(This was supposed to be short, but it kept growing.....)The Bonfire
(June 1982)
Ennis sat in his truck for a long, long time. Then he went back home to the trailer. He took another beer out of the fridge, lit up a cigarette, and then took out the blank postcard that he had in the drawer by the sink. He sat down at the table and stared at it. “Go with the flow, you gotta go with the flow.” The man’s words kept ringing in his head. He sat there with the blank postcard in his hand.
All of a sudden, Ennis heard a lot of noise, like a big commotion coming from outside. He stood up and looked at the small clock. It somehow was almost ten already. He didn’t know where the day had gone. He went to the door and stepped outside. By the road, at the edge of the trailers, a group of people were standing around, a large bonfire was burning, the only light in the darkness. He began walking forward very slowly to get a better look, then he stopped. There was a group of people gathered around the fire, children and grownups, all chattering and laughing. The children had sticks, with marshmallows at the end, and they were all laughing with glee as they tried to eat them off the sticks. Ennis stood and watched.
“Hey, Del Mar!”
Ennis looked around, suddenly he saw the man from the bar coming towards him.
“Del Mar, I didn’t know you live here too, where ya been hidin’? Bill Jensen, don’t ya remember?”
Ennis nodded as the flames danced in front of him.
“Come join us, come on!”
Ennis began walking towards the fire with Bill Jensen.
“Hey, can you grab a couple of those” Bill said, looking towards a pile of old wooden boards.
Ennis grabbed a few and put them in the fire. He could feel the heat on his face, he could see the embers headed towards him. The children were running around, shrieking and laughing, the grownups were all talking. He didn’t hear what they were saying. He heard the sound of the fire.
Then he felt a sharp pain in his hand. He looked at it, there were splinters all over. He stared back at the fire, remembering. The flames were bright against the blackness of the night. The pain was sharper, but Ennis stood there, staring into the fire.