Images by The Author and Rick Bella from Pixabay

From the Ashes

New shoots spring from the ruins of Pompeii

Stella steps out of the hotel and Italy smacks her in the face. She squints in the piercing clear sunlight and feels its heat on her as if she has opened an oven door. She can smell it too, that hot dusty smell that you only get when the air is really dry, mingling with the petrol smell of the traffic fumes and the enticing sweet odour of cooking street food.