Rendering Flames

I stared blankly into the fire in front of me. I hadn’t been feeling right the last few weeks. Something was rolling around in my head, gathering like snow in the wind until it’ll finally spill over. I could feel it and I was afraid. I had gone so long without anything, why now? I hadn’t told Millie, I didn’t want to worry her over what could be nothing. She had her own problems as of late. Beth and Orson had been fighting about something the last few days, I know it’s not my business or I would have been included by now. Sometimes they just fight, it’ll probably roll over.

“Hey,” Millie greeted as she passed me. “Have you seen Beth lately? We were going to go out and clean up the back for planting today.”

“No.” I sighed deeply, getting up from the floor, “she and Orson have been arguing lately and you know how she gets when that happens.”

“So I’m on my own then?” Millie rolled her eyes, “it’d be a hell of a lot easier if she’d just talk about things instead of shutting herself away somewhere.”

“I’ll help you, I’ve got nothing better to do today.” I tossed my coat on, although I feel like after a while I’d get to hot to where it from the work.

Winter was moving fast and wasn’t as cold as last year. Beth wanted to gut the back to make room for the new planting in the spring. The ground hadn’t been frozen as it had been.
I unlocked the shed and grabbed two hoes and some gloves for Millie and me. We worked in silence, the only sound was our huffing into the air. We gathered up a lot of old roots and stalks, quickly building a pile to throw into the compost we had further down the property.

“I’m going to take some of this back.” I dropped my hoe, picking up an arm full of dead plant. Millie only nodded to acknowledge my leaving. I wadded through the tall field off waning grass to the compost. It smelled but it was nothing compared to the summer, it could get rancid.
I dropped the pile, keeping it separate from the food pile. We usually liked to mix it up when it was warmer, it didn’t seem to have the same value if everything was still cold or frozen. I smacked the dirt off my gloves, starting back toward Millie.

The air was clear and quiet when I heard a commotion from the edge of the woods. I didn’t pay mind to it, deer and other wild life roamed through here all the time. I still looked over though, expecting to see something of that variety. When the figure I made out wasn’t and animal, I stopped in my tracks.

I could have sworn I saw a shadow of a person retreating from behind a thick of bushes. I stepped closer, squinting as my curiosity got the better of me. I hurried over to where I saw the figure, looking around as I walked a few feet into the trees.

“Hello?” I called out, only hearing the quiet air as my answer. I circled back around, looking hardly into the distance. Nothing.

I shook my head, wondering if this was the start of it all. I was hallucinating again. I kicked at some twigs, my foot stepping onto a piece of fabric. I stopped moving, bending down cautiously to pick it up. It was a bandanna, black with a red stitching of three horizontal lines up on the corner. I almost dropped the thing when I felt the need to keep it. I stuffed it into my back pocket, putting it in the back of my mind for the moment as I realized Millie must be wondering where I was.

When I got back, she had nearly finished her side. “Where’d you wonder off too?”

“Thought I saw something moving by the woods, it was just some deer.” I lied. Again, I didn’t want to worry her.

“Hm, any good ones?” Her smirk was purely conversational, she looked exhausted though.
“No. I’m sure Orson and I will find some on our hunt though later this week.” She hummed in response, continuing our work in silence.