Smoke Signals

She twirled the book of matches between her fingers, her prints painting the cardboard in dark smudges. Her eyes were confused, distant, and still tinged red. She wheezed when she exhaled and coughed every so often, but she seemed oblivious to these facts. Until the officer clapped in her face, finally drawing her attention.
"So are you going to tell me what happened?" With a pointed look at the matches, he asked, "Who started the fire?"
She finally met his gaze. :Some people just want to watch the world burn. And some of us are just trying to stay warm."