Flames

Chapter 4

The day was no different than the last or the one before that, for that matter.  The grey clouds loomed over us ever so ominously; the air was stiff, and the heat stifling. Grace and I had shed our own clothes for bought thrift shop items; anything was better than my singed shirt. Mom promised us that she would make us new clothes with the left over fabric.  Mom was a seamstress and created clothing to sell at the Charity shop and other stores.   It wasn’t much, but it was something, she always said. The lady at the thrift shop put Grace in a yellow sundress that came to her knees and gave me a pair of ill-fitting jean shorts and a simple purple t-shirt.  I spotted Ethan a little ways away and we wove our way through the crowd towards him.

                The parade marks the anniversary of the war. Every year, on the day the war began, the town gets together to have a celebration of hope that things will get better and a celebration to give people courage to face another year through the war if necessary.  For the last three years, it has been.  This will be the third parade the town has held as they didn’t have one on the day the war started.  The war began four years ago when the Jermalve bombed our capital and destroyed it.  From what I’ve heard and understood, the Jermalve is an alliance of four different countries that planned to take over the world, greedy for power and therefore targeted the only superpower left. Soon after the bombing, troops were assembled and sent overseas or sent to different parts of the nation.  At first, only volunteers were taken, but then a draft was put in place and almost every male eighteen or older was called in for duty.  Dad had evaded the draft at first because he was a policeman, but then they decided that he was more useful on the battlefield.  I sighed sadly as I looked at Ethan’s smiling face.  He had two years left before he will be picked up by the army and spat out in the middle of the war.  He knows this, but we don’t talk about it because I know it will stress him. Ava stood next to him, her long black hair waving in the wind and her brown eyes found Grace’s face and they ran to greet each other.  I caught up to them as they hugged each other and I hugged Ethan hello, then hugged Ava. “How are you?”I asked both Ethan and Ava.

                “Fine,” Ava’s small voice rang out among the crowd’s noise and Ethan nodded his head, indicating he was the same.

                “Are you ready for today?” Ethan searched the street people crowded around, unlike me, ready for anything.

                “Sure,” I said half-heartedly. Drums started to beat, indicating the parade has started. I searched the grounds, Mom was supposed to meet us here. She must have gotten held at the small sewing factory overtime.  Teenagers in the school band started to march down the street in red uniforms, playing their instruments creating loud music that drowned the crowd’s ability to hear each other. The song was the school song they all knew so well and it was played over and over again as they passed our spot.  The twirlers, which were only about five girls, followed throwing their silver batons into the air and dropping them occasionally.  Their glittery costumes sparkled dully as the sun hid behind darker clouds.

                Next in line were a bunch of women holding up a banner that said, “Be Brave; Grow a Garden.” I raised my eyebrow and looked at Ethan who looked like he was on the verge of laughing.  We both refrained from doing so, as it would have been disrespectful and resulted in nasty glares.  Although, I didn’t think growing a garden took much bravery, it wasn’t a bad idea either.  Ethan leaned down to reach my ear, “Where do you think they’ll give you the instructions?”

                “If I knew that, I’d be there right now,” I snapped then bit my tongue, after I realized my mistake, “I’m sorry, I’m tense.  Forget that ever came out of my mouth, please?”