Aug 19, 2021 From The Ashes

It was gone. All of it – gone. The fire left nothing but memories and rubble

Dee’s stomach sank into the pit of her toes as she stood looking down upon what was left of her home. Her entire life was in wisps of ashes and dust. There were tiny pieces lying in the charred remains of what once was a beautiful log home overlooking Okanagan lake. The valley below was filled with smoke. Her soul was overwhelmed with emptiness. A pain that chewed upon her heart. Her shattered tattered heart.

When he left her last fall, she felt lost. Why did her love, her soul mate, and best friend have to go so early in his life? So early from hers? Last fall she lost her husband to diabetes. Now the house and everything that was left of it was gone. Her Mother was devastated. All her life was gone. Her step-dad was a mess as well. He was so angry, it was the second home he lost to fire. 

The terrifying fire took more than their home. It took a piece of them as well. 

Dee was numb to it all. It was too raw to touch. She would have to rebuild. She had no choice.

But for her parents, it was even harder. Their world burnt down behind them. They only had moments from when the evacuation order came to when they had to flee their home. As the fire roared over the mountains they grabbed what they could and ran for their lives. The fire moved down the mountain without mercy, without any malignant intentions. It consumed everything in its path. 

When the warning came, she didn’t have time to think. All she had was time to move. By instinct, she grabbed her husband and ran. In the end, he probably would have been happy to stay in the home and become one with all the ashes, he would have loved the irony. 

Dee thought about the last month. She was finally getting back to her old self. She just got back from their place in Florida and was getting ready to return to work. She had laid out all her clothes for the first week and her lesson plans were organized. She looked forward to seeing the kids again, to returning to the classroom, and moving forward.

Then came the fire.

Dee would have to start all over. The life she knew was ashes on the ground and smoke in the sky. She was strong enough to rebuild, she had the support of her friends. Her daughter and son-in-law were pillars in a storm and she would survive.

It was her mom that worried her. Her mom had been losing herself slowly for the last few years. Age and ill-health were wearing on the once strong woman. Now their home was gone in an evening of sudden flames that they never saw coming. At her age, it would be a mountainous task to rebuild. To make things worse her step-dad was in so much pain and sorrow that he was lost in himself not seeing that she needed him so much more.  

There was no lightning storm, there was no reason. Did the person who started the blaze even know the consequences of their actions? Did they even care?

In a small way, she hoped it was an idiot with a carelessly tossed cigarette. The alternative was much worse. Either way, the results were the same. 

It was all gone.

And the person responsible is probably oblivious to it all. 

Dee would begin again. Her life was cleansed and purged by the fire that came down the mountain. It was a day she will never forget, a day she does not want to remember. 

She turned away from the ashes of what once was her beautiful home. Tears streamed down her face and a hollow ache throbbed inside. 

It was a new beginning. One she would face with the help of those who love her. Keith would be there by her side. She felt that she knew that he would not want her to give up. He would want her to carry on. She would remember his smile and hold on to start over with his spirit by her side.