THE SECRET OF THE FIRE

It was a bitterly cold December night and our few of us were out camping the mountains. It was an expedition to the summit of the Himalayas. The whole experience of camping out in the mountains sounded great as I had packed up and left home without thinking. But the whole experience of experiencing it for real was completely different. Half of people were drinking and celebrating. Some were out chatting and some of us were sitting by a campfire. The only salvation for the moment one could get was the warmth from the fire.

As I sat there trying to get some warmth from the fire, I heard some loud laughs from behind me. I turned around to see her. She seemed very happy, especially with him. I looked at them. They looked happy together. Here I was tearing my heart apart, there they were seemingly content with their existence of so called ‘love’ for each other.

I turned away from them. I couldn’t stand another sight. I looked into the darkness, as that seemed more meaningful to me as my heart and mind were in darkness too. But from within a moment from me staring into the darkness something else caught my attention and brought me back to reality.

The fire. The fire looked straight into me. Very restless as it seemed to me, its mind filled with poison as I could feel. Flickering and dancing to its own tunes, trying to build plots of destruction and chaos. Within moments I was lost in its gaze. I was hypnotized in its yellow, orange and RED.

I felt as though the fire wanted to tell me something. A dark secret that it had kept away from the realms of nature.
I went closer to listen to what it had to say. My eyes narrowed as it revealed the darkest secret to me.
I thought for a moment and then looked at them. A very wicked smile crept up my lips. I knew exactly what I had to do. I stood up and walked towards them. Wickedly smiling as I did.

I walked past and saw that they were all standing right next to a cliff. I stared into the darkness and depth for a while, still smiling.
I had finally found courage to tell her what I felt for her.

I called out to her. She looked around and was puzzled to hear me calling out to her. It had been almost 6 months that I uttered a word to her even though we were classmates. Now was the time, now was the moment.
She came walking towards me, as he stood there staring at me. I didn’t bother to look at him. My eyes were fixed on her like a hawk. She came and stood next to me. I turned around behind her, to see her face dimly lit from the light from the campfire.

‘What is it?’ she asked.
I arranged my sentences in my mind and spoke.
‘I… I just simply wanted you to know that, if there is anyone in the world I would give my life for, its you!’
I paused.
The sound of celebrations and dancing from the campfire could be heard from a distance. I noticed.
‘And if there’s anyone in the world that I would take a life for, it’s you. And it is you!’
‘I’m sorry. Please forgive me. We’ll be together in paradise… forever!’

And the sound of celebrations roared into the night sky.
The sky and the wind took notice of what had happened. The fire witnessed what had happened. We would be going back home as one less.
In the darkness, the fire flickered and danced as if it ruled the world. Its mind was poisoned with plots of destruction and chaos.

I returned to the bonfire and sat in front if it, content as I was with what I did.
I wanted to tell the fire a secret.

I leaned forward and said what I had to say. The fire set out raging into the sky, as someone poured some kerosene into the burning pulp.

I knew it had heard my secret.

I knew I could trust the fire.