The smoke shrouded as the fire billowed. The eccentric mix of shades of orange, red, and yellow engulfed the land. Green, lively, and bright trees had been turned into somber, pitch-black, and lifeless trees. Jeff mused at this sight. The ground was tanned and the leaves were nothing more than black. Everything had changed; from lively to dead, this resembled a war zone. The catastrophic bushfires had not razed a quarter of the land but more than half. Animals like dingoes stood there in disbelief. The orange skin on their tails curled up like a ball.
Just last year, Jeff could say the same thing about Port Norlunga. Bushfires, started as a joke by a group of boys had torn down over 170 million acres of land. Sadly, Jeff had lost his dream job, as a paleontologist. He narrowly escaped the fire, with his car and a $20 note. Now, he had moved to Niche, a tropical city on the coast. To make ends meet, he became a firefighter, fighting his enemy. And then it struck again. Out of the boiling frypan into the scorching fire. Yes, the fire. But no longer could he sit on the grainy sand, peering at the vivid blues and the magical greens of the ocean. He sprinted off, into the abyss hoping the fire would not enervate anyone.
But so it did. The fire, even though having breathtaking colors, rampaged through towns, tearing apart vulnerable families, and making buildings look like ragged dolls. However, that wasn’t the worst part. It was how unmerciful the fire was toward nature. Ashes practically fell on the trees, bestowed thousands of years ago. This enraged the people of the town. Sacrificing their lives, they took down the fire without mercy, like it did to nature. Trees were replanted for generations to come, as they sprouted, putting a smile on everyone’s faces.
So, maybe Jeff’s life will not be all gloom and doom. Sure, the first couple of chapters have been written, but who knows? Maybe it switches from a frying pan into a fire to finally, a cool, lovely forest.