Kindling

'Come on, Phil, put your foot down!'
Paulie grinned as he caught sight of Phil's annoyed eyes in the
mirror.
'Shut up Paulie. We're already doing seventy'
'What, is that all?' Carl took a long pull from his can of beer. 'Hey
G. You're not saying much. Too fast for you, is it?'
George stared out at the shadowy trees zipping past, their boughs acid
green in the headlights. He was scared all right, but he'd die rather
than admit it. He hadn't opened his can of beer, and was hoping that
once they got to the pub, the others would drink too much and ask him
to drive back. Carl was already drunk, but then, that was Carl.
'Come on, Phil, overtake that beamer' Paulie was on the edge of his
seat. Phil didn't think he could ever drive fast enough for him.

Phil had never been more popular. Passing his driving test and buying
this old car had done wonders for his social life, but at times like
this he wished he was back in his quiet room, or driving alone through
the dark, watching for the luminous eyes of foxes gleaming from the
hedgerows.
He sighed, and slowed down.
'Come on!' Paulie urged. 'Flash the guy, maybe he'll move over'
'Yeah. Overtake him, Phil, so I can chuck my can at his shiny paint
job'
George tried to ignore his racing heart.
'For Christs's sake, will you shut up' Phil snapped.
'Oo, he's thrown away his dummy!' Carl laughed. 'Dearie me, have we
upset ickle Phil?'
George glanced back at Paulie. His face was a mask of concentration.
His can of beer was wedged between his knees, and he was savagely
biting his nails.
Phil turned down a narrow lane, driving slowly as he saw the glow in
the sky of headlights approaching. The tightness in George's chest
eased. They were nearly there, and Phil was a good driver, despite all
the goading. As they passed the oncoming car, Carl knelt up on the back
seat and mooned at the driver. Paulie collapsed with laughter, and even
George grinned, though he could see the anger in Phil's eyes.
'Bloody hell, Carl!'
'Oh, lighten up, will you. It's only a bit of fun'

Phil pulled into the bright lights of the Hat and Beaver. Paulie was
out of the back seat before he had pulled on the handbrake. Carl
followed him, the two of them kicking his empty beer can across the
gravel.
'You okay?' George asked quietly.
Phil looked across at him and grinned slowly. The best thing about
suddenly having mates was that one of them was George.
'I don't mind driving back, if you want'
Phil shook his head. 'Thanks G, but I'm not going to drink. Those two
are a liability.'
The pub was heaving, and Paulie had already got the drinks in. Four
pints, as Phil might have predicted. He took his, and watched as Paulie
feverishly played the fruit machine. Carl was looking round at a group
of girls, as George watched the men playing pool. He admired their
skill, how they made the cue ball zip round the table. One of the lads
saw him watching and gave him a friendly smile, nodding over to where a
chalk board held the initials of those waiting to play. George felt his
face colouring and shook his head, smiling and shrugging that he could
not play.
'What's up?' Phil asked.
'Nothing' George murmured. 'Um. Can you play pool?'
Phil shrugged. 'A bit. Why, do you want a game?'
'Oh no.' George looked away, suddenly imagining Phil's rangy frame
leaning over the pool table, striking the balls, insisting they obey
him.. He shook his head.
Carl was now over at the girl's table, and they were giggling at one of
his silly jokes. Phil sighed, wishing he had all Carl's self
confidence; he was eighteen years old like the rest of them, but he
acted like James Bond. The wonder of it was, he got away with it. Carl
would never be lonely, that was for sure. He glanced at George.
'We should be getting back.' Phil put his untouched pint on an empty
table. George glanced over to where Paulie had lost on the fruit
machine, and was slapping the side of it in frustration.
'I bet Paulie has his first heart attack before he gets to thirty' Phil
mused.
'Well, what are we doing?' Carl returned, grinning from ear to ear as
he pocketed a small piece of paper.
'Let's head back' Phil said. 'Coming, Paulie?'
Paulie was first out of the pub, and Carl pulled George into a bear hug
on the way out.
'You going to talk to us on the way back then, G? Just for a
change?'
'Lay off!' George pulled away, embarrassed. Carl just laughed.
Phil drove back with Carl in the front seat, bragging about the girl
whose phone number he'd got. Paulie listened absently, but was more
interested in the speedometer, as if by staring at it he could make
them travel faster.
'I can't wait to sit my test' he said, breathlessly.
'When is it?' George asked.
'Don't know. The instructor says I need to have a few more lessons
first'
'Yeah' Carl grinned. 'Teach you to slow down, mate!'
Paulie grinned in the darkness. 'Life's too short' he said.

Phil turned back on to the main road, driving down towards the woods.
George glanced at his dark eyes in the mirror. He seemed more relaxed
now, perhaps because Carl and Paulie had calmed down. Phil glanced up
suddenly and their eyes met, and George looked away quickly, staring
out at the approaching woods.
'Hey, look at this arsehole coming down the hill!' Paulie shouted, as a
car approached them at high speed.
'Christ, he's moving' Carl said.
'You're not kidding' Phil said quietly. 'He'd better brake soon, or
he'll never make the corner'
George moved so he could see over Carl's shoulder. The oncoming car had
its headlights on full beam.
'Jesus, what a moron' Carl yelled.
Phil winced at the dazzling lights, easing his foot off the
accelerator. The car hurtled round the bending road, and they all
stared open-mouthed as the rear end swung out across the white line.
George gasped at the squealing of tyres as the driver fought for
control, and Carl was thrown forward in his belt as Phil braked hard.
The car slammed into them at over eighty miles an hour. Both cars were
fireballs within seconds. By the time the fire engines arrived, it was
hard to tell that there had ever been two cars at all.

Nadia walked through the park, watching as Joe the dog galloped ahead.
She looked up at the oak trees and smiled. She hadn't wanted to move
house, but when she saw the village with it's cobbled streets and
ancient trees she had changed her mind. Dad was happy in his new job,
and mum seemed to have lots of relatives here anyway. She was even
looking forward to going to school here.
She walked past the lake and through the wooded path, while Joe nosed
around in the undergrowth, upsetting pheasants and rabbits. He bounded
off after a squirrel, which leapt on to a small gate and then on to the
tree beyond. Not one to be put off, Joe cleared the gate and carried on
into the next field. Nadia called him back to no avail.

The gate was not locked, and there was no sign on it, so she pushed
through it into a clearing surrounded by trees. In the middle were four
saplings surrounding a wooden bench, where Joe was contentedly
relieving himself.
'Joe, don't do that!' she shouted, rushing to try to grab him. Then she
noticed the plaque screwed to the bench.
'In memory of our boys' it said, and four names were listed below. She
read them and then walked around the four young trees. One of them had
grown strong and wide, with birds nests in the overhanging branches,
where Joe's squirrel watched her warily. As she walked past, one of the
lower branches caught at her hair, while an exposed root tried to trip
her up.
The second tree had grown the fastest, branches reaching up for the
sky, taller than the others by several feet, the bark splitting on the
branches as they grew.
'Hello'
She turned, gasping, embarrassed to be caught somewhere she now knew
was private. She looked at the boy and felt her cheeks flush.
'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to trespass-' Joe had bounded over and the
boy was patting him happily.
'It's all right. This is part of the park. You're allowed to be
here'
'Joe, don't jump up, oh-'
She apologised as Joe left muddy pawprints on the boy's shirt. He
laughed.
'Don't worry. I'm always getting dirty. What's his name?'
'Joe. And I'm Nadia' she added. He looked up. He was about her own age,
with dark, friendly eyes.
'I'm Seth. You're new, aren't you. Are you Mrs Gillan's
daughter?'
She nodded, surprised, but he just grinned. 'News travels fast in the
village. You're related to Phil, aren't you?'
She looked at him, puzzled.
'Phil' He nodded past her to the bench. She walked towards it and read
the inscription again.
'His mum and yours are cousins. Didn't you know?'
She shook her head. 'No. Mum never said'
They stood silently for a long moment, then Seth gently laid down the
flowers he had been carrying. Nadia watched him, suddenly realising.
She turned to him.
'You have a relative here too?'
Seth nodded. 'My brother. He died the year I was born. That's his tree
there' He walked to one of the trees behind the bench and gently
touched the bark. Nadia reached out and touched the other tree.
'I suppose it makes us related too, in a funny sort of way' he said,
smiling shyly at her.
She smiled back.
'What was your brother's name?'
George' he said quietly, glancing up.

Nadia followed his gaze. Though planted a distance apart, the trunks of
both young trees had twisted and grown close together, their topmost
branches intertwining like complex fingers as the wind sighed gently
between them. The boughs leaned lazily against each other as they grew,
like an old couple, gazing at the stars.
Nadia smiled and looked back at Seth.
'Um, Nadia?' he said, smiling awkwardly, 'Do you fancy going down the
community hall?'
She grinned back in a mixture of delight and embarrassment.
'I hear they have a pool table' She said softly. Seth nodded.
'Perhaps you can teach me' he said.