"There just weren't enough rural fire crews on alert to deal with the disaster," Pa stared his son-in-law down across the cluttered remains of dinner. Steve rose in his seat over the table and Pa thought in his own contrary way, he's taken my bait.
"Bull. Those pine plantations ran right onto the capital's doorsteps. Where were the firebreaks and trails?" The argument fired on yet didn't move forward at all. Pa, once confident on his topic, was like a dog with a bone. Discontent flared as the family migrated elsewhere to avoid the raising voices.
In-laws, Pa thought.
*
Emily jumped as water growled against her back and ducked underneath the froth. The salty fluid slid along her limbs like ice-cream. Even through closed lids she could see the summer sun peeking through the corners. Surrounded by the precious ocean Emily felt she was in a watery sort of heaven where nothing would ever burn.
Surfacing she heard her name exclaimed and her little cousin, already lanky and tall, screamed towards her with a smile that made her face shine. The sky above was a dusky, half-curled petal but none of the family on the beach seemed to notice. Emily shook her head that Auntie Em hadn't come down too. They lived so close to her favourite place; the beach. It was what made visiting in the tiny pink and brick house actually enjoyable.
Mum, loitering further up on the sand with dad, hollered that it was time to come in. Sarah and Graham, as he came around behind her, both pouted in annoyance and their twin looks set Emily laughing. Emerging out of their spontaneous splash festivals the three of them, sister, brother and younger cousin, dripped up into waiting towels.
They all drifted up the hill to where the house sat with Sarah circling Emily and Graham whose longer legs were laden with teenage lethargy. The adults; mum, dad and Uncle Steve hiked watchful behind. Even as we hit the pebble-crete driveway we were in good spirits although the light seemed to have faded.
Suddenly a madwoman clattered out through the front door wildly waving her hands as she scampered towards us, her eyes wide jade flecks. Mum stepped up to meet her sister who thrust a fluttering printed page in her face.
"Bushfires raging through Duffy!" Auntie Em quoted the headline, flustering and pointing. Her kid blinked, trying to compute but Emily's heart sinks in her chest. She struggled to recall that there were still fires out there- really close to home. And her home surrounded by drought-hardy bush plants and central in its suburb was…
-What? Raging. Full of flames?
"They call the farmland around west of us Duffy too. That's what's gone up," mum said, shaky and certain. Auntie Em ceased her gesticulating took a breath. She looked right into the jade of mum's eyes.
"I don't know." Em said quietly as she handed over the article.
"What about Dolsie?" Emily cried out, turning everyone's attention to her. She fought to be grown up even as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. "And Yup-Yup. They're still at home."
"We'll get 'em baby," Dad comforts gruffly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "We'll get 'em."
*
Zeta searched for Ed in the smoke haze, spitting the taste of burnt ash from her mouth. The wind whipped her grey curls while embers tornado-ed across the sick sky. She really wished she didn’t have to be here. Heat buffeted her limbs from every side.
Yup-Yup cowered by the back door and Zeta called out softly. The wind snatched the syllables even before they left her mouth but the puppy looked up at her with watery eyes reflecting the orange sky. Zeta trembled and buried her hands in his soft fur. How has it come so close? she thought.
The heat pressed her skin against her daughter's screen door too. Water dripped over the edge of the gutter and captured uselessly by the wind, evaporated. She watched a snapped eucalypt limb cartwheel over the yard to catch against the desolate wood fence. Leaves also twisted like smoke to collect against the brush and brickwork.
Gulping in a hot breath Zeta plunged into the evening, trying to scoop the bedraggled pup into her arms. Around by the side gate she found her husband thrusting the hose amongst the guttering.
Twin eyes grew wide to watch a red glow hurtle through the smoke; a dripping molten disaster. It caught the fence of the house next door and released arms and tendrils to lick hungrily along the leaf litter. Too fast for thought the fireball ignited a backyard inferno.
The couple didn't need to confer again. The water was shut off to drip slowly along the pavers and Zeta rushed to close the front door again. At the door of the Mitsubishi yup-yup put up a fight even though under the normal circumstances it would have been a privilege for him to allowed in the nice vehicle. He leapt for the supposed comfort of the driveway and Zeta cursed and tried to grab hold. The young pup dashed away to hide under the banksias.
"Come on," Ed shouted and she gave in , slumping against the passenger seat. She slammed the door knowing that there was nothing else they could help. Thinking of Emily's face when she would inevitably have to be told of the failed rescue of her yup-yup caused hot guilt to well inside of Zeta but she simply laid her head against the window and gazed frowning at the broiling red and black sky. Like the day of judgement, she thought.
*
The reporter pulled her mask on again a moment before the lights warmed her skin.
"Today the nation's capital is ablaze in an unprecedented firestorm.
"A number of grass fires that started over two weeks ago to the south and west have escalated into a major bushfire disaster. The way in which the 35 kilometre fire front combined with 100km/h wind gusts has spotted blazes in the yards and homes of Canberra residents this afternoon. Weston creek was covered in smoke from as early as 3pm while in the suburbs of Duffy, Holder, Kambah and Chapman some hundreds of houses have been incinerated. Fire crews are monitoring the situation as conditions change throughout the night.
"Now Felicity Barnes is reporting from Canberra's bush fire co-ordination centre."
The lights faded once more on her personage and she released a sigh of relief.
*
I gaped as Dad drove us along the familiar route to Emily's. The streets were more blackened and desiccated than I'd ever seen it, even in summer. Along Gemalong street theirs was the only building not in ashes. It was random the way houses popped up, almost untouched, yet surrounded by nature's demolition.
It had been three months since Emily and the whole family had fled up the Clyde after learning of the fire threat. Today we'd travelled that same 3 hours and dropped our luggage at Nana and Pa's big Chifley house before going to visit.
"What about your puppy and bunny?" I asked remembering vividly Emily's distress for them. I couldn't quite grasp what it meant that you'd lose them.
"Umm... Dolsie was still here, but Yup-Yup got away. We found him but he got ran over. We'll get a new puppy when the fences are fixed up again," Emily explained maturely, while mum and Auntie Lez stared out the kitchen at the lumpy remains of Duffy's lots. I could barely imagine that your home could be reduced to dark rubble in hours. I was aware that Emily's house was lucky.
"It's so strange to see the hills blank and dead." whispered mum. I remembered a street where the towering pines trees stood at attention against the curb while to the left homes full of suburban bric-a-brac watched them lazily.
I don't know what that street looks like now but I know that since then Canberra is no longer closeted with those trees. In fact the hills and valleys have been to grassland. From the distance in drought times they are a foreign wasted hill-scape. The national arboretum opened this year, with the 100th birthday of the city. Little are the trees now but after another decade maybe they'll be taller than me again. Even though I'm already taller than Emily now.
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