Chapter 2: Singing Fire
Ann pulled her coat, dripping with snow, off her freezing back, and placed it on the coat hanger and kicks off her wet shoes and socks and grabs her nearby slippers. She sighs deeply and stretched her arms out and walks slowly to the couch and flops on her back, she looks to the fireplace, but sighs, no one had light a fire and the room was as cold as it was outside.
Ann: Daddy?
Ann yelled loudly in a sort of sad tone. She heard a yell from the other room.
Mr. Neutron: Yes Annette?
Ann: Can you please make a fire in the fireplace? It's really cold!!
Ann's voice had a huge hint of wining as she rubbed her arms in order to be warm. There was a bit of silence and Ann sighed.
Mr. Neutron: In a minute pumpkin!
Ann pulled a huge blanket over her and she looked at the clock … 5:30 PM … her eyes suddenly got heavy and she drifted off to sleep.
Suddenly her eyes bolted open and she sat up and looked that the clock, then to the fire place. It was now 7 PM, and there was no warm fire, and there was no food in her tummy, she crawled off the cough and slouched her little self to the kitchen, stretching her arms a little.
Ann: Mommy? Daddy?
She looked in the kitchen, but no one was there, all of a sudden Ann felt frightened.
Ann: MOMMY??
Jimmy suddenly entered the kitchen.
Jimmy: What's with all the yelling?
Ann turned to Jimmy, tears almost in her eyes.
Ann: Jimmy! Mommy and daddy aren't here!
Jimmy sort of rolled his eyes, he was sixteen, he could stay home alone, it's not like there was any big deal, to him.
Ann: Jimmy!
A tear dripped from Ann's eye and fell from her cheek.
Jimmy sighed and picked up Ann and gave her a hug.
Jimmy: It's ok Ann, they probably just went shopping to buy you more presents.
Jimmy gave her a warm smile as she sniffled a bit and whipped a tear off her face.
Ann: You think so?
Jimmy nodded.
Jimmy: Sure.
Ann: (sigh) Can you light a fire in the fire place, please?
Ann batted her eyes, as Jimmy was about to say no, but then he suddenly realized how cold it was and then sighed and nodded. He set her down and he walked to the living room as she toddled behind like she was still three.
The room felt freezing and Jimmy rubbed his arms from the coldness. He was wondering himself where his parents could be.
Ann: Did mommy make dinner yet?
Jimmy shook his head no without a word as he looked at the fire place, wondering how it worked, he noticed a switch, he sigh, it was one of those automatic things, good, he had never turned on the fire him self so it was a relief to know there was no real effort and he flicked the switch on and a fire suddenly popped up behind the little gate thingy separating the fire from the rest of her room. Ann sighed and sat down near the front of the fire and smiled.
Ann: It's beautiful … do you hear it Jimmy?
Jimmy gave her a teenaged 'what on earth are you talking about??' look, but he didn't say that. Instead he stood next to the child who was sitting in front of the fire and watching it like she might have been watching TV.
Jimmy: Hear what?
Ann: (giggles slightly) The fire is singing! It knows Christmas is almost here.
Jimmy looked confused.
Jimmy: What do you mean?
Ann: Can't you year the soft whispering of the flames? The Snapping rhythm of the fire, the warm voice spreading from the heat?
Ann suddenly looked up to Jimmy with a smile, expecting him to understand.
Jimmy stared from the fire to Ann, how was it that she could come up with something like that? It was so creative and quite a clever little poem, but he did not say so. Fires don't sing, there's no whispering, no snapping, no voice, just a fire burning in a fireplace. His imagination was lost … possibly forever, and who knows if it would ever be found. So Jimmy just refused to listen to his mind and heart at that moment and only heard his and Ann's growling stomachs.
Jimmy: I'll go make some microwave dinners, ok?
Ann sighed, but reluctantly nodded. Not because she rather have a real dinner, no, microwave dinners didn't bother her, sometimes she preferred them, with her mother's sometimes odd cooking … it was that Jimmy didn't seem to have any affect over the fire singing, sure … sometimes she had a huge imagination, but sometimes she felt like the fire was really singing to her, she sighed and looked at the fire again, wishing that Jimmy could see the greater things in life.
To Be Continued ...
Ann pulled her coat, dripping with snow, off her freezing back, and placed it on the coat hanger and kicks off her wet shoes and socks and grabs her nearby slippers. She sighs deeply and stretched her arms out and walks slowly to the couch and flops on her back, she looks to the fireplace, but sighs, no one had light a fire and the room was as cold as it was outside.
Ann: Daddy?
Ann yelled loudly in a sort of sad tone. She heard a yell from the other room.
Mr. Neutron: Yes Annette?
Ann: Can you please make a fire in the fireplace? It's really cold!!
Ann's voice had a huge hint of wining as she rubbed her arms in order to be warm. There was a bit of silence and Ann sighed.
Mr. Neutron: In a minute pumpkin!
Ann pulled a huge blanket over her and she looked at the clock … 5:30 PM … her eyes suddenly got heavy and she drifted off to sleep.
Suddenly her eyes bolted open and she sat up and looked that the clock, then to the fire place. It was now 7 PM, and there was no warm fire, and there was no food in her tummy, she crawled off the cough and slouched her little self to the kitchen, stretching her arms a little.
Ann: Mommy? Daddy?
She looked in the kitchen, but no one was there, all of a sudden Ann felt frightened.
Ann: MOMMY??
Jimmy suddenly entered the kitchen.
Jimmy: What's with all the yelling?
Ann turned to Jimmy, tears almost in her eyes.
Ann: Jimmy! Mommy and daddy aren't here!
Jimmy sort of rolled his eyes, he was sixteen, he could stay home alone, it's not like there was any big deal, to him.
Ann: Jimmy!
A tear dripped from Ann's eye and fell from her cheek.
Jimmy sighed and picked up Ann and gave her a hug.
Jimmy: It's ok Ann, they probably just went shopping to buy you more presents.
Jimmy gave her a warm smile as she sniffled a bit and whipped a tear off her face.
Ann: You think so?
Jimmy nodded.
Jimmy: Sure.
Ann: (sigh) Can you light a fire in the fire place, please?
Ann batted her eyes, as Jimmy was about to say no, but then he suddenly realized how cold it was and then sighed and nodded. He set her down and he walked to the living room as she toddled behind like she was still three.
The room felt freezing and Jimmy rubbed his arms from the coldness. He was wondering himself where his parents could be.
Ann: Did mommy make dinner yet?
Jimmy shook his head no without a word as he looked at the fire place, wondering how it worked, he noticed a switch, he sigh, it was one of those automatic things, good, he had never turned on the fire him self so it was a relief to know there was no real effort and he flicked the switch on and a fire suddenly popped up behind the little gate thingy separating the fire from the rest of her room. Ann sighed and sat down near the front of the fire and smiled.
Ann: It's beautiful … do you hear it Jimmy?
Jimmy gave her a teenaged 'what on earth are you talking about??' look, but he didn't say that. Instead he stood next to the child who was sitting in front of the fire and watching it like she might have been watching TV.
Jimmy: Hear what?
Ann: (giggles slightly) The fire is singing! It knows Christmas is almost here.
Jimmy looked confused.
Jimmy: What do you mean?
Ann: Can't you year the soft whispering of the flames? The Snapping rhythm of the fire, the warm voice spreading from the heat?
Ann suddenly looked up to Jimmy with a smile, expecting him to understand.
Jimmy stared from the fire to Ann, how was it that she could come up with something like that? It was so creative and quite a clever little poem, but he did not say so. Fires don't sing, there's no whispering, no snapping, no voice, just a fire burning in a fireplace. His imagination was lost … possibly forever, and who knows if it would ever be found. So Jimmy just refused to listen to his mind and heart at that moment and only heard his and Ann's growling stomachs.
Jimmy: I'll go make some microwave dinners, ok?
Ann sighed, but reluctantly nodded. Not because she rather have a real dinner, no, microwave dinners didn't bother her, sometimes she preferred them, with her mother's sometimes odd cooking … it was that Jimmy didn't seem to have any affect over the fire singing, sure … sometimes she had a huge imagination, but sometimes she felt like the fire was really singing to her, she sighed and looked at the fire again, wishing that Jimmy could see the greater things in life.
To Be Continued ...