After the Fire

Gray smoke hovered in the air, a gossamer veil for what lay within. Burnt leaves that were little more than flaky dust spiraled down from the bare, blackened treetops. The enigmatic smell of burnt leaves accompanied the smoke, acrid and fragrant at the same time. The burnt ebony husk of an oak tree leaned on its brother, roots ripped up from the earth.

The fire had started before dawn - its hungry yellow tongues licking the bark of the trees and the leaves of the bushes. The crackling inferno had quickly engulfed a third of the forest. The smell of smoke and the sounds of a dying forest had woken most animals by then. The crashing and stumbling of the panicked creatures had only added to the horrible confusion. The forest fire had burnt itself out by mid-morning, but not without taking the forest with it.

But there was still hope.

An acorn's black shell popped open to reveal the orange seed it had protected. A mouse, who had been safe inside his burrow during the fire, dared to poke his head out of his home to assess the situation. And finally, a small breeze blew away a patch of the ash that carpeted the ground to reveal one, small, green shoot, reaching for the sunlight that broke through the smoky haze.

© Copyright 2009, The Noodle's Writing Spot/ C.N.Messinides. All Rights Reserved.