"Hole in the Earth"
The things that divide us are stronger then the things that unite us
They were young.
In the woods behind someone's house John and Emily gathered leaves and set them on fire. John struck two matches at once without ripping them out of the pack. He touched the burning matches to as many leaves as he could before the whole pack ignited and burned into his fingers.
The day was overcast. The air sharp, the kind that hurt the lungs when inhaled. The fire grew and John pushed Emily back a few feet. "Move," he said.
The two of them stood in the leaves, sometimes in the fire, the flames sometimes reaching out to the bottoms of their jeans. Emily bent into the fire and pulled out a burning leaf. She held the leaf between her two fingers and watched it dissolve into an edge of red ember that only left the hard stern in her hand.
"Get some more."
They gathered leaves again and again, moving further into the woods each time, bending to the ground and scooping them up in their arms, carrying back what seemed like entire forests pressed to their chests.
As she bent to pick up leaves, John poked Emily between the leg with the stick he had used to stir the fire. She pretended to ignore him. John pushed the stick back and forth, rubbing it not so much against Emily's crotch as along the inside of her thighs, scratching against her jeans.
As he poked her he laughed, not a regular funny laugh but higher-pitched, like a maniac on the loose.
Emily looked at him the same way her mother sometimes looked at her father and said, "Quit it."
They lit fires, each one bigger than the last until the flames started jumping wildly and as they stamped them out the frayed parts of their jeans caught fire and the denim glowed red and they could feel the heat on their clean white calves.
The woods filled with smoke and the edge of one of the fires got loose and John had to chase after it. Far off they heard sirens, and Emily thought for sure they were for them.
Finally, when they had scared themselves sufficiently, when both of John's legs were covered with bright red burn marks so hot they felt cold, he and Emily sat down on the dirt. Emily pulled a pack of cigarettes from the back pocket of her jeans. She shook one out for herself and lit it with one of the spare matches.
"That was good."
Emily nodded and didn't say anything. She was practicing inhaling and didn't want to break her concentration.
"We should go to Downer's Creek," she said, "before it gets too dark."
"Why? It's just an old bridge."
She didn't answer, just climbed back to her feet and dusted herself off. John followed her through the trees as the sky grew darker and everything seemed outlined in charcoal.
Where the trees broke was an old wooden bridge that was set on risers as it ran over a steady flowing river. The water looked inky black from where John stood. He noticed a sign warning to not use the bridge as it needed repair.
Emily ignored it and started up the rickety steps onto the bridge.
"Hey!" he called. "The bridge isn't safe."
"Don't be a wuss," she said. "It'll hold us. We're light."
John stepped through the leaves and started up the steps as they groaned when they came to life. Emily had made it down to the midway point where the bridge almost seemed to bow.
"Do you believe in God?" she asked and it was a little hard to hear over the rushing water and the wind cutting through the trees.
"Not really, it seems kind of silly to think there's one being responsible for all of us don't you think?"
"Sometimes, late at night I'll ask God if he can hear me if he'll turn my light on or move my blanket or stop my dad from coming into my room."
"Does it work?"
"No," she said. "I don't think he can hear me. He might be too busy or something."
John watched as she climbed up onto the railing. The bridge started to creak.
"What are you doing?!"
"I don't think God was paying attention to me before, but I thought maybe if I made him know who I was he'd save me."
"Emily, get down --! This is crazy."
He ran, or he thought he told his legs to, but they didn't move.
Instead he stood frozen as Emily dove over the railing.
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