Wildfires

The winds blew. The fires sang.

I can feel your pure essence

Can you feel mine

No need for words

I can feel your presence

Can you feel mine

As the flames neared, Clara knew, her life was ablaze, inside and out.

The fire in front of her face. Turning 180 degrees, the red-brick house stood perfectly imperfect. And the tiny barn stood hidden behind.

The raging red fire juxtaposed with the stillness of her home. Breathing in deeply, she comprehended her surroundings, while retaining an outward calm.

She felt threatened looking at the flames. Anxiety, fear, and old buried guck rose to the front of her throat. Threatened by the throes of nature, she wanted to hide, to feel safe. She froze as thoughts of hate and anger took over.

And she yelled, ‘You took my dad, my mom, and my uncle from me.’

Fear froze her toes into the grassland roots. Who could she blame as the fire’s sparks flew near?

Likely man-made, and fueled by nature, three conditions had to be met for this wildfire to burn: fuel, oxygen, and a heat source. The perfect fire triangle. Exceedingly warming temperatures, also known as global warming allowed for the fuels of under-bush, sticks and trees to ignite from the radiant heat.

The radio said she had two days. The hot sun burned above in the skies, accelerating the rate at which this wildfire spread. Three hundred active fires blazed across the province, with sixty new fires alone starting in just two days. The hot dry conditions added fuel to this current fire. She barely had two hours.

Clara's temperature rose, a fire emblazoned upon her soul. Her outrage towards humankind enlarged, and subsumed her. Eighty-five per cent of wildfires were caused by humans via campfires, malfunctioning equipment, cigarettes, intentional arson, etc. The long list burned a hole in her heart. Nature took hundreds, if not thousands of years to build this scenic ecosystem, only to have humankind create such devastation with frivolous whims. And loss of life.

I can feel your pure essence

Can you feel mine

No need for words

I can feel your presence

Can you feel mine

Clara ran towards the house. Within moments she bolted with a satchel towards to the unseen old run-down barn. Thoughts of the dear old barn from her childhood forced her to freeze in her tracks.

Stuck in a flashback. She recalled a large old run-down barn or was it two. Horses mulched across the lush grasslands. Her elder brother, Bo played beside her. Mom had placed two bottles of lemonade on the grass beside them. “Take care of Clara, Bo. We’re headed into town.”

“Who’s going to town, mom?” a ten-year old Clara asked?

Bending down beside her, she hugged her daughter. “Oh, I love your honesty and curiosity, Clara. It’s pop, Uncle Cameron, and myself. We’ll be back in a jiffy. Maybe go to the barn with Bo, and play hide and go seek.”

Bo bent down to grab Clara’s unwilling hand to lead her to the barn.

“Take me with you, mom.” Clara ran towards her mama. She had a nagging feeling; she didn’t want her mom to go.

“Clara, you’ll be fine. You’ve stayed with Bo a hundred times. And I’m always back in a jiffy.”

Sniffling, Clara nodded, and waved as tears fell down her rosy cheeks.

Bo knelt down beside Clara, hugged her, and whispered. “Baby sis, you know they always come back.”

Clara hugged Bo back, “I know. But I wanted mom to stay this time.”

“Come on, Clara. Let’s grab our lemonades, and chill in the barn.” As Clara grabbed her bottle, Bo held her other hand, and called out to their dog.

A dog barked in the present moment. Clara unfroze from that distant memory. Husky danced around her. She looked back; the fires crept closer.

“Come on, boy.” Human, and dog brusquely ran towards the old run-down barn. The tiny barn had a special compartment, a safe room of sorts located in the ground. As Clara unlatched the floor door, Husky ran down the ladder as Clara threw down a ball.

She felt alone in that moment. Bo’s voice rang in her ears.

Clara, mom, pop, and Uncle Cameron are gone now. It’s just you, and me, our baby husky dog.

Clara cried back then and cried again as she held her stomach after latching the safe room door.

Husky cuddled by Clara’s side, and barked. She took him in her arms and wept.

Bo’s voice rang in her ears.

Clara, I’m here for you. She screamed back at Bo, Where did they go?

Bo took her in his arms, unable to explain death. A young Clara felt lost, and loss over the years, a sense of detachment to the world, and sadness in her eyes.

The CB radio rang. As Clara answered, Bo’s voice rang through. Husky barked almost like he was saying hello.

“I’m okay Bo, where are you?” Husky barked, and Clara learned Bo was unable to fly back into town due to the fires. She had enough supplies for a month, but likely the fires would die out over the property in a matter of days.

She took out her journal and wrote. She knew she had to live life for the living and stop living in fear and loss. Her friends had gone off to college or got married straight out of high school. She existed, in pure thought living with the ghosts of her parents.

The CB radio dinged, and as Clara said hello, she heard the radio. The fires had subsided, and it was time to come out from hiding. Four days had passed, or was it five.

As Clara unlatched the ceiling door of the safe room, Husky barked. She patted her constant companion as fresh air replaced the stale air below.

She gasped. Husky cautiously sniffed the air. The barn was no more as both human and dog stepped into the remains of a charred old barn. The brick house stood worse for wear in the distance. She hugged Husky and leashed him so he did not wander onto hot cinders, strewn ashes, or tiny fires. She stood up with her backpack, closed the latch behind her, and began to walk on an ash laden path.

It was time. She looked around. Trees which had given her shade, the tree under which the picnic bench sat when mom left the lemonade bottles was burnt. A stump remained.

"Husky let’s go. We need to move beyond this, this pain of the past, the emotional scar tissue left. Nature has left us an obvious sign. The dance of destruction will help us resurrect a new life."

Dog and human walked amongst the burnt ashes. Bo had given her instructions, as Clara used her phone as a compass. It was time to forge a new road.

I can feel your pure essence

Can you feel mine

No need for words

I can feel your presence

Can you feel mine

It’s time to let go

And find a new path