Lost Art of Mystery

The small car sputtered and hissed, then suddenly lurched forward before coming to a full stop. A cloud of black smoke and acrid fumes blew out from under the hood, encapsulating everything in sight. Flames began to emerge and without warning, the vehicle exploded in a massive fireball.

Just minutes before, the streamlined sports car had been humming along the freeway, its engine purring like a big cat. The beautiful summer day with clear blue skies gave no signals of the impending doom.

The photo above was taken the morning the LA fires became terrifyingly threatening, back in January. I took it from an apartment window to capture the intense sky. There is no retouching of this image.