Jacob Pixler

A Parable of the Red Caves

An orange hue darkened his empty living room. Pull chains ticked on a wobbling ceiling fan above his head as it swirled a light smokey scent in the air. Summers used to be fun, Trent thought to himself. Contemplative, he stared through the large window past the pressed squares and circles on the carpet where his furniture once sat. The dark air outside colored the apartment complex across the deserted street, and the haze brought a sad silence to the city during the fire season. Trent remembered a time as a kid when he used to play outside in the summer. People would go out with their dogs and walk around town or go for hikes. Over the years, the fire season kept getting longer until people found themselves waiting for fall and winter to bring an end to the suffocating smoke. Waiting for the weather to smother the firestorm and smoldering trees in the forests surrounding the city.