Shadowy Figures

Things have been so weird here. Our town was partly destroyed by fire. We were under a blanket of heavy smoke for 2 weeks. Schools have been closed since December 5 and will remain closed until January 7 (I KNOW, RIGHT, PARENTS! THE HORROR).

Parks and parking lots are closed due to fire or to being used as staging areas for fire personnel and electric company trucks. Whole neighborhoods are closed by checkpoints except to residents to keep looky-loos and looters at bay.

I don’t even know what to expect anymore. So when I drove by a local park one night and found it fenced off, I thought it must have something to do with the fire. It was a dark night already, but the cloud of smoke in the sky made the blackness extra impermeable.

I glanced over and saw shadowy figures gathered in circles in the park. I looked closer. There were no lights, no motion. Just these circles in the dark. I thought “Are those firefighters? Are they praying or what?”

I went by a couple times on different nights. The shadows, eerily, were always there.

Today I drove by in the light.

In case you’re out and about, Plaza Park has lovely displays of Christmas trees. In circles. Maybe they’re praying.