Blooming Flower ✔️

Chapter 2: The Fire Between Us

 The bonfire crackled wildly, like someone replying angrily to an insult. It glowed in different shades of red, orange, and yellow, with the flames waving around erratically, like one of those creepy spineless inflatable men at car dealerships who look like they had a shot too many of vodka. 

The heat that it emitted on this July night seemed unnecessary, as the heat from our anger filled memories was enough to warm us up on such a crisp evening. Manish, Jen, and I stared at it, our minds and faces blank, while the fire continued to pop and burn in front of us. 

In an attempt to dissolve the tension that was layering like an onion, I whispered, "So many memories." 

Jen let out an exasperated sigh. "All the painful memories that we suffered together are gone, Jaya. We won't be haunted by their presence anymore," Jen comforted, as we all scooted together to watch the fire burn whatever pain there was left. 

I felt Manish's arm slide around me, while my hand grasped Jen's tightly. All we could do was sit there and wait for it to finish so that it would be confirmed that our suffering would be put to an end.

 Eventually, the remainder of what was ignited in the fire was reduced to nothing but ashes. The bonfire was just a pile of charred logs and ashes, with only a few specks of bright orange in the pile. With a raised eyebrow, my head turned to face Sunny, who just gave me a nod. 

I stood up, dusting my hands off, and letting out a huge sigh. "Whew. Glad that's done with. I swear, all those exam papers were making a mess of my room. Sunny, do you have the marshmallows?" I asked, while bringing out a huge bar of Hershey's chocolate. 

Manish took out his little backpack, and whipped out the bag of fluffy, sugary goodness. "I got them. And I got them gelatin free, for Jen. Did you guys get the tw-" 

Before Manish could finish his sentence, I can sense what it was going to be about. I took the twigs that Jen and I collected and threw them into the pile of what was now burnt out wood and scraps of charred paper. Manish closed his mouth, and said, "You read my mind. That's how we're best friends, huh?" 

I threw him a little chuckle, as Jen started to open the box of graham crackers for the s'mores. "Jen, can you pass me the sticks for the marshmallows?" I asked, to which Jen fulfilled. Manish opened the bag of marshmallows, and stuck a big fat one on his stick. My hands dove into his bag to look for his matchbook, to which I eventually recovered. 

I struck the match against the matchbook, and almost immediately, a bright orange flame sat on the tip of it. A devilish smirk came upon my face, and I said, "Hey, Sunny, do you remember the time you burnt your finger on the gas stove because I dared you to touch the blue flame?" I bent down to light the bonfire once more, and when I stood back up, I caught sight of Manish's dirty facial expression rubbing its way into my gaze. 

I couldn't help but chuckle, because Sunny's dirty looks are hilarious. Hearing me chuckle caused a smile to break out on his face, and he said, "Sadly, yes. I really should've used common sense to figure out that the blue flame was not cold." 

Chuckles escaped the three of us, as Manish gave us our marshmallow accompanied sticks. We all scooted closer together so that we could be closer together, both figuratively and literally, and once the fire grew big enough, we proceeded roast the marshmallows. 

We held the marshmallows above the fire, and the smell of caramelizing sugar wafted throughout the whole scene, causing the vicious creatures known as our stomachs to let out a low grumble. While our marshmallows were turning into a caramelized cloud of heaven, the smell of it carried another memory in mind. 

"Jen, do you remember the time that you nearly dropped the marshmallow - that was still on fire - in biology?" I asked, as I turned my stick a little bit.