Leaves Were On Fire!!

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. Leaves that had fallen off the trees that lined the street and were still showing their colors of every color from light red to an orange that made me think of a fire that firefighter had put out across the street where I live. The fire that had started as a blood-red then turned into the raging orange, black billowing smoke, and people choking on the ground from the smoke’s thickness.  The air was thick and the smoke was black as people were yelling “Fire!” The smell was like rotten fish and eggs that turned a person’s stomach.

Paul was standing in his front room window on the second floor of the apartment house directly across from the house that was burning to the ground. He had shut his window ,so the smoke and odor couldn't get into his apartment.  He watched as the firemen arrived in their screaming trucks and took out the long hose that would spurt water on the heat that was raising from the house upward to the clouds and Heaven. Watching one fireman with interest as he rolled the hoses out for the other firemen to grab as they needed them, he was wiping his brow of sweat to take a moment to himself, to take a brief break as not to tire out too quickly.  He should have been out there with those heroes, those men if the boss wouldn’t have fired him for being honest with too many people.

Being honest with too many people, he was on the job one Saturday when a woman came up to him and said, “You are the worse fireman I have the displeasure of watching.” She turned to walk away when he grabbed her arm to swing her back around, he informed her of some truths like calling her a fat cow and a drunk.  Come to find out the lady was a rich old lady that was married to the town’s mayor, the Mayor didn’t like his wife being called names by a fireman. He was fired after his Chief came back from the Mayor’s office in which he had been yelled at for two hours straight. Told to control his men and if the one that called his wife's name to apologize plus putting him on probation, he would forget the whole thing.

Just because he had been in trouble by threatening other people and shoving them out of his way, he was fired on the spot. Fired and embarrassed in front of the other men. The other men were snickering behind their hands and softly talking as they could hear the boss firing him. He wasn’t too well-liked by the other men and women on the crew because he knew that he was better than any of the others.  They didn’t like the fact that he was smarter and more willing to just jump into something before he or anyone looking. That attitude always got him lectured about the safety of others. He would just look at the people, like his parents, sister, brother, grandparents, and lastly his boss doing the lecturing. He always thought that if someone was in his way when he wanted to do something, he would shove them out of the way.

Paul knew that karma had a way of biting people in the rump which had also happened. His mother told him that karma had a nasty way of getting back at people to learn them a serious lesson. When he was about fifteen years old, he was walking to school, being late he was in a hurry. He should have just called the school when he left the house to say that he was on his way.  No, he thought he could go across town in ten minutes if he just ran all the way. Taking off on a fast run, he was doing pretty good until some kid ran in front of him and they fall over each other. He got up cussing at the kid which was crying by this time and his mother was coming out of the house yelling at him for scaring her little boy. He told them both to shut up and kicked at the boy, he left the situation behind him. Thinking that nothing would happen, he was surprised when the police showed up at his school to talk to him. Charges were dropped and he was allowed to return to class, his parents said that they would talk when he got home from school that night. His parents told him they were disappointed in him from being that mean to the child and his mother.

Needless, to say he watched the fire with interest and what the firemen were doing. He was interested in what they were doing and how they were doing it. Fighting fires had been his number one passion and he thought his career. Something that he would be for his career choice and something that he was good at doing which in his case wasn’t many things in his life that he was good at. Paul knew that he didn’t have many friends or family that was too happy to be seen with him. Maybe he should turn to someone that could help him. He was in deep trouble now, he had bills stacking up and his rent was due. Without any money, he was sure that he wouldn’t be able to get a loan to get his way out of this. 

Maybe, he would be homeless, hungry, and living under a bridge in some town that was nearby. Maybe he was too far into trouble with no way out, Paul knew soon he wouldn’t be living in this apartment or an apartment and he wasn’t too sure on who would let him crash on their sofa. He would be sleeping in his car until it was repo back to the bank that gave a firefighter a way to get to the station. Then he looked better than he does now and he has no one to blame, but himself.

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire with the brilliant colors of fall.