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA break in the clouds brought the full moon's light across our scene.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt my muddy toe was a small globe that used to sit in it's little clear Plexiglas perch on my desktop.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI bent, picked it up and wondered if what it held inside was still intact.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShaking it, I heard the rattle. Just maybe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI started to twist and unscrew its two halves, my hands slipping without getting a grip.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut then he took my arm...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 68\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.16 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 05, 2020\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47249945854201,"sku":"9781393383918","price":17.26,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/NjJkUEpBa1VNdnpsNitJSTFycStkdz09.webp?v=1768653211","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/nan-paperback","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}