FIRE

I hunger. I watch. I wait.

The old man sleeps. He snores. He drools. He absently scratches his bony old chest as he dreams of times gone by – better times when he was young and strong.

I watch. I wait. Soon.

The old man’s dog sleeps on the floor beside the chair. His body twitches and his legs run as he relives past adventures of his puppyhood. His muzzle is gray and his joints stiff with age but in his dreams he is young and strong.

I watch. I wait. Soon.

The evening approaches steadily, the sun sinking to its rest behind the tree line and allowing the shadows to creep ever closer to the little wooden hut sheltering the old man and his equally aged companion.

I watch. I wait. Almost.

In the fireplace, the logs burn down to embers and ashes, crackling and sparking quietly as they reach the end of their usefulness. Pockets within the logs occasionally give off a shower of sparks as the trapped gases and sap deposits ignite.

I watch. I wait. Now.

The fire in the last log creeps ever closer until finally the tiny explosion bursts into brilliant life and I am free. Eagerly, greedily I reach for the edge of the rug under the old man’s feet. I catch only a tiny cotton strand at the edge of it, but it is enough. I am almost exhausted but I struggle desperately to survive and at last a tiny flicker of life appears, spreads, grows and I begin to feed. I steadily devour the loose threads of the rug, quietly creeping closer to the ragged old socks, but they move away as the old man wakes. He grumbles, stands, calls the dog and they go outside.

Now my greed overtakes me. A threadbare blanket hangs over the side of the chair. Where it meets the rug, I touch, I taste, I hunger, so I feast. I am fierce in my greedy progress and I quickly devour the blanket and the chair. More, I need more and I find it with the old wooden table, the flimsy curtains and finally the dry timbers of the hut itself. In my triumph, I roar with pride and dance, gleefully flinging my flowing red and gold robes into the night.

Now I am free – free to run wherever I find fuel to feed my insatiable hunger. I race across the short grass towards the trees where I find a feast of dead twigs and leaves in the neglected undergrowth. Greedily I devour all I can find. I send my tentacles and minions for more, more, more. The wind I create with my heat and passion speeds us quickly through the undergrowth, and then I leap upwards into the canopy and the oil-rich leaves of the eucalypts and pines. They groan and shriek with agony as they explode into flames to sate my hunger. I roar my defiance and triumph towards the sky as my greed overtakes me and I rush headlong through the trees, devouring all in my path. I pay no heed to the wildlife and leave many suffering and homeless in my wake.

I am invincible! I cannot be stopped! From my birth as a tiny spark, I have grown into an inferno - terrifying in my power. Trees, grasslands and houses are my food and my hunger grows. I fly along my path of destruction leaving blackened ruination behind me. My energy is boundless as I speed towards the distant fuel-laden mountains. Small waterways are no hindrance as I leap them with ease until - - - The River! I come to the edge but however hard and fast I fling my red and gold tentacles I cannot proceed.

I roar with fury. My hunger and greed are still unsated and I want more. I writhe in the agony of my frustration. How can this be? How can something so silent conquer me? I try to feed on it, but every taste ends in an agonising sizzle as it defeats my every effort.

I am becoming weak and my power is waning. Where is my fuel? I have devoured all there is to devour and I want more. Give me more! I hunger! I do not thirst!

I am dying of hunger. My power is gone. My beautiful red and gold colours are becoming nothing but dirty gray smoke and ashes that flutter in the breeze I create to help my progress. Finally even the breath of my softest breeze is gone and I die.

Even as I die though, things are changing. In the blackened pathway I left behind me, seeds will be bursting into life - seeds that needed my power and energy to give them life. Soon there will be fuel again.

I just need to watch. I just need to wait. Next time.