Heart of Fire | ONC 2020

3. embers

Aera sat up on the sofa, coming to her senses. She surveyed the room before her. 

Her eyes were immediately drawn to the massive, looming bookshelf beside her; she stared at it with wonderment. On its shelves sat more books than she had ever seen, crammed together so tightly that no more could possibly have fit. She craned her neck, noticing that there were still more books atop the shelf, stacked flush to the ceiling, and even more piles on the floor. 

She turned to the younger man before her (for the older man had disappeared into the kitchen to rummage through the fridge). "Have you read all of these?" she asked.

She looked into his eyes for the first time. They reminded her of the pristine, unpolluted sky of the foreign land she had unwittingly visited on her birthday - just yesterday, she realized, although it already felt like ages ago. The rest of his face was ragged and heavily aged by more than thirty years of hard labor. He had several faded white scars on his cheek, his skin was tanned and tough, and the lower half of his face was covered in scraggly graying stubble. 

At her question, he let loose an unrestrained, childlike smile, his eyes crinkling and all signs of aging practically disappearing from his face.

"No, but my father did," he replied, the smile lingering.

As if on cue, the older man walked back into the room. He brought with him a plate of toast with jam and gently set it on the coffee table before Aera. Then he plopped into the worn leather armchair beside the couch, leaning back with a large sigh.

"Please do eat. I'd like to see you regain your strength, and, well . . . return home, I suppose. Someone must be missing you," the old man said. 

Without hesitation, Aera grabbed a slice of toast and took a large bite. She inquired again, this time to the older man, "you've read all of these books?"

He nodded. "Indeed."

"Where did you get them all?" She asked between bites. 

"First," he cleared his throat, "would you let me know your name?"

"It's Aera," she smiled. 

The older man held out his hand. She reached out to clasp it, and they shook. "I'm Mason, and this is my son, Jack. It's a pleasure to meet you, Aera."

She struggled for a moment to think of a response, then settled on, "Likewise".

Mason smiled. "I acquired most of these when the libraries closed. I tried to save as many as I could, as you can see." He gestured at the towering stacks of books. 

"Impressive," she interjected.

His smiled widened. "Some of them are also from my days in university, or from my work."

He paused, and Aera thought he was waiting for her to ask a question. "Where do you work?" 

She was not wrong to assume he was still working despite his age; retirement had become a rare phenomenon. "For our lovely government, doing research. But before we get into that, I think we need to sort some things out. Who are you?"

She shifted her eyes down. "I live at the edge of the city, but I work at a factory not far from here."

"You live with your parents?"

"Yes, but-"

"So they must be worried sick."

"I don't want to go back," Aera said without thinking. 

The room was silent and motionless. Even Aera herself was surprised by the words that had spilled from her mouth. At the same time, she felt a heavy weight lift off her chest that she had never even realized was there.

Once again, the younger man felt the need to break the silence. "I found you unconscious," Jack said slowly. "Do you have any idea what happened? Were you in an accident?"

She bit her lip. "I lit a match, and I . . . blacked out. That's all I remember." She had to stifle a flinch as she recollected what had actually happened - the horrors she'd seen in the darkness. It had felt all too real.

She noticed the old man stiffen, seemingly in reaction to something she said.

"Are you in any pain?" Jack asked her.

"No, I feel fine," she replied. "I can't thank you enough for the meal and your hospitality." She eyed Mason in the corner of her vision. She thought he might know something about what had been happening to her in the past few days.

"You're welcome," was all Mason said, gazing into space with a blank expression.

Jack suddenly looked at a clock and remarked that he was going to be late for work. He grabbed his jacket and wished Aera well on his way out the door, thinking it would likely remain their first and only meeting.

The moment the door clicked shut, Aera unleashed the onslaught of questioning she had been holding at bay. "So, what do you do for the government?"

"Scientific research."

"What kind?"

"Finding potential solutions to our current disastrous environmental situation."

She paused, not having expected that answer. 

Mason took the opportunity to volley a question back at her. "Are you enrolled in school?"

"No, my parents pulled me out ten years ago."

"That's a shame. You seem naturally inquisitive." He smiled. 

She thought he meant it both as a compliment and to poke fun at her interrogation, so she smiled back, continuing, "Were things better when you were my age?"

"No. I'm not that old. You'd have to go back a few more generations." He laughed, but then his smile faded. He stared into space again, as if watching memories play out in his mind. "My father told me stories passed down all the way from his great grandfather. The world used to be a much more colorful place. Breathtakingly beautiful." He paused. "Or maybe that's the wrong word to use. It's the air today that really takes your breath away."

Aera didn't know what to say next. They sat in silence, but it was an oddly comfortable silence. She felt that there was a deep sense of understanding between them. It was something she'd never felt before - with anyone she had known, much less a peculiar old man she had just met. 

She felt like she had already known him for many years.