Fire | Teen Ink

Fire

October 29, 2020
By PandaMan, San Diego, California
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PandaMan, San Diego, California
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Purple flames rushing all around the little panda, the smell of burnt marshmallows filling the air. The panda felt the heat and the wind all around her. There was no escape, no way to get out. Her mom had been where the fire started, she was an orphan now, and all by herself. 

Mei woke up where she had fallen, replays of what happened the night before. Then it hit her, like a ball slamming into her, she was alone. Her mom had left her.

She looked around where she was, luckily there were no flames, but there were no trees, no bamboo. What was she supposed to eat? She must leave the forest she called home all her life.

As she began to walk away from the beloved forest, no places went through her head. The only thing in her mind is how fast her forest had gone up in flames. Where to? Where did mama come from? She thought to herself. Maybe I can go there. Mama said that there were other pandas there.

Mei finally came out of the burnt and destroyed forest. Fresh air is finally going through her body. A slight breeze rustled her fur, it was nowhere near the wind the other day. The sun was directly above her, the rays hit her fur, she was burning, all over was hurting. Is this how it is going to be? She wondered to herself. Sadness struck her, and some anger towards the one who started the fire.

The sun was setting into beautiful orange, with some bright and vivid yellow. Mei saw no place to wait for the night to pass. She knew that she couldn’t sleep, the trauma of the last day was melting through her brain. Like it was filling with liquids. The flames were filling her eyes, it burnt.

She had found a little cave in a small little hill. She could barely fit into it. It had begun to rain. 

Thump, thump, thump. Was all she could hear as the rain fell from the sky. When suddenly, BOOM, filled her ears. Thunder, it was thunder and hopefully not lightning. Thunder was hard enough to handle, but lightning with thunder is the beginning of a nightmare.

She pinched herself to see if it was a dream, she felt nothing, it was a DREAM! Relief spilled all over her, it was like cold water got poured all over her, the cold. Then she realized that it was day time. She tried getting up, but the cave was too small. 

A lot of struggling later she finally got out, her fur all uneven, some flat or crooked. As she began walking, something came into her sights on the ground. It looked black and white, but still, she was unsure of what it was. But as she got closer she realized what it was she couldn't believe it. It was her mother laying down, fur all rustled up. Wait, was it her? She asked herself.

She didn't know what to do,  then the noise of an engine filled her ears. Quickly she pulled her mother to a tree close by,  next to the tree was a hole big enough for both of them to hide in. She pushed and pulled her mother into the hole, last glance towards the tractor that seemed to be taking a big hole or flattening the ground, she couldn't tell which one. Hopefully, her mother was alive. Then she heard the humans talk, shouting more like,  the engine still filled her ears she couldn't hear what the humans were talking about.

 Then all of a sudden the tractor came towards the tree that she was hiding at. It sped towards her and she quickly pulled her mother out of the little hole,  just in time she pulled her out. The sound of the crashing of the tree-filled her ears like her eardrums were going to pop. Her heart was rushing, she just saved her mother's life, that was if she was alive.

It looks like she was going to wake up, she was stirring, some noise coming out of her but barely. Then, her eyes opened, she just looked at Mei.

¨ Mei,  is that you ?¨ she said softly, stroking her head like they have been separated for years upon years. But it had been a day, Mei couldn't believe her eyes were alive, all the nightmares just seemed to go away.

¨Mama, are you the only survivor ?¨ she said, watching tears going down her face,  Mei took that as a yes. both had tears in their eyes,  they both knew they had to go.  The tractor would track them down,  there seems to be another tractor when they look back, that tractor was heading straight to the burnt forest, looking like they're going to bulldoze the forest.  it looks like the fire was on purpose, the humans burnt the forest to bulldozer the whole thing away. 

What was it for? Why had they done it? Was it just for land? Or another reason? Do they even care about the animals that live there? 



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