Looking Through Flames
Dear Diary,
I haven’t written in some time. Today, I want to tell you about the day the sky turned red. It was the 17th, a week after my twelfth birthday. I woke up sweaty, my damp clothes sticking to my body and my throat scratchy. I squinted out the window, confused since everything looked crimson orangish, like I was wearing coloured tinted glasses.
Mom and dad were talking in the living room in hushed voices, both too distracted to notice I’d tiptoed downstairs.
When mom turned around, she looked at me as if she was scared, worried and maybe guilty at the same time. I’d never seen that expression on her before that day, but have several more times since then. Dad rubbed her shoulder in a way he always did to reassure or calm her, it didn’t seem to work. She asked me to grab my travel backpack and nudged me towards my room when I tried to ask what was going on.
Outside, I heard a loud mixture of people talking, Mr. Cletus’s dog barking, someone’s baby crying. A continuous siren mixed with and overpowered all the noises. I’d thought I could never hate a sound more than my alarm, but that high-pitched ringing was even more awful…
I have to stop writing, mom’s calling me to have dinner. We live with five other families for now. This place used to be a shop. I miss home, but dad says it will all be alright as soon as the fires are put out.
Write more soon, Emma
***
Daily Messenger
Monday, October 3 2037
Dailymessenger.com
Newspaper of the year
EAST COAT ENGULFED BY FLAMES
· Hundreds of acres burning, emergency state announced on Tuesday
· Orange Skies, fleeing families, halted rescue operations
· Thousands of residents evacuated. The worst fire season of record for the fifth year in a row
***
Oct 12, 2037
Week 2
More volunteers have arrived today to aid in the critical care unit for rescued animals, some of them high school students. Doctor Patel mentioned privately how completely inundated we were, so every pair of hands on deck helps.
We’re above capacity, safe transportation of the healthier animals has been strenuous due to a lack of personnel and closed-off roads…
I worry each time it gets difficult to breathe when I go out onto the balcony at home when yet another cloud of smoke emerges on the horizon. I only keep hoping we don’t hear the sirens again, it’s difficult to wrap my mind around safely moving everyone again.
At least I’m relieved my parents and sister have been evacuated safely. It’s difficult, especially for Emma, but under current circumstances… we have to try and make do.
On a lighter note, the latest resident of this fine establishment, along with a couple of lemurs and wombats, is a Barking owl the youngest volunteer group named Owlen Wilson.
***
Dear Diary,
Electricity came back for a few hours today. I looked through the photos of rescued animals Ava sent over. I can tell she only shows me the already mostly recovered and less injured ones, probably doesn’t want to upset me. But I’ve watched some videos whenever we had internet, people finding koalas and all kinds of rodents, trying to help them out. It was awful seeing some of them so scared and in pain.
I made a friend, Damien.
He knows some magic tricks and we like the same shows. Sometimes when everyone else in the house shelter is asleep, we sneak up onto the rooftop. We tell each other about our homes, school friends, family members that are far away and can’t get to us because of fires and road accidents.
He coughs a lot.
Sometimes we plan out an expedition. We talk about all the places we would go, the animals we would rescue along the way. Taking them all the way to Ava’s shelter. The supplies we’d bring back with us.
We know it’s silly… but mapping a journey out makes it just a little more believable that things will be different tomorrow.
Every day I cling to hope like it’s my favourite plushie after watching a scary movie. But lately, real life has been scarier than those.
Emma
***
To Be Continued…
