What the Trees Were Called

The darkness was complete apart from the glow of the fire. Kip looked around, and could see nothing a few feet out from the flames. The darkness was like a duvet, enveloping him, warm, comfortable. He could hear the lapping of small waves against the shore of the lake. Beyond the water, on the far side of the shore, he imagined the outline of the mountains. It was still too dark to make them out, but he knew them to be there. It was too warm for snow, so he pictured rock topped hills, with a path winding through the tall mountain side trees. He suddenly wished he knew what kind of trees grew on that mountain. He had never bothered to find out.

Kip picked up a stick lying nearby and threw it into the fire. A few sparks erupted when the wood made contact, showering him with a small wave of heat. The people nearest him glanced round. They were a small group: two girls and two guys. They quickly went back to their subdued conversation. He didn't really know anybody here. He had only come to this party because it seemed appropriate.

Kip had arrived at St Thomas high only two weeks earlier. He hadn't had much time to get to know anyone. The only person he'd had any real contact with was a guy named Bert, and he wasn't here. Not that this bothered Kip, because the little interaction he'd had with the guy had been uncomfortable. Bert had a strange way of talking, and he laughed at everything he said, whether it was funny or not. Kip had spent two of the weeks he'd been here avoiding new conversations with the guy. Kip was ill at ease in social situations. He'd always been like this. Quiet, contemplating. But since his parents had died last month, he believed he'd become even more so. This was one of the reasons he was at this party.

A guy Kip had seen before but whose name he couldn't remember suddenly appeared by his side. He was swaying slightly and holding two beers. He was obviously drunk. The guy was big, six foot four at least, and a good two hundred pounds. He looked genially at Kip for a second, belched and sat down. He handed his extra beer to Kip and laughed.

"You're the new guy," he said, taking a slug of his drink. Kip nodded, but said nothing. "I'm Matt," the big guy added.

"Kip."

"You're having fun Kip?"

Kip contemplated the man. He wasn't sure why he had suddenly decided to talk to him. He had appeared out of nowhere. Out of the darkness. Kip wished he would leave him alone. He didn't know why he had come here tonight. The darkness, which had felt so welcoming just a few minutes ago, now felt threatening. What else was lurking out there? Kip shivered despite the heat of the fire.

"No, not really," he said, in a soft voice.

"Well you should be!" Matt exclaimed, still in that genial voice. "What a time to be alive eh?" Matt raised his bottle, implying that they should clink their drinks together. Kip half smiled, clinked and took a swig. The beer was bitter in his mouth. He had never tried it before, and now, he couldn't say that he enjoyed it. He said nothing, and didn't take another drink, but just sat there and stared into the flames. Matt obviously felt uneasy now, and left shortly after.

Kip was thinking that he could go home. But what was the point? What was waiting for him at home but misery and despair? No, he would stay. He had already been here for hours. What was a few more? Matt had been his only interaction. The only person who had offered him a drink. People were staying with their group of friends. Spending their precious time with the ones they held dear. Kip understood this.

The party had been organised by some of the kids from school. Open invitation. Anybody who wants to come can, but bring your own drink. Kip hadn't brought anything at all, as he'd had no intention of drinking. He didn't really know what to expect from this party. He hadn't actually intended to come. It just felt like the right thing to do.

He glanced at his watch, it was five o'clock in the morning. He didn't feel tired. He believed he would never feel tired again. The sun would be coming up soon. He sighed, and looked around again.

It was not a loud party, just people sitting, talking and drinking. Some were hugging. He thought he could hear someone crying softly. Some had speakers with them, but the music was low, and Kip couldn't make out any individual song. He thought of all the movies he had seen with drunk teenagers at a house party, with cops showing up to tell everybody to go home. Kids with marker on their faces, wild sex in the bathrooms. Kip didn't know if these things really happened, or if that was just in movies. Maybe this particular party was just lame. He had never been to a party before, he had no way of comparing. Maybe he'd come too late. It had been dark when he'd arrived, well past 11pm.

His desire to come to the party had sprung up suddenly. He had been sitting in the dark room of the small apartment he now lived in. He hadn't been doing anything. He had tried watching TV, but the news was grim – the only subject was the one thing nobody wanted to hear. He had tried watching a documentary about the Sun Worshippers, who were awaiting sunrise, expecting to be greeted by God, but had turned it off. There was nothing to watch on TV, he no longer had a phone, and anyway, everything on the news or on social media was terrible. Kip couldn't stand it anymore. So he had just been sitting there, in the dark, thinking about nothing. He remembered feeling hungry, and had thought about the cold tin of half-eaten pasta sitting in the fridge. He hadn't bothered getting up to check. He knew that it was the only thing he had. Moving here had cost him.

His parents had not owned their house, and had had very little money. His mother had not worked and his father only part time in a small local factory. Kip didn't care, he didn't need money. He had loved his parents dearly. In fact, he resented the little money they'd had, because it was their yearly outing to dinner and a movie that had cost them their lives. The car crash had been sudden, brutal, hellish. Kip had tried to push those images from his mind as much as he could. But they often resurfaced. He often wished he had been in the car with them, then he wouldn't have to feel this emptiness inside him. He remembered, but not clearly, the two officers who had come to his door. He remembered their factual delivery of his parents' deaths. He remembered the officers telling him how his parents' car had veered off the road and hit a tree, how neither of them had been wearing a seatbelt, how they had died on impact. Kip had slept little since then. Sleep seemed unimportant. Everything seemed unimportant.

That had been a month ago. He had packed up his stuff and moved out here, to the mountains, the mountains with the trees. He could never look at trees the same way again. These thoughts had all come swirling back to him then, at that moment, in his dark room. The sudden desire to go to that party came to him then. He knew that whatever happened, he would see his parents soon.

He had got up and walked to his car, and had driven to this place. This quiet lake with the supposed beautiful view he had yet to see.

A tiny sliver of light burst from the East. This was it. The sun was rising. People around him were getting up, all looking towards the sun. Matt had reappeared beside Kip. He had lost his genial expression, and now looked forlorn. He no longer seemed drunk. He rested a hand on Kip's shoulder.

"Are you ready for this Kip?" he asked. Kip looked up into Matt's blue eyes. He swallowed and nodded faintly before shaking his head. He felt his eyes burn, but he didn't want to cry in front of Matt. But when he looked back up at him, he saw that tears were flowing freely down his face. "It's okay to feel, Kip. We're human, we're sad, and there is not a damn thing we can do about it."

Kip found himself embracing the goliath of a stranger, and Matt held him, embraced him like a brother. Kip wept, quietly at first, then huge sobs escaped him. He felt everything. The loss of his parents, his loneliness, his despair, the fact that he had never kissed anyone, never had a beer, never been to a party. He was so young, yet he felt old right then. Nobody paid any attention to him, and when his sobs subsided, he knew why. Kip pulled himself away from Matt and saw that everybody was sobbing, and holding onto each other.

He could see the mountains now, gleaming in the partial sunlight. He had been wrong about the snow. He could plainly see white strips along the peaks. The trees stood out then, tall spiked trees that looked like Christmas trees. He still couldn't think of the name for them.

Silence fell now as everyone stared at the sun. The heat was rising quickly. Matt was still nearby, no longer hugging him, but his hand resting on his shoulder again. Kip realised he hadn't been held by anyone since his mother. The memory of it led Kip's thoughts back to the last time he saw his parents. The day they had died.

He had been reading a book while his parents were getting ready. They had just learned the terrible news.

"What's the point of going out?" Kip asked his mom, who was looking in the hall mirror as she put earrings on.

"We've got to make the most of it Kip. What else can we do?"

"Surely scientists will find a solution," he cried. He felt the injustice of it. His life had barely begun, and yet it had to end. He didn't even understand why.

"I don't think so hun," his mother said softly, coming to sit next to him. "I don't know how they can stop it. I don't really understand it myself. All they said on the news was that it would be the last sunrise, and there would be nothing left."

"But why does this have to happen now? To us? To me?"

His mother had held him then. There was nothing they could do, she had repeated. She had promised they would do something fun together the next day. She even talked about going away for a last vacation. Kip had scoffed. It was the end of the world and she had wanted to go on a vacation.

Now, looking back at the moment, Kip wished more than anything that he could have gone away with them.

As the sun rose even more, the heat started to become unbearable. So unbearable he could actually feel his skin burning. People started screaming. Kip looked at Matt, who fell to his knees in pain, he had angry red blotches all over his skin. Kip also fell to his knees, but not in pain. He felt nothing. Nothing but sadness and relief.

"I'll see you soon mom and dad."

The world caught fire, and Kip’s last thought, before he lost consciousness, was to remember that they were called pine trees, and that the snow had probably melted.