The Firestorm

by Mike Fontanini

        It was a warm and sunny day, one of the last days of Summer. Summer was
slowly coming to an end. Soon the weather would grow cooler, and the trees would
change to the colors of fall.
        Kyle had his friend Eric over that evening. They watched TV, and played video
games. Sometimes they got a little bored, and so they would just sit and talk. They
talked about the pending misery of school that was about to begin again. As they talked
they looked on the bright side; both of them had birthdays coming up. Eric would be 18
and so would Kyle.
        They lived in a small neighborhood in a heavily wooded and mountainous area.
The trees and undergrowth were very dry from a lack of rain.

        Before they knew it, school started again. They dreaded the homework and the
boredom that would soon ensue. On the other hand, they looked forward to seeing some
of their friends again.
        One day after school, Eric and Kyle got together at Kyle's house again as they
often did. They talked, played games, and watched TV. They enjoyed all their time
together because they got along very well with each other and had so much fun.
        At around 6:00pm that evening, Kyle's friend Ryan came over. Ryan was 17 and
would have his 18th birthday early next year. He was surprised to see Eric there.
Ryan and Eric didn't realize they were both friends with Kyle.
        Kyle quickly noticed that Ryan had a black eye. He asked Ryan what had
happened. Ryan told Kyle that he and Eric had gotten in a fight earlier that day and Eric
had punched him.
        This bothered Kyle. He didn't like it that two of his best friends were fighting
with each other, and it hurt him, especially when one of them got hurt as a result of it.
So he told them how he felt and that it hurt him. He hoped they wouldn't fight anymore,
that maybe knowing he was a mutual friend of theirs would diminish the conflict between
them. He knew they both valued him very much as a friend.

        A month or so later, Kyle was in the hallway at school standing at his locker
as he got out his books for his next miserable class. His friend Eric came up to him
and asked how he was. Kyle replied that he was doing alright.
        Kyle and Eric had few classes in common but they got together all the time
after school. They were the best of friends and they enjoyed every second they got
to share with each other. They also cherished each and every one of those seconds
they got to share because they had both experienced the pain of losing a best friend
before.
        That evening Kyle and Eric got together again. They played games, watched TV,
and ate some snacks. Eric sensed that Kyle had something that he wanted to say. He
could tell that Kyle seemed a little nervous, and had noticed a couple times it looked like
he was going to say something, but then didn't. Eric was about to ask him if anything
was wrong, but just before he could, Kyle started to get the words out.
        "I have something I wanted to tell you, but it's not an easy thing to reveal.
You're my best friend and I know you'd never turn away from me for anything."
        "What is it?" Eric said, not knowing what Kyle was about to say.
        "Well, here goes" Kyle paused for a moment. "I think I'm gay."
        "That's fine with me." Eric said. "You're my best friend too."
        "I knew you wouldn't reject me." Kyle said, feeling happy that he hadn't lost
his best friend.
        They continued playing games and watching movies as if nothing had changed.
It was exactly as Kyle hoped it would turn out, and he knew it would turn out that way.

        As the calendar moved into late September, everything continued as usual. Life
in the little neighborhood went on unhindered. The weather was nice and sunny, and
the people of the neighborhood enjoyed it. However, the nice weather had one downfall.
The grass and trees were still very dry. It had been a very hot and dry summer.
        One morning, the weather forecast held a surprise. There were showers and
thunderstorms predicted for that day. Kyle saw the forecast that morning and thought
rain would be a good thing. A few minutes later he left for school.
        The school day seemed to drag on slowly as school days often did sometimes.
Fortunately, the school day doesn't last forever.
        After school, Kyle, Eric, and Ryan got together at Kyle's house. They watched
a little TV and discovered the forecast had changed. The showers and thunderstorms
were expected to miss them and stay miles to the north. They needed some of those
heavy rains, but it looked like they wouldn't get them.
        Kyle and his two friends were bored. They talked for awhile trying to decide
on something to do. After a short while, they decided to go out into the woods
and just walk around on the paths.

        Out in the woods, they walked around for a few hours enjoying the scenery
and each other's company. They talked and laughed and had lots of fun.
        Ryan looked at his watch and noticed it was 5:33pm. He realized he had to
get home or his mother would be angry with him for missing his little brother's 8th
birthday.
        "I'd better get home or my mom will kill me." Ryan said
        "Ok", said Kyle and Eric. "We'll just keep hiking for awhile. See ya later."
        Kyle and Eric continued to hike. They talked as they went, and laughed
periodically.
        After a short while, Eric grew quiet for a moment.
        "Kyle. I think I might be gay." He said.
        "You're my best friend so it makes no difference to me." Kyle replied.
        Once again they continued what they were doing as though nothing
had changed. They were both glad to be friends because they were always
there for each other.
        A few minutes later, they started to smell smoke. They looked around to
determine from which direction it had come, and perhaps what it might be from. It
smelled like burning wood. The smoke was coming from the northwest. They could see
an orange tongue of flame in the distance that was momentarily unobscured by the
smoke.
        They realized that there was a forest fire. Worse yet, the wind was out of the
northwest and was fanning it in their direction. It was a fairly windy evening which
accelerated the movement of the fire.
        Kyle and Eric began to run down into the valley below them. They couldn't
head back to the town because the fire was between them and the small town. They were
high up on the side of the mountain and could see that the fire was south of their
neighborhood, and it appeared as though the town was safe as the wind fanned the
now towering wall of fire away from the town.
        Unfortunately, they were southeast of the firestorm which put them right in it's
path. As a result, Eric and Kyle continued running down into the valley below.
The firestorm was closing in on them at a rapid pace, fanned by the gusty winds.
Before long, they reached the small river in the valley and stopped for a moment at its
banks. They looked behind them and could see that the wind was still driving the
firestorm in their direction.
        Kyle and Eric began to cross the river. They heard a different sound that wasn't
being created by the fire. It was a flash flood. They knew the storms upriver must've
caused it.
        Quickly they ran across the shallow river while they had time. Once on the other
side, they ran uphill a ways from the river. The flood raged below them. They watched
as the river swelled quickly out of its banks. Trees near the river fell as they
gave in to the might of the river.
        As the firestorm neared the other side of the river, it began to shrink. The flood
had knocked over many trees, some of which were dead, and some that weren't.
This created a larger gap than the one that already existed along the river's path.
This widened gap along the river was just enough to keep the fire from crossing the
river. As a result, it slowly died away as it consumed the last of its fuel.

        The two friends looked at each other and smiled, relieved to have survived.
Kyle and Eric hugged each other, so happy it was over. They were both very happy to
still be alive. As they hugged each other, Eric felt something. It was something he'd
never felt before.
        As they finished hugging, they looked at each other again. Eric could see
by the look in his eyes that Kyle felt it too. They both saw it in each others eyes.
Neither of them spoke. They needed no words to communicate what they felt.
        They hugged each other again. They were so happy together as they always
had been when they shared time together, but now, there was a different sort of
happiness.
        They began walking home. As they walked home, they held hands. They talked
and laughed as they had before, but everything was different now.
        As they arrived at Kyle's house, they went into Kyle's room to relax and
watch TV. As they entered his room, they hugged each other again, both smiling
so happily.
        And so it was. Those two best friends became something so much more.

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	The Firestorm by Mike Fontanini
	It was a warm and sunny day, one of the last days of Summer. Summer was slowly coming to an end. Soon the weather would grow cooler, and the trees would change to the colors of fall. Kyle had his friend Eric over that evening. They watched TV, and played video games. Sometimes they got a little bored, and so they would just sit and talk. They talked about the pending misery of school that was about to begin again. As they talked they looked on the bright side; both of them had birthdays coming up. Eric would be 18 and so would Kyle. They lived in a small neighborhood in a heavily wooded and mountainous area. The trees and undergrowth were very dry from a lack of rain. Before they knew it, school started again. They dreaded the homework and the boredom that would soon ensue. On the other hand, they looked forward to seeing some of their friends again. One day after school, Eric and Kyle got together at Kyle's house again as they often did. They talked, played games, and watched TV. They enjoyed all their time together because they got along very well with each other and had so much fun. At around 6:00pm that evening, Kyle's friend Ryan came over. Ryan was 17 and would have his 18th birthday early next year. He was surprised to see Eric there. Ryan and Eric didn't realize they were both friends with Kyle. Kyle quickly noticed that Ryan had a black eye. He asked Ryan what had happened. Ryan told Kyle that he and Eric had gotten in a fight earlier that day and Eric had punched him. This bothered Kyle. He didn't like it that two of his best friends were fighting with each other, and it hurt him, especially when one of them got hurt as a result of it. So he told them how he felt and that it hurt him. He hoped they wouldn't fight anymore, that maybe knowing he was a mutual friend of theirs would diminish the conflict between them. He knew they both valued him very much as a friend. A month or so later, Kyle was in the hallway at school standing at his locker as he got out his books for his next miserable class. His friend Eric came up to him and asked how he was. Kyle replied that he was doing alright. Kyle and Eric had few classes in common but they got together all the time after school. They were the best of friends and they enjoyed every second they got to share with each other. They also cherished each and every one of those seconds they got to share because they had both experienced the pain of losing a best friend before. That evening Kyle and Eric got together again. They played games, watched TV, and ate some snacks. Eric sensed that Kyle had something that he wanted to say. He could tell that Kyle seemed a little nervous, and had noticed a couple times it looked like he was going to say something, but then didn't. Eric was about to ask him if anything was wrong, but just before he could, Kyle started to get the words out. "I have something I wanted to tell you, but it's not an easy thing to reveal. You're my best friend and I know you'd never turn away from me for anything." "What is it?" Eric said, not knowing what Kyle was about to say. "Well, here goes" Kyle paused for a moment. "I think I'm gay." "That's fine with me." Eric said. "You're my best friend too." "I knew you wouldn't reject me." Kyle said, feeling happy that he hadn't lost his best friend. They continued playing games and watching movies as if nothing had changed. It was exactly as Kyle hoped it would turn out, and he knew it would turn out that way. As the calendar moved into late September, everything continued as usual. Life in the little neighborhood went on unhindered. The weather was nice and sunny, and the people of the neighborhood enjoyed it. However, the nice weather had one downfall. The grass and trees were still very dry. It had been a very hot and dry summer. One morning, the weather forecast held a surprise. There were showers and thunderstorms predicted for that day. Kyle saw the forecast that morning and thought rain would be a good thing. A few minutes later he left for school. The school day seemed to drag on slowly as school days often did sometimes. Fortunately, the school day doesn't last forever. After school, Kyle, Eric, and Ryan got together at Kyle's house. They watched a little TV and discovered the forecast had changed. The showers and thunderstorms were expected to miss them and stay miles to the north. They needed some of those heavy rains, but it looked like they wouldn't get them. Kyle and his two friends were bored. They talked for awhile trying to decide on something to do. After a short while, they decided to go out into the woods and just walk around on the paths. Out in the woods, they walked around for a few hours enjoying the scenery and each other's company. They talked and laughed and had lots of fun. Ryan looked at his watch and noticed it was 5:33pm. He realized he had to get home or his mother would be angry with him for missing his little brother's 8th birthday. "I'd better get home or my mom will kill me." Ryan said "Ok", said Kyle and Eric. "We'll just keep hiking for awhile. See ya later." Kyle and Eric continued to hike. They talked as they went, and laughed periodically. After a short while, Eric grew quiet for a moment. "Kyle. I think I might be gay." He said. "You're my best friend so it makes no difference to me." Kyle replied. Once again they continued what they were doing as though nothing had changed. They were both glad to be friends because they were always there for each other. A few minutes later, they started to smell smoke. They looked around to determine from which direction it had come, and perhaps what it might be from. It smelled like burning wood. The smoke was coming from the northwest. They could see an orange tongue of flame in the distance that was momentarily unobscured by the smoke. They realized that there was a forest fire. Worse yet, the wind was out of the northwest and was fanning it in their direction. It was a fairly windy evening which accelerated the movement of the fire. Kyle and Eric began to run down into the valley below them. They couldn't head back to the town because the fire was between them and the small town. They were high up on the side of the mountain and could see that the fire was south of their neighborhood, and it appeared as though the town was safe as the wind fanned the now towering wall of fire away from the town. Unfortunately, they were southeast of the firestorm which put them right in it's path. As a result, Eric and Kyle continued running down into the valley below. The firestorm was closing in on them at a rapid pace, fanned by the gusty winds. Before long, they reached the small river in the valley and stopped for a moment at its banks. They looked behind them and could see that the wind was still driving the firestorm in their direction. Kyle and Eric began to cross the river. They heard a different sound that wasn't being created by the fire. It was a flash flood. They knew the storms upriver must've caused it. Quickly they ran across the shallow river while they had time. Once on the other side, they ran uphill a ways from the river. The flood raged below them. They watched as the river swelled quickly out of its banks. Trees near the river fell as they gave in to the might of the river. As the firestorm neared the other side of the river, it began to shrink. The flood had knocked over many trees, some of which were dead, and some that weren't. This created a larger gap than the one that already existed along the river's path. This widened gap along the river was just enough to keep the fire from crossing the river. As a result, it slowly died away as it consumed the last of its fuel. The two friends looked at each other and smiled, relieved to have survived. Kyle and Eric hugged each other, so happy it was over. They were both very happy to still be alive. As they hugged each other, Eric felt something. It was something he'd never felt before. As they finished hugging, they looked at each other again. Eric could see by the look in his eyes that Kyle felt it too. They both saw it in each others eyes. Neither of them spoke. They needed no words to communicate what they felt. They hugged each other again. They were so happy together as they always had been when they shared time together, but now, there was a different sort of happiness. They began walking home. As they walked home, they held hands. They talked and laughed as they had before, but everything was different now. As they arrived at Kyle's house, they went into Kyle's room to relax and watch TV. As they entered his room, they hugged each other again, both smiling so happily. And so it was. Those two best friends became something so much more. Go Back to Writing Hompage