Systems Processsing

(Signs of the Times is a work of fiction based on true events. Views expressed are the characters’ own. Viewer discretion is advised.)

As the campfire burned low, Mother turned to the fire and spoke.

“We spend too much time looking within,” she said.

I watched the light and shadows dance across her face.

“We look into the water without looking at the whole.”

My sister nodded along. She held her hands out in front of the fire.

“I need my girls to see the whole,” Mother added

“What hole?” my sister asked.

“Life,” Mother said. “People. Humanity.”

I felt the heat burning my legs through the denim. It was May. The snow had melted. Wolves stalked the lands. The pups were taking their first steps in an indifferent world.

I picked up a stick at my side. Prodded the fire. Watched the sparks ascend into the cold night and disappear into nothingness.

“Take the lake by our land,” Mother continued. “We look within it for fish and turtles and frogs. But how often do we see the lake as a whole?”

“Like a drain?” my sister asked.

I laughed. Mother turned to me. I quieted down. Went back to poking the fire, pretending to listen but watching the sparks rise higher and higher staying brighter and hotter for just a little longer.