Autumn Fire

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. Reds, oranges, browns, and yellows ate up the streets, completely devouring the concrete sidewalks. The seasons had flown by so quickly I nearly forgot it was already autumn. Everywhere you looked, leaves once a vibrant green were now afire. It was a wonder how leaves changed their colors during each season.

Everywhere. Even as I walked to my job at a nearby cafe, the colors of fire were never far. Left, right, up, and down, the streets look like they were burning. Some workers were sweeping the fallen leaves into trash bags, but despite their effort, there was an infinite amount of autumn leaves. Autumn is my second favorite season, after winter, that is. The crisp air and dropping temperatures are divine compared to the hot, humid air of late spring and summer. And instead of an innumerable amount of green leaves, the color of fire was a lot prettier.

As I entered Rob’s Cafe, plastic autumn leaves hung from the walls as decoration. The whole place had changed to fit the mood of the current season, filling the cafe with tables and chairs of cherry wood. The scent of pumpkin spice filled the air as the coffee maker rumbled in the background. My coworkers were busy taking orders as customers frolicked around me. They seemed in good spirits, considering Thanksgiving was right around the corner. 

After I donned the mandatory brown waist apron on, I went to man the cash register. As time dragged on, and as customers came and went, I couldn’t help but think of the scenery outside. I wanted to gather a lot of leaves into a pile then jump into it like in the books I’ve read. I wanted to be surrounded by those leaves of fire, to hear them crunch beneath me as I landed on them, and to smell the Earth surrounding me in her embrace.

One would think summer equaled freedom since that’s when kids escaped the monotonous walls and schedule of school, but I think autumn is the epitome of freedom. Once you step out into the chilled air, it’s like becoming a new you. You just feel so alive, so energized! It feels like shedding your skin, like how a cocoon sheds into a butterfly. And while the summer is bright and cheerful, the colors of autumn are welcomingly aesthetic. The colors compliment each other, and the scenery is naturally photogenic.

There were so many other good things about autumn that I’d need more fingers to list all of them. Other than the things I’ve already mentioned, one other good things are that there’s not a lot of insects. Most of them are dead due to the cold weather, and for those that are still alive, they won’t last long as the temperature drops.

All of a sudden, a shout knocked me from my reverie, followed by a loud clatter. Screams echoed around me as people stampeded to the exit. A hand pushed me from behind, throwing me face-first into the cash register. Blood dripped from where I hit the sharp corner. Another hand grabbed my bicep and dragged me to my feet. I wanted to ask what happened, but I was thrown into a coughing fit as smoke filled my lungs and masked my vision. I was completely disoriented, but the hand kept pulling for me to follow. I had no choice as I stumbled behind the silhouette. I could somewhat make out the doors leading out, but before I could cross the border separating me and the mob outside, the front of the building shattered, blocking me inside with the raging fire. The person who was with me was no longer beside me, leaving me completely alone. I could faintly hear people shouting, but the roar of the fire was louder and fiercer, garnering my undivided attention. 

I didn’t know what to do. My senses felt numb. All I could see was the flame growing in size as it ate everything in its way. The table, chairs, and autumn decoration became cinders once the fiery tendrils touched them. The shop was scalding. I felt like any second now I’d melt into a pile of human goo. It was nothing like taking a hot shower. What was happening now felt a thousand, or even more, times hotter; and much more suffocating. The lack of oxygen in the air was making it harder to breathe, and I’m surprised I’m still conscious. I didn’t want to know what it felt like to be scorched. The pain was already unbearable. The fire hadn’t reached me yet, but the heat was devastating. 

The only thing I could think about was how nice it would feel to be standing outside. The fire was like the sun and raging like a tsunami. Its tendrils were whipping around like tentacles as it scourged for fuel. Soon, I’ll become a part of it.

The flame was growing larger by the second, and it was only a mere eight feet away. My skin had begun to blister, parts of it swelling up to protect me from the inferno. Sweat poured from my pores, swamping my skin in salted water, but it did nothing to help me from the incoming danger. If anything, I felt like I’d die from dehydration before the flames consumed me. My throat was dry, and I was still coughing from the excess smoke.

I never thought I’d die in a fire. Fires were beautiful from afar, but when it’s closing in on you like this one, they looked terrifying. They loomed over you like monsters, flailing their tendrils like a weapon as they tried to kill you. 

Seven feet.

Six feet.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One. 

God, this was the end for me. For some reason, even as the fire engulfed me, I couldn’t help but think the fire was beautiful - just like the leaves falling from the trees outside. Maybe it was because they resembled each other so much that I felt at peace in this autumn fire.