#burning trees

[edwardos]

[pepperjunkie]

Wildfire..

[peaceinthestorm]

Reuven Rubin (1893-1974, Israeli) ~ Oliviers en flame, 1959-61

[Source: LotSearch]

[mleighsquickspot]

Burning Trees Lost Carvings

Trapped within

Silent calls for help

Why has this happened

Why won't they help us

Nature's guardians for centeries

Standing proud, tall, straight

Lush in colors, patterns, shape's

Defenders of the very force of life

Now, they lay waisted

Ash, soot, choking dust fly's into the air

So many ancient lives, gone, lost in a blink

It just keeps happening, enemies no longer only other forces; but made if man as well

They cry out in anguish, why do you hurt us; while all we do is love you...

@inkstay

Image: Google.com / beauty within the wood pics

Let me know what you think and pass the thought along.

[eventidegalaxies]

[spacedoutamazon]

Goodbye Christmas; Hello, New Year

[platypik]

If nothing else, fires make for very nice photos

[ghostkittysweets]

Burning Trees Pt.5

Final part!

Extra long entry

When Uncle Fred came, I was all packed and ready to go. I heard the sound of a messed up engine and muttered curses, and smirked, that’s Fred.

He drove up and honked,” You ready, bug?

“Yeah. I’m ready!” I replied. He nodded his head and then hopped out of his truck, grabbing my luggage before I could even think to say I didn’t need help. He had his wild brown curls sticking out of his baseball cap, a clear failed attempt at hiding the frizz. He looked like the thief from home alone, who insists on nicknames for the foolish pair with the word bandits in it. My mom and I remark on this every Christmas, but could never tell him this to his face, of course.

“How are you doing?”

“I’m doing great,I am painting the Jenkinson’s house and I almost got the whole place looking like the white house. They said they’ll give me 1,000 for it on Saturday!”

“Wow, ain’t their house like 2 stories?” I remember seeing how nice their house was, amazed they had a guest room and something called a dining room.

“Yeah but I’m only doing the exterior and the weather has been really nice to me. ‘Sides I can’t remember the last time I held 500 dollars let alone 1,000.” he replied, his shoulders shrugging as they often do.

“Me, either.” I quietly admitted.

“You okay, bug?”

“Yeah,I’ll be alrigh’ ”

“Good, good well we better get going, your mama can’t wait to see you! She been buggin’ me all week about getting you up to new york, bossing me around as if she’s the eldest.” he rolls his eyes. My mother was the middle child and the only girl, but she never let herself be walked upon or ignored, she knew what she wanted and how to get it.

I hop into the car and see cigarette butts ash and scatter across the car, it smells earthy and smoky mixed with unidentifiable food smells.

Sorry for the mess, haven’t found time to clean my car

You’re good, I understand. I say except, I don’t mean it. I don’t understand how anyone stands to let their personal space become chaos, when the outside world is already that way. I don’t see a point in telling him all that though, it’d be a waste of time and just hurt his feelings.

We drove past several farm fields and cheap dollar stores, it was boring but uneventful, the backroads he was taking were mostly empty. I really want to know about the pamphlet and I just need to find an appropriate way to bring it up. Maybe, if I take it out, he’ll just ask what I’m reading. So I got the pamphlet out and started pretending to read it, I already knew every word.

“Whatcha reading?”

“Oh, just a pamphlet I found in the house.”

“Really?” he seemed a little on edge, but I could tell he was trying to keep his tone neutral.

“Yeah, it’s called Camp Hearth.”

“How did you find that? Fredrick and I hid that years ago, what are you snooping around the house for?” Fred likes to call grandpa by his first name, grandpa hates it. Fred loves bothering him.

“Snooping? Who hides something in a first aid kit?” I fire back, crossing my arms.

“He put in the first aid kit? God, I should’ve known better than to let that idiot hide it.

What's so bad about that place anyway, it’s just a camp, right.

It ain't just a camp bug. It’s a lifestyle, one this family can’t afford and it just didn’t fit us, okay?

“Then why hide it? Why not just throw it away?”

“Don’t you think we tried Ember? Now shut up,please ,I’m gettin’ a headache.”

I shut up, it was quiet for a bit till he said, “I need a smoke.”, then he pulled into a rundown gas station.

“Fill up the tank,Ember. Imma light some cigarettes.”

I did as he said. But watched in awe as I saw him light the cigarettes with his index finger, it was small, controlled, and steady. Nothing like the fires grandpa and I ever made.

The gas stopped pumping and when I got it back to its spot, I asked “How are you doing that?

“Lots of practice and lots of burns ,bugs.”He threw down a cig and smothered it with his foot, and lightly scratched at the burn marks on his hand and arms. “Lots of burns.”

“ FREDDY! Oh, I haven’t seen you in years!

Freddy?

That can’t be…

“It’s me ,Daisy. We met at camp hearth,although you were only there for a week,couldn’t get past the third trial,could ya.”

“Oh yeah, remember when you puked on the camp counselor after we ran that 5k? Everyone called you Barf Face for days!” He started grinning and laughing teasingly.

Daisy frowned, clearly not liking this trip down memory lane, anymore. I stayed silent, desperate for answers but knew if interrupted, they might stop this informative banter.

“Well, now since I found ya, we counselors need help doing our community service, and was wondering if you could help out?” She looked at him all hopeful and friendly-like.

“No, thanks. I'm too busy, sorry.” He started tugging my arm and walking away.

“You’re not much of a reader, are you Freddy?” She is apparently done pretending to be friendly.

“What you gettin’ at?”

“The contract you signed all those years ago,it said every member of your family born with the gift will be indebted and in service of the camp, correct? I believe unlike in my family, the gift is present in every boy correct?” Her head turned directly towards me, eyes are like daggers stabbing me right in the forehead.

“He was born a girl.” he replied, he was just as lost as I was.

“Pyrokinesis is mind-based, it doesn’t care about the body. Maybe if you listened a little better, on the first day, you would’ve remembered that. Are you a boy, Ember?”

“Well yeah but …wait… how did you know my name?” She’s creeping out, I ain’t never seen this woman in my life, yet she’s talking to me like she knows me.

“Don’t talk to them, Ember.” spoke up my uncle, his voice becoming more stern.

“Oh, why not? Me and ember are gonna see a lot of each other! We should get comfortable with each other, right?” She grabbed and forced me into her arms, her hug was warm in the way a bad sunburn is warm, my uncle looked like he wanted to punch her in the face. I have never felt more uncomfortable or confused in my life. We were still several hours away from New York City and this truckstop was more trouble than I think either of us ever thought it’d be.

Mama is gonna have to wait a little longer, I’m afraid. I started trying to wriggle out of the lady’s arms, but she just squeezed me harder. Her arms gave me first degree burns.

“Ah, ah” she says cutsie, “the more you struggle the worse it gets!” If I just stood there though, she was clearly not gonna just let me go. So I decided on something crazy, and maybe even stupid, that would shock her. I unhinged my jaw and bit down hard into her skin, lightning bolts jumped out of my mouth and into her bloodstream ,she let go of me ,as she dropped to the ground.

“ Congratulations,you got through your first trial. Your second trial will start in 24 hours,a group of senior cabin mates will be coming to pick you up shortly. You will wait till they get here.” spoke a mysterious voice from one of the megaphones.

“Like hell ,we will.” Said my uncle ,grabbing my hand as he began to walk towards the car ,when the perfectly stable gas pump machine crushed the car.

I said ,”You will wait here!And if you think of running away, I’m killing one of you off,I only honestly need one of you. That said,I would rather not have to lose another person today,after all good skilled people are so hard to replace.”

My uncle didn’t seem to know what to say, like me, he seemed to believe in the voice’s power. We couldn’t think of a way to fight back or run away from the situation, so we stood. I tensed and grounded my feet more firmly onto the pavement, trying to prepare for this mysterious second trial, pissed that I was dealing with yet another hidden piece of family drama.

I fucking hate the unknown, it’s overrated.