Fire Always Burns

chapter 18

The flames were long since gone. The trees lay scarred and bare, their branches burned and blackened. The world was made of ash. Yet hope remained. A thin green tendril of life, forged in the heat of flame emerged from a tiny seed. Another followed quickly. Life sprung from the fertile ground, ready to start the cycle anew. The circle of fire and life continued.

I stood staring at the ruined remnants of West Hardware. The fire was finally contained and we were allowed to return to the ashes to start rebuilding. My dad was a few feet away talking with Audrey and Ray. I could hear them laughing about something, their voices melting together in the warm summer wind.

Audrey's hand rested comfortably on Ray's forearm, a diamond ring glinting in the sun. The wedding had been four days after the fire started in an intimate ceremony at the local chapel. The town had celebrated their wedding, throwing a party in the hotel where most of the evacuees were staying. Everyone said it was the best party in the history of the town as everyone celebrated instead of worrying over something we had no control over.

The next day, the tentative line that the firefighters had held for the past three days broke, and the fire traveled towards the town itself. Ray said he had to get away, that he couldn't watch as the life he had built over the past twenty years turned to ash and dust. Audrey had insisted that she had to stay and help at the clinic, but then came the emergency evacuation order for the clinic itself.

They had left for their honeymoon immediately, leaving the fire to rage and destroy the past while they built a new future. I watched them now as they smiled and laughed with my father, never straying from one another. The two of the radiated happiness, a joy in one another that I couldn't help but smile at. They had finally found where they belonged.

In their absence, however, the fire had consumed everything.

When the line broke, the rest of the forest caught like a match, lighting the town. The western half of town was nothing but ash after the fire raged for over three weeks. Hundreds of firefighters from multiple states had worked tirelessly to stop the flames, but in the end it was the second largest fire in the recorded history of the state. The smoke could be seen for over a hundred miles in either direction as about 150,000 acres, 120 homes, 17 businesses, and millions of memories burned. My home was nothing but cinders. Andrew and Luke's homes were nothing but ash. West Hardware and the Conifer Grocery were both just land with charred wood standing at odd angles.

It wasn't all bad though. The fires of today lead to the forests of tomorrow. The heat of the fire burst open pine cones filled with seeds. Millions of tiny seeds poured onto the cleared forest floor and within a month, tiny green sprouts began to appear through the blackened soil. Fire cleared the old and dying trees, giving way to the new seedlings to grow and make something new. New life abounded.

Through the fallen beams I could see Andrew, Tyler, and Luke poking the devastated lumber piles like they were hunting for buried treasure. Andrew looked up and smiled at me before Luke called to him, pointing at the ground.

I was excited for Luke. When Ray heard his beloved hardware store had burned, he had a long conversation with Luke. He laid out his plans as investor for the new hardware store, and told Luke that the insurance money was his to build a new store with. Luke already had plans drawn up for rebuilding the store bigger and better, and Ray was happy to let him do it.

"I put my life into that store. My marriage, my kids, my dreams. And all I have to show for it now is some burned lumber. You have dreams for this place that I don't have anymore," Ray had said when Luke showed him the new plans. "The store is in good hands." The grin still hadn't left Luke's face.

Tyler shouted he had found something and Luke and Andrew waded over to see. Andrew pulled something shiny from the ground, and congratulated Tyler. The younger man glowed with pride as Luke patted him on the shoulder. I smiled, glad Tyler was here to stay.

Barbara had flown out to survey the damage to her half of the house while Ray and Audrey were on their honeymoon. Luke had finally gotten his mother to listen, telling her that Tyler was happy in Conifer and that him would not be the best thing for him. Luke convinced her that Tyler would have a stronger home life with Audrey and Ray than being with a single parent in a strange city. It had taken almost the entire trip, but she had finally agreed to let him stay in Colorado. Tyler had bounced around the hotel room like a caffeinated squirrel when she told him he didn't have to move. They were still working out the details with the lawyers, but it appeared that things were going to work out.

"Holly! Come here, we found something," Andrew shouted, waving me over. I picked my way through the debris, careful of the cast on my ankle, to where the three men stood.

Ray had asked Luke what he wanted to name the new store. A new beginning, a new name, he had said. Luke had said he'd think of something. As Luke brushed off the heavy metal sign that had hung over the checkout desk for as long as I could remember, I knew the name was going to remain unchanged. WEST HARDWARE: A FAMILY BUSINESS. The metal was relatively undamaged.

"It's going to hang in the new store too! I found it!" Tyler told me excitedly.

"You're going to take my old job, right?" Andrew said nudging Tyler. Tyler nodded and began hunting for more buried treasures. Andrew's hand slid into mine as we watched Tyler and Luke poke through the rubble.

"You think you can leave all this behind?" he asked softly as he brushed some ash out of my hair. "I mean, the ash look really does become you."

"I am excited to try this school thing again. The education part especially. From what I hear, Fort Collins is a nice town. Besides, someone has to show the poor little freshman how college works," I teased. He bumped me gently with his hip.

"Hey, you'll be just as much a newbie as me there!"

"Yeah, but I am technically a sophomore, so I know more," I said, bumping him back. He laughed and we walked towards where the edge of the building used to stand. A small green tendril peeked out from under a seared wood piece. I bent down and moved it carefully, letting the small green plant reach for the sun.

Andrew turned to me. "I have a feeling we both have a lot to teach each other."

I laughed. I knew that things were far from perfect, but that everything was heading in the right direction. Andrew and I would be together forever, and the town would recover. Audrey and Ray had been broken, but they had found the strength they needed to fix themselves. The town was broken, but it would be fixed. I was broken, but I would be fixed, with the help of the love of my life. They say that fire always burns, but as the flames sweep away the detritus of the past, new beginnings can spring from the ashes. I smiled. I could feel the seeds of new memories germinating, reaching for the sun.