Fire in the Sky
by
Kathryn Li Green
It flamed.
How can I be
expected to bring up a child in this society? I am not ready. I am filth. I
do not deserve a ray of hope. I cannot. Please, you are making a mistake!
Here’s the name and address of a better!! I am stupid. I cannot bring a child
into this wo…rld…
You don’t understand. I am useless, uneducated and uncouth. A child … such
wonder!
A child cries and
its echoes bounce off the walls, its screams blast into me nearly pushing me
backwards. I follow the wobbly cries and high pitched shrieks, faster I try to
run although the sounds of the child relentlessly push against me, almost making
me immobile. In my haste I stumble blindly into a brightly lit hall, but before
my eyes can adjust, something is thrust, squirming, into my arms and I am turned
around to face the corridor along which I have just come from. I feel my legs
start to move, I have no control over them!! They lead me out of the forgotten
mansion and as I glance back at the mansion positioned on the jutting cliff
above the roaring, pounding, demanding fire-sea, I see it crumble into the
eternal fire-sea. Flames erupt all along the mansion’s outer walls. I ran now
of my accord, heading for the mountain range, my body craned over the bundle in
my arms to protect it from the flames that the fire-sea threw up. Over the
bleak sharp black-sooted rocks I ran, not caring that my feet were being slowly
roasted and cut into by these rocks. I huddled over the bundle in my arms,
stumbling and tripping, trying to make my way to the cave. I barely made it.
I laid the bundle
gently aside and tore off my smoldering clothes, throwing them further into the
cave. At least they would serve a purpose of lighting up the rear of the cave
for me to see what other inhabitants this cave held, before they burned to
cinders. The cave was empty and deep enough to shelter me from the flames of
the fire-sea. I then directed my attention back to the bundle on the floor. As
I crept nearer, a cry sounded forth, and as I pushed the clothe away from the
child’s face I could see it was no child of fire, but one of a magical race,
ancient, nearly forgotten in its eons exile from this pla…net.
An ELF! Yes there were the characteristic wind-swept ears, but the silver mark
upon its forehead? This could only mean royalty, the star-shape of the mark
would have easily lost its significance upon another being, but I was schooled
and drilled upon such alien trivialities. The star was meant for magic,
true-magic! It was a symbol of power and great chaos…but what chaos depended on
how the star developed and matured with its sentient being…how could I
have missed it?! This child was not born of its own
race, its hair being the different variations of red! Common to all fire people
but an elf must have silver to pure white hair! DISASTOR! But could it have
happened on purpose? That ‘They’ did this, put an elf child in the womb of a
fire being? …….
Why ME?!
A resounding boom
buffets me into the back of the cave wall. I hear the crunch as my back bones
connect with the hard cave rock. The child is not affected as it is protected
by a small outcropping of rock. I crumple to the floor clutching my stomach and
chest. For several minutes I can do nothing more than gasp for air and spit it
back out, as it is leaden with sulphur. I painfully crawl into a sitting
position, clutching onto the rock wall for support. I sit back onto my legs
facing the cave mouth, when another sonic boom sends me hurtling into the back
cave wall a second time. The impact crushes my left shoulder into the wall,
making my arm immobile. I can see my shoulder bone jutting out of back before I
fall forward, crashing into the ground, too weak to even put an arm out to slow
the oncoming impact. My face hits the ground, jarring my chin. I weakly look
to the bundle, more concerned for its safety then the blood I can feel soaking
the ground beneath my left shoulder and the blood slowly trickling down my chin
out my open mouth. The child-elf slowly crawls its way towards me, when another
sonic boom blasts into the cave, I close my eyes against the debris flying in
and quickly open my eyes against the still howling winds to see a sort of shield
erected around the child-elf who is steadily making its way towards me. My
relief that the child-elf still lives is so great that I pass out.
Red blackness
all-encompassing me.
Can’t breath. Must-try to-gasp!-help….
I awaken to a
wet, fresh smell … wet! My eyes fly open and I sit up. I blink my eyes
to clear all the bits of soot still clinging to my eyelashes. When I can see
clearly, I cannot believe what is before me. Grass! But even more
extraordinary, there is a flower growing in the middle of it! The
child-elf plays happily on the grass. Precious grass! I have heard countless
descriptions about it, but to actually see the real thing! And a flower!!!
Of all things, a flower! Suddenly I am aware of a small delicate hand on
my arm and as I turn, my eyes are locked with the silver-blue eyes of the
child-elf looking at me beseechingly. I gather the child-elf in my arms and
realize that I can move my left arm. Upon inspection, there is not even a
scratch where it was torn out, but a slight silver residue remains upon my
sooted red-brown skin. I look in amazement at the child-elf who has curled
against my bosom. I think of the incredulity of this picture. A half-naked
fire-woman with a gently slumbering child from eons past curled in her arms…why
I am most fortunate!
I slowly arose
with the precious bundle still in my arms, taking note that the sky was a deep
pink meaning there would be no more flames descending anytime soon. I took a
last wistful glance back at the cave and that beautifully exquisite flower
in the center of the grass, colours so in contrast with the world it now
inhabited.
This is only the
beginning…nothing can stop evolution…