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Chapter Two
Aura
Today it snowed up in the mountains, but the town was spared. This was a good thing, because I really needed to get to the market and sell the scarves and mittens I’d knitted over the past two weeks. With no means of transportation of my own, I had to walk, and walking in the snow was no easy feat. So, I was grateful fate was on my side when I started out in the morning.
The market was in the center of the town, and I lived near the outskirts. I lived in my parents’ house, sadly, all by myself. My parents had both passed away the previous winter because of a terrible flu. Many people died last winter, and I sure wasn’t looking forward to what was coming this year. My best friend, Mina, told me every day that it was going to be a bad one. She and Joseph were stocking up, especially now that Mina was pregnant with their first baby. Joseph had worked on their house since summer, and most of it was repaired now. Compared to their place, mine was in shambles. With no one to help me, I could only do so much. But I couldn’t ask Joseph, since his priority was his wife and their unborn child.
No matter. I was going to be fine on my own. I had a talent for knitting. My mother had taught me, and everyone in town wanted to buy what I made. They needed gloves, socks, scarves, hats, vests, and wool shirts. I made them pretty too, using various colors and models. The patterns had been passed down from mother to daughter in my family, and I was proud to keep the tradition alive. One day, when I had a daughter of my own, I would teach her how to knit.
The money I made was enough to pay the bills, keep the water running, the electricity on... Now that a harsh winter was coming, I was going to have to buy more firewood, but I wasn’t worried. If I sold my things at the market twice a month, it was enough for me. And I needed very little to survive.
Spending a day at the market was fun, too. I had friends here, and while the customers browsed, we drank mulled wine and chatted. Everyone was getting ready for Christmas. We knew little about the winter holiday because the books that had survived the Shift were few and incomplete, but we knew it was about decorating everything in pretty colors and lights, and exchanging presents on the first day of Christmas.
The indoors market was decorated beautifully, and after I sold most of my merchandise, I counted my credits and decided I had plenty. I could spend a little to buy a string of Christmas lights to decorate the house. The market closed late in the evening, after sunset. I said goodbye to my friends and started back home, pulling my winter coat tightly around myself. It had snowed a little while I was inside all day, and the snow crunched softly under my boots. I was glad it wasn’t snowing now. I just wanted to make it back home, make myself a hot cup of tea and some dinner, and read a book in front of the fireplace until I was too tired to keep my eyes open. Today had been a good day. I could afford to go to bed late and take the day off tomorrow.
I picked up the pace, and soon enough, I was in my neighborhood. As I approached my street, I saw a crowd of people gathered outside, and then I saw flames rising, illuminating the moonless sky. I gasped and ran to the nearest person to ask them what was going on.
“A house caught fire,” the old woman informed me.
“Whose house?”
“I don’t know, Aura. I can’t see anything from here.”
I asked a few more people, but we were too far from the fire to see well enough, so no one was sure whose house it was. I pushed my way through the crowd, a knot forming in my chest. It couldn’t be... It couldn’t possibly be my house.
Someone grabbed my sleeve as I forced my way to the front, and I saw it was Mina, my best friend. She had one hand on her round belly as she clung to the sleeve of my coat with the other.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. There were tears in her eyes. “Aura, they’re doing everything they can. Joseph is there, helping.”
“What do you mean? That is not...” I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I gasped for air as I shook my head and pulled my arm free. I ran to the front of the crowd and finally saw it. The fire. “No... It can’t be... This can’t be happening...” I fell to my knees as I watched the house that I grew up in burn right before my eyes.
A small circle formed around me, and my neighbors pulled me to my feet and tried to console me. Mina hugged me from behind and held me in place when I wanted to run towards my house. There were men who were trying to put out the fire, and it was working, but I could tell it was too late. Now I wanted it to snow.
“Did you leave the fire burning?” one of my neighbors asked me.
“Of course not!”
“A candle?”
“No!”
I didn’t even use candles. I’d been living on my own for a year, and I knew how to take care of myself and the house. I almost felt offended that my neighbors would ask me things like that, but I tried to see this from their perspective. One house catching fire put all the other houses in danger. This wasn’t just about me. I took a moment to look around me, and I was glad to see that none of the neighboring houses had been affected by the fire. At least there was that. If I had to suffer, fine. But no one else had to suffer because of me.
Mina hugged me, and I hugged her back. After another hour, the fire was put out, and the onlookers started returning to their homes. My house was in ruins.
“I need to see what I can save,” I told Mina.
It was really late, but she nodded. The men who had put out the fire were exhausted and dirty, and as they told me they were sorry and patted me on the back, I could see that their eyes were red from all the smoke, and they were coughing. I felt so bad, but also grateful that everyone had rushed to help. Joseph, Mina’s husband, emerged from the ruins covered in soot from head to toe. When he heard what we wanted to do, he didn’t go home, though. He stayed with us, and the three of us tried to save as much as we could from the house.
It was getting late, and Mina was tired. Joseph really needed a bath. I had no tears left to cry.
“Come stay with us,” Mina said.
“Thank you.”
I couldn’t say no. I had nowhere else to go, and it was past midnight.
Back at their house, they gave me the room next to the kitchen. It was small, but it was warm and cozy. Mina gave me fresh sheets and towels, then she went to make something to eat for all of us while Joseph took a bath. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I just sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the bundle of things we’d managed to save – a framed photo of my parents on the day they got married, a few clothes that were at the back of the closet, an old pair of shoes, and my knitting needles, but now I had no yarn. In the pockets of my coat, I had the money I’d made at the market, and the Christmas lights I’d bought. That was everything.
