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Show His socks conbinue sbeaming as bhe f i r e ' s heab draws oub moisbure from bhe wet wooL. His feet feel sharp, sabre-Like sbabs of pain. He bhinks he should move bhem furbher from bhe f i r e , bub the fee Ling, bhough painfuL, is also fuLfiLLlng, somehow. He sighs and bhe f i r e suddenly shifbs, biLbed by bhe sinking, warming snow; the pLabform Leans and ib appears as if ib is aboub bo send bhe f i r e exbinguishing inbo bhe snow. Rene grabs for a dead branch and manages bo hold the pLabform up whiLe wibh one foob parbiaLLy in his boob he kicks bhe snow around unbiL bhe fire resbs prebby much on bhe LeveL again. i stared down at them Leaning, they intertwined who were intertwined with my bLood bub nob only my blood because mine ran aLso wibh his who ran in circles enclosing Like a cage i was nob in the cage i was in the tree Leaning my face was hidden behind the green Leaves their faces were mixing with the green grasses below me r i c h a r d ' s back was speckLed with specks of twigs seeds Lisa's face fluttering in the moving shadows of the Leaves behind which i heLd onto the rough bark Leaning i could hear her short moon-filled gasps they rustLed the Leaves across my face hot and sticky like bLood conningLing i couLd feeL i t running through the veins of the tree i held hard onto then i knew i was going north and i Left them Lisa screaming words about father echoing in my ears caught between two canyon walls crumbling richard smiLing so damned complacent and not-caring because aLL he cared to do was bask in the power he had over me as if not caring about father made him stronger but then i t did sometimes make me feeL weak whenever Lisa would start in about your father your father as if i t was only bLood that made a father and not a Life Long passion in deed as well and i would feeL that double puLL Like planets opposing wanting to reject him but not wanting because that wouLd be Like opening a spigot and Letting the blood f Low dry and besides what did Lisa offer or even mother for that matter bub sbiLL famiLy i felb you're aLL famiLy and sometimes i wanted so bad for them to heLp me because father wasn't much of a heLp to me mother thought i worshipped him after he Left but no i onLy f e l t puLLed Like tide to moon needing somehow for some kind of tie even if i t Was Loose Like piLes of firewood tied together moving up those steep hiLLs we saw on the films in school about mexico on curving backs moving slow in ancient rhythm at Least there was that tie I t is night now and Rene dozes in and out of sleep sinking and rising, breaking up more wood when he needs to. The c i r d e of the fire sLowly expands, exposing new Layers of snow to i t s steady heat, greying i t with heat and soot. The chips from the wood piLe extend out from the c i r d e ' s edge Like truncated rays from a bLack sun slowLy consuming i t s own energy. The c i r d e aLso expands downward, Like a spiraLing staircase, Like the ever growing point of an i c i d e . 10 |
