Chapter 1
The Firemaster stood looking at the blackened pile of charcoal and half-burned wood. Not a wisp of smoke emanated from the pile. He knelt and held His hand close looking for warmth… for any sign of life. His face, usually enigmatic, today reflected the sadness of the lifeless fire-ring. With a stick He stirred the dead coals, periodically placing His hand close… testing…searching… looking for some sign that heat, even just a little heat remained. If He could find it, then with it was hope. And the Firemaster knew that hope is a powerful thing.
The man sat on the bench in the park quiet. In the distance a couple runners jogged side-by-side, their breathless conversation garbled and mingled with the birdsong all around him. But the man heard neither the birds or the runners. Slumped forward, head in his hands, the man was lost in thought. It seemed like just yesterday that He had been basking in the warmth of the fire. It had given light to his surroundings, warmth to his body, and hope in his soul. Yet, now it was gone. The fire had died and he wasn’t sure exactly what or how it had happened…
The woman lay quietly in the bed. The alarm had gone off over half an hour before. She had silenced the alarm that had annoyed her but not awakened her. She had been awake for hours… thinking, fighting off the sadness, trying to understand. The fire, her greatest joy for such a long time, was now out. It had died and just like the dark smokeless pile of fire remnants, her heart felt blackened and cold. She started to cry again.
The Firemaster continued to stir. A look of resolve in His countenance, the Firemaster knew that hope remained if He could find just one coal. A fire, the type of fire that He builds and teaches His pupils to build, is not easily put out. In fact many have weighed in and said His fire is the most powerful of forces. Long-enduring, consuming chaff and stubble, His fire is able to refine, purify, and make strong. Suddenly the tiniest of wisps arose out of the pile of dead coals. It was just a single wisp, but the Firemaster’s trained eye caught it. His hand immediately went out to find the subtle temperature difference. It took only a few moments more for the Firemaster to find it. A single coal. As He lifted it to His face, the Firemaster gave a gentle blow on the coal. The merest hint of color appeared in the coal, but it was enough. The Firemaster’s eyes lit up. Hope remained.
The man roused himself, resigned that he had lost something precious, perhaps the most precious thing he would ever know. While he had hurled accusations and blame for the fire’s demise, the past few hours of introspection had cut through his excuses. He was given responsibility to tend the fire and he hadn’t. The Firemaster had taught him not only how to build the fire, but He had stressed the need for diligence in maintaining and caring for it. Too many distractions, too little tending.
The woman pushed herself out of the bed. Against everything she felt at that moment, she willed herself to get moving. Showered and dressed, she still felt the heaviness of the loss, but at least she was up and moving. Knowing that life would never be the same, she determined to put the thoughts of the fire out of her mind and get on with life. While she may never again feel the warmth of that fire, she determined to learn from her mistakes and move on. Mistakes… yes, she could now see her mistakes. She too had learned the art of the fire from the Firemaster. She knew that tending the fire was a team effort. And she had lost sight of that at some point, just like she lost sight of tending the fire. And now it was gone.
The Firemaster held the coal in a metal box. Inside the box He put two other coals. Periodically He would blow a soft breath across them and watch the glow increase. A slight smile crossed His face. He waited.
For the man, the days passed in a numb blur. He continued work, he worked out, he read, but everything, from the taste of food to the perception of the weather was somehow less. He worked hard to put the thoughts of the fire out of his mind. But unbidden, the thoughts would come… laughter in the fire’s glow, tender moments shared over the hot coals, warmth from the fire that warded off the cold outside. In desperation the man decided he had to find closure. Perhaps, if he returned to where the fire was first lit, he could somehow put it to rest. If he viewed the blackened pile maybe he could be done with this constant dull ache of loss and move on.
The woman put on her make-up each day and with it went the fake smile to cover up the pain that she had hoped would soon lessen. Each day seemed so like the last… yet none felt like the days with the fire. While time had passed, her memory was still keen of the times holding hands and sharing life in the fire’s light. In fact, in some ways the memories today were stronger than in those final days when she had forgotten the fire and let it die. How could she have lost sight of something so precious? Finishing with her lipstick she decided that today she would visit their fire ring and, well… she wasn’t exactly sure, but it had been the beginning of something beautiful once. Today she would visit to see if visiting could bring this to an end. Then possibly, she would have a chance to truly move on and, perhaps start something new.
Chapter 2
The Firemaster saw the man coming when he was still far off. The Firemaster knew this day would come the moment He found the coal that still had life. The man came with purposeful step. He was on a mission and the Firemaster could tell it in his step and the grim look of determination on his face. Yet when the fire ring came into view the man’s step slowed and a look of pain crept across his visage. The Firemaster allowed the man to stand on the edge of the fire ring a long time knowing that he needed this. It was a long time coming, this final grieving and closure.
The Firemaster stepped up and spoke. “It was a great fire.”
The man jumped, not having heard the Firemaster approach. “Oh, Sir, I didn’t hear you.” Recovering he said, “It was. I am sorry that it went out.”
“It died you mean.” said the Firemaster.
“Yes, it died and went out,” said the man. “I am sorry I didn’t heed your instructions and continue tending it. It was precious to me… to us, but I lost sight of that.”
“You are half right. It did die.”
“What do you mean half right? Look at it. There is nothing left, no life, no flame, no smoke. It is dead and out,” declared the man, a note of frustration in his voice.
“It is dead, that is correct. But death isn’t necessarily the end,” replied the Firemaster. “The flame is the outward and visible part of the fire. We look at that and say the fire is alive or dead. But the fire is more than just the flame.”
“So your saying their was something left after the fire died?” asked the man with hope creeping into his voice.
“There was,” said the Firemaster holding out the box with the coals, “and there still is.”
Wonder filled the man’s eyes as he peered into the box and saw the coals. “This is from OUR fire?”
“It is. And as you can see, what was dead is now alive.”
“So what do I do? Can it create a full fire once again?”
“Do you remember what I taught you? Can you build a fire?” asked the Firemaster. Then with a gaze steady he asked, “will you tend it as I taught you?”
The man couldn’t hold his gaze and dropped his eyes. “I always assumed I could. That seemed like the easiest part. I always thought the real work went into starting and building the fire, yet it seems like we handled that without too much trouble. It was only later that we realized that the blaze we had long enjoyed had gone out. And then it was only too easy to look across the blackened pit and see what the other had done and not done to keep the fire going.”
A long silence ensued. The Firemaster watched the man as he stared at the charcoal at his feet. The hope he had recently felt seemed to have evaporated as quickly as water on hot coals. He was now pensive and brooding.
The Firemaster watched, considering the man’s thoughtful silence a good sign. “Building and keeping the fire is a team effort. But you are 100% responsible for the fire. You submit to one another, but it is your consistent sacrifice to be aware of and nurture both your partner and the fire that ensures it will never go out. While you have many things that can occupy your life and mind, there is nothing more important than tending the fire with her.”
The Firemaster’s voice was low and gentle. There was no accusation in it. It was a simple summation of what He had taught the man. Lessons given, but until now, not sufficiently heeded.
“So, you’re saying there is hope?” He breathed out more as a wish than a question.
“You have the coals. Why don’t you see for yourself. Do you remember how to build a fire?”
A slight smile crossed the man’s face. “Building the fire wasn’t the problem. Keeping it going was our challenge.”
The Firemaster chuckled heartily, “No, you two built a raging fire at times. Perhaps you might put as much energy into tending the fire the next time.”
The man was suddenly struck with a thought, “but will she come?”
The Firemaster noting the concern that crossed the man’s face said, “You can only control what you do. It is of no use worrying about what others think and do. You are to build a fire and tend it as you were taught. To do that you need to prepare. You do remember how to build a fire, don’t you?” a playful light coming to the Firemaster’s eyes.
“Yes, I do. So I prepare even if she doesn’t return?”
“Son, I have given you the ability to build and tend a fire. It is a very great gift. It is my design that you and your partner build a fire together and that your fire burn brightly for as long as you both live. In fact some fires continue even after. Not everyone tends their fire though. Some die and do go out. I do not take away the privilege or the responsibility to build a fire even though one of you may no longer desire it.”
“You returned here today looking for something… closure perhaps… peace I suppose… maybe a new beginning. They are all here. They are tied to your faith that another fire is worth the risk and your courage to begin again. I cannot promise you who you will build the fire with. But I can tell you that you are called to build a fire. And this coal will be your start.”
The man smiled at the Firemaster. “I am ready, Sir. I need to gather materials. And I am going to be sure I have plenty of wood for tending it once it is started. You said I was good at starting a fire a moment ago. It’s been a long time since I had to start one, but I will take your word for it. I suspect you are right. I also hear your call, your challenge to tend it this time as if it was my sole responsibility. This I will endeavor to do so. Do you have any specific wisdom for me?”
“Indeed I do,” said the Firemaster breaking into a broad grin. “I am always near. I love to help with fire. All anyone has to do is call to me and I will be there to help. So do not forget that. All you have to do is call and I will be there.”
Chapter 3
The man had just crested a hillside east of the fire ring when the woman appeared from a trail to the south. She noticed the Firemaster from a distance and quickened her pace. She was almost running as she got to Him and threw her arms around Him. The Firemaster returned her embrace, whispering words of comfort as hot tears fell from the woman and onto His shoulder.
“There, there now daughter everything will be alright. You are fine my child. I am here with you and you need not worry.”
“Oh, Firemaster, I forgot your words of warning and I let the fire go out. I failed you… I failed us. Oh Firemaster it is all my fault,” she cried.
At length her tears subsided and she regained control of her emotions. His words of comfort were seeping into her, giving her peace and solidity that she hadn’t felt in a long time.
She gently pushed herself back and took a step back so she could look at Him. “I forgot your teaching Firemaster. You taught us to tend the fire well. You even said to beware, that it was easy to assume the fire would continue unabated once we got it started, but that it needed attention and tending. You warned us that the fire could and would die if we were not careful.” Another sniffle rose as she said this and the tears threatened to flow again.
“Indeed my child. I did say that, but what else did I say? What did I say about the flames dying and the coals?”
The woman was struck with a memory. “Yes, you did say that the flames were wont to flicker and die, but that we were not to lose hope. I had forgotten that. You said that the fire was still in the coals.”
Her eyes brightened momentarily. Then she looked at the fire ring and noticed how dead, cold, and bleak it was. He countenance fell. “I have waited too long,” she said.
“Have you?” asked the Firemaster as He pulled the metal box with the coal in it out and held it before her.
Surprise and a questioning look quickly crossed her eyes. “Is that….?”
“It is your coal, my dear. You still have hope because a coal yet lives.”
The woman gasped. Hope, the one thing she kept reaching for yet never quite able to reach was now held in the little box right in front of her. She looked in, blew on the coals and saw the intensity of the glow increase. She squealed with delight.
“It is. I can begin again,” she whispered. The faint stirrings of something more… a precursor of joy perhaps, began in her. She gave voice to her next thought, “I failed in tending this fire. I don’t want to fail again. I forgot the most important lesson in tending the fire.”
“And what was that?” asked the Firemaster. It was like she was a youth again learning the lessons of life and fire building.
She stated it simply. “Respect.”
“Very good,” replied the Firemaster. “And what does that really mean? Is is ‘Yes, sir’ and ‘No sir’ or something else?”
The woman chuckled at the memory evoked. He had asked her exactly the same thing in her training. “Well, true fire-building as you taught us is a team activity. You have given us roles in our relationships. Successful fire-building, and especially fire tending, are hugely dependent upon these roles. My role is to respect my partner and show him how much I respect him by the way I submit.”
She had not thought this clear-minded in a while. Serious now, she went on. “You taught us that we are both 100% responsible for the fire. And we are to submit to one another like we submit to You. But that mutual submission has these roles that allow us to work in harmony. It is far beyond simple courtesy, so no, it is not a yes, sir and no, sir sort of thing. It is more affirming and more genuine than that.”
“Well done… well done, daughter. I don’t know that you said it nearly that well, or heartfelt, in your training.”
She smiled a rueful smile, “I hadn’t had the lesson punctuated by my fire going out.”
“Yes, there is that, isn’t there,” He replied. “Well, as you see, there are still embers. I know it has been a long time, but do you still remember how to build a fire?”
The woman smiled again, more fully now as the stirrings within were definitely beginning to feel like joy. “I think I can figure it out. But, he is gone. I don’t really know that I want to build a fire again if…” She let the thought hang.
“Daughter, do not worry about when and who and how. You have been taught the art of fire-building. It is the highest calling for all my students. Prepare and when it is time, you will once again build a fire. I will hold this coal for you. Now go and prepare. You will once again know the joy of a shared fire.”
The woman couldn’t help herself. She quickly threw her arms around the Firemaster and placed a kiss on His cheek. Slightly embarrassed by her own spontaneity, she drew back with a grin, “Um, sorry, I guess I got a little carried away.”
The Firemaster laughed full and throaty. “Daughter, Daddies never tire when their children show affection. Be off with you now and gather what you need. There is a fire to build.”
With His encouragement ringing in her eyes she turned a skipped off to prepare for a fire.
Chapter 4
It was much later in the day when the woman returned. She had found two bags and inside were materials for tinder and kindling. She sat them on the ground beside the Firemaster who was now seated on a log as a stool.
“I remember that we did not have enough fuel for the long haul, so I have spotted some bigger branches that I am going back to get. I will be back shortly,” she said.
As she disappeared down the trail to the west, the man appeared out of the woods to the north of the clearing where the ring was located. He had a pack on his back with wood and materials sticking out the top. He was also dragging a large tree branch. While he was making slow progress, it was obvious that he was pleased with his work. He smiled at the Firemaster and shouted a greeting as he approached.
A broad smile on his face, he was sweaty, dirty, and happy. The prospect of building a fire in the gathering dark was pleasing to him. As he neared the Firemaster, he noticed the other fire material lying close by.
“Did you do some work or am I to assume you have another pupil hard at work?” the man asked.
“I have lot’s of pupils, young man. And as far as work, it’s a rather loaded question. I guess my work is measured by the impact of the lives I teach. Little impact, then I guess I work little. Big impact, then I guess I work more. What are your thoughts on the matter? Did I do some work… with you?”
The man’s broad smile faded a bit, but the humor hadn’t completely left him. “Well, I guess your teaching was actually quite good, so yes, I would say you worked. And You are still working. As far as the results…”
He was thoughtful before he finished. “The fire we had was the best thing that I have ever experienced. It was all that I had hoped for and more. We laughed, cried, kissed, and fought, but we made and tended the fire well for a long time. It hurts like hell that it has died. But I am so thankful that it has not gone out completely. Firemaster, I would that we could build a fire again, but even if we can’t, I want to start a fire again. I want the warmth and light and life that we experienced to be possible again.”
The Firemaster’s look was deep and thoughtful. He took a few moments before replying, like He was weighing an important matter before rendering a final decision.
The man noticed it was noticeably darker when He finally spoke. It appeared as though the decision had been made and filed away. “What did you get for building the fire?”
“I searched as you taught us to, Firemaster. I found downed branches from of the fruit trees you said were most desirous. I found gentleness, peace, a whole downed tree of self-control. You don’t see much of that tree in the city anymore. I got some patience and kindness limbs too. This big branch here is from a goodness tree. Oh, and look,” he said as he pulled something out of the side pocket of the backpack. “I have these twigs from the love shrubs growing on the hillside on the other side of the valley.”
The Firemaster smiled broadly, as much at the man’s enthusiasm as at his cache of fire making materials. “You have done very well, my son. I think you have enough to start laying in the fire bed.” With a twinkle in His eye He said, “why don’t you turn around and get started?”
The man was a little surprised. He had some material, but he assumed he would need to have more based upon recent experience of running short. And he was also without a partner. But the Firemaster was the expert. His fires never went out.
The man turned and across the fire ring he saw her and it took his breath away. “How long have you been here?” he asked in surprise and with the slightest hint of irritation.
“Long enough.” she smiled slightly.
“Long enough to hear me pour my heart out to the Firemaster?”
“Long enough to know that I was wrong to walk away and not search for a warm coal,” her tone respectful and just a bit pensive.
His irritation at being overheard was long gone and the surprise was quickly becoming wonder as he said, “Well, I meant it… if you heard what I said.”
“I heard,” she said. “And I want you to know much I regret that I let the fire go out.”
“It didn’t go out,” he said as he took tentative steps toward her. “It died because I didn’t tend it like I should. It is not your fault. It was mine. And I want you to know that I am sorry.”
She came to him and they embraced, tentative at first, but with more intensity as whispered apologies and forgivenesses were spoken. When they finally separated they both wiped away tears of joy and happiness.
“Well, it sounded like you had almost all the materials you needed for the fire except joy and faithfulness,” she said. “It just so happens that is what I found in abundance as well as branches and twigs of love, peace, and kindness.”
He laughed. “I guess we are just about ready. Let’s build the fire bed and then we can get the coal… OUR coal, to start the fire.”
Turning toward the log stool they started to ask the Firemaster a question but He was gone. They looked all around but didn’t see Him anywhere. All that was visible was a little metal box sitting on the log. And by the glow of it, they were about to have a fire.
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