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When the Fire Works (14) : Innovation is expected in Destiny City, so seasonal commodities are always expected to sell well. This year, the hot new summer item includes some chemically enhanced logs: carefully modified with environmental and health-safe chemicals, these logs are guaranteed to burn bright, burn long, and burn beautifully. It’s not just a pretty flame: each individual log has several rings that will light up like a sparkler when the flame hits. Larger logs will even pop off small, colorful fireworks for several hours while they burn. Though the lightshow is beautiful, it’s also calm. The logs have a pleasant, earthy smell, and unlike the sounds of normal fireworks, these simply sound like a crackling fire. There’s something curiously nostalgic about these fires; they are able to elicit a sort of childlike whimsy, if only you let them. If not, it’s still pretty.
One of the benefits of home ownership, Angus thought as he gently kicked the door to the backyard open, was that he could do things like build a firepit. And, because Bindhi’s only rule was Nothing that I’d see spray painted on an old van when it came to aesthetics, he had quite a lot of leeway for his little projects.
Like the firepit.
It had taken months to get the silly things built to his satisfaction, and with an eye towards the safety of his children. But now that he had it, and it was summertime, he was damned sure going to use it. And Bindhi, jewel of a wife that she was, had, with no little amusement, taken the kids to visit friends so that he could neanderthal things up properly.
He had beer, he had a ridiculous amount of roasted meat already made and he had wood for the firepit. And he was especially excited about this stuff. If this wood could provide him with a relatively clean burn mixed with colorful flashes, he was all for it.
Setting the armful of enhanced logs down by the fire, he ran back inside briefly to get some matches and his refreshments. Once he had things set up to his liking, he began to unwrap the logs, blinking a little in surprise as a little crimson star charm fell out of the paper. Scooping it up to get it out of harm's way, he set it on the table and went back to work. None of the other logs seemed to have come with bonus prizes, so he got things arranged properly and set match to wood. He didn’t use accelerants since he hated the smell, but a bit of cotton wadding doused in vegetable oil worked just as well to help things move. And soon enough, he was noshing on roasted chicken and watching a truly lovely display.
As the daylight dimmed, the fire was even prettier, occasionally tossing up little bursts of firework like color. Just without the noise, crowds, sulphuric stench and hassle. He found himself hoping that these logs would prove popular enough to make a return next year. Though maybe he’d buy up a small stockpile to save… Yes, he’d do that. Then, maybe for Halloween or Christmas he could make a pretty bonfire for his family.
Losing himself in the calming ripples and bursts of color, Angus found himself thinking about his grandparents’ home in the highlands. He’d been a city brat, but every summer when they’d gone to visit his grandparents, he’d had free run over their land. As he watched the fire, he thought of the heather and the sheep and sighed. It had been a good childhood. There was an earthy smell coming from the fire that reminded him of turned soil at his grandparents’ place. He’d loved that smell…
As the night wore on, Angus stayed outside, watching the fire as it slowly died down. Whatever the wood had been treated with in order to produce its little fireworks seemed to have run its course. Now, the flames were simply clear orangey red with tiny hints of other color at the edges of the flames. Oh yes, he thought, he was going to have to buy more logs to stock them for later.
Word Count = 558
