"Four Days Before the Fire" by Rachel Turney

Notre Dame caught fire in 2019. Someone was smoking in the church, that’s one theory. My favorite one of course. Fuck, I have had a long day - lights a cigarette. Oops I destroyed the flèche. I sprinkled toxic dust across Paris, but I really needed that little hit of nicotine. 

I visited the cathedral in the early fall of 2021. I didn’t notice any difference since my last visit in 2016. The church looked the same to me. I took some pictures and sent them to my Francophile friends. 

“Looks fine to me.” 

“Rachel! The entire spire is missing!” 

I looked on the internet at some before-and-after photographs. Ah, yes there used to be a tall spire on the south side of the church and it was indeed missing. I hadn’t even noticed. It was in reviewing these before-and-after photos that I found an interesting bit of information. Four days prior to the fire, the statues – titled The Twelve Apostles and Four Evangelists – were removed from the spire’s base for conservation. I found that odd and intriguing. I might need to smoke a cigarette and think about that. 

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