Summer Ghost
Jim hated summer. This time it was a hot one and there had been one grass fire after another. A firefighter's job is never easy and Jim didn't want it to be. He had loved the job throughout a twenty five year career and took tremendous pride and satisfaction in knowing that he did it well, but grass fires were soul destroying hard slog. No satisfaction and no feeling of achievement at the end. Just unremitting and exhausting hard work.
It was not just that the work was hard and tedious in summer, but summer was also when the girl came back. She was with Jim now. In the stifling heat of his protective clothing, beating out the smouldering grass and heather, all that was in Jim's mind was the image of the girl. Grimy face, streaked with sweat, was fixed with determination to finish the job; blue eyes, paling to grey with age, fixed on the glowing target of his rhythmic beating; but all Jim saw was the girl.
For three years she had come back every summer. Long days, warm evenings, scented blooms and summer signs that once brought pleasure, were nothing more for Jim than certain indicators that the girl would be returning. Her constant presence throughout the summer was worse than any rotting albatross around the neck which would eventually drop off. She got right inside his head and, far from showing signs of rot, which was no more than a repulsive prelude to the burden being gone forever, the girl became more vivid and a more dominating presence each summer.
That day had stared quite normally. It was a nice day and the crew were enjoying their routine duties. With the sun shining, hydrant testing in a quiet, country road is an excellent way of earning a living. A great bunch of mates and a relaxing job made for a day that was almost as good as a day off. But then the call came. Nothing special at all. It was to a tree on fire about two miles away. They didn't put their breathing apparatus on because a fire in the open didn't require it. Trees on fire are not that common when there is no lightning about, but it happens from time to time. Usually it has been lit deliberately with the aid of some rubbish or become involved through a bonfire being lit too close. Only a few minutes work to put it out and some regret at the loss of a beautiful tree.
This time it was different. It was obvious from the first moment. Although the tree was well away from the road, the crew could see it was burning high in the branches rather than close to the ground. They jumped from the cab and ran out the hose reel, sensing that there was something unusual happening. Arriving at the base of the tree, they hit the flames immediately with a strong jet of water. With the usual hiss of steam and cracking sounds that accompany sudden cooling, Jim saw that the debris falling from the tree was not fresh, growing wood, but pieces of sawn timber and there was a smell of burning carpet.
Suddenly, full of fear, Jim started climbing the trunk without waiting for a ladder. gnarled with age and the stumps of lost branches, ascent was not difficult. About ten feet above ground, Jim came to the smouldering remains of a flat platform. This was a tree house and looking him right in the face was a young girl. About ten years old, her expressionless eyes told him instantly that she would not see any more of the exuberant childhood she had been experiencing to the full. Unwilling to accept the terrible evidence of his own experience, Jim drew her to him and started to give mouth to mouth resuscitation. No good, she was clearly dead. There was no doubt that she had been dead before they arrived. Nothing could be done by anyone, but that young face, so full of the promise of life, was looking straight into Jim's mind and he could not help feeling that somehow he had failed.
The fire investigation confirmed that there had been a tree house. A very good and sturdy one. It had been thoroughly decorated, carpeted and furnished. This was her very own private place. The remains of a book and some candle wax told the story of a child who read by herself in the solitude and comfort of this secret home until, somehow, the candle had ignited those furnishings and stifled the life from her. The book was a ghost story. A gripping tale. Maybe the girl never even realised what was happening before she lost consciousness.
However, her end had come. Jim could not get the girl's face out of his mind. He swapped it repeatedly with that of his own granddaughter. He never knew the name of the girl or anything about her. She went away in the winter, but as soon as summer came she was back in his mind.
Today they had been backwards and forwards to the station continually since the start of the shift. Grass fire after grass fire, stubble field after stubble field, embankment after embankment. Jim's exhaustion was aggravated by the persistent intrusion of the girl.
Towards the end of the shift, everyone was getting a breather and thinking of going home when the bells went down yet again. 'House fire - persons reported'. Those gripping words confirming that a life was in danger resulted, as always, in instant response. They hurtled through the streets with lights and horns screaming the urgency of their purpose. Adrenalin overcoming all weariness while kit was donned.
Drawing deep gulps from their breathing apparatus sets, Jim and his companion fought their way into the smoke logged house. It was fiercely hot and fire was roaring above their heads. Before rushing into the building, Jim had been aware of a screaming mother outside. Working his way through the dense smoke, Jim could feel himself being overcome by exhaustion abd disorientation as he tried to lead his partner. After fighting their way up the stairs through the heat barrier, neither firefighter could tell where they were or what they should do. In the face of the intense fire and complete exhaustion, more than forty years of combined experience was no longer enough. Checking that he was still connected to his partner by his personal line, and with a quick "are you OK", Jim struggled to his feet. Keeping low to avoid the worst punishment of a still raging fire, he struggled to make progress.
The anguished cries of the young mother were louder to Jim than the terrible roar of the fire although she was really a long way out of earshot. Those screams made Jim summon up another desperate last burst of strength and heave another few yards of hose up the stairway.
Just as Jim was accepting that he could achieve nothing, and his duty now was to get himself and his partner out, small fingers twined themselves in his hand and drew him forward. The girl came back into his head and, far from being expressionless, those eyes were now full of purpose. Jim followed the demanding hand at once, taking his colleague with him.
Firmly grasping the hand, Jim worked his way at floor level through a bedroom door and directly across the room. The girl was no longer in his head, but present in her full body. Not obscured by smoke, but clear and complete, she drew him to a bed and guided his hand under it. The feel of her textureless hand faded, to be replaced by the small warm fingers of another. Pulling it towards him, Jim felt the weight of a body which he dragged from under the bed. Unable to see anything, Jim clasped the small form to him, tore off his face mask and pressed it against the face that he could feel.
Choking and coughing, Jim was led by his comrade out of the building. Throwing the face mask aside, he started resuscitation, just as he had with the girl three years ago. This time though, she coughed. He felt a faint breath come back on his face as an ambulance crew moved in to take her away to hospital. Before she went, Jim said "what's your name?"
"Julie" was the faint reply as she was taken away by the paramedics in green overalls.
When the fire was out, it was all too obvious what had happened. Julie had been reading an exciting story and, in an effort to create a spooky atmosphere to heighten the pleasure, she had closed the curtains and read by candle light. Somehow a candle had fallen or perhaps Julie had dozed in the poor light and dropped her book on it. The fire developed rapidly and Julie, as children often do in these circumstances, crawled under her bed to try to avoid the choking, acrid fumes.
Straight after he had got back to the station and his shift was finished, Jim went to the house. He found out who the family were and, with Julie's mum, he visited her in hospital. Over the next few days he saw her recover her health and bounce into the full joy of childhood again.
Next year Jim went to Julie's eleventh birthday party. It was a beautiful day and, as he drove along a tree lined road to her house, he found that he was enjoying the smell of summer again.
The girl never came back to Jim again.