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Summertime Fire
It was the summer of 2005, when me and my friends Tarin and Kiana were getting ready for
another day full of adventure. They came over early in the morning to my grandmas apartment so that we
could decide what we were going to do today. It was a two bedroom apartment, in this huge complex
behind Albertsons in Tooele. Surrounding my grandmas complex was this huge field of wheat. We
couldnt decide between getting more people and playing tag or hide-n-seek, or just walking around
talking. We really didnt have much to talk about so we scratched that off of our list and it was the middle
of summer when most people were off at camps or on vacation so we didnt have many people to play
with. So after what seemed like an eternity of trying to decide what to do Tarin said, Hey why dont we
go and hangout at devils tree? Devils tree was just this giant tree in the field next to my grandmas house
that some immature people gave the name Devils tree because it was deformed looking. Me and Kiana
didnt have anything else better to do so we said sure. So we were off on to the start of our adventure.
Devils tree was locating in the east part of the surrounding field on the opposite side of where
my grandmas apartment was, so we started off by making the short trip to the otherside. Devils tree was
just a tree in the middle of a field with tall wheat growing concealing its base. The people that gave its
name had made a trail through the field that wasnt exactly easy to see from all perspectives but was
there. It wasnt very far in from the curb where the field started and the parking lot ended. Me, Tarin &
Kiana all zoomed down the path to the hidden hangout where we could escape the burning sunlight. On
this particular day it was super bright outside and there wasnt a single cloud in the deep blue sky. You
could also feel a light breeze glide past you and it made the gold wheat move like waves as if you were
looking at an ocean of golden water. Once we finally got to Devils tree we stopped to take a breathe, we
werent tired from running but jumping with excitement for our adventure. The branches of the tree went
up high into the sky, but shaded the perimeter from the sun. Where the shade of the tree touched, nothing
but the roots grew. It was bare with dirty and the roots of the tree and surrounded by things that people
added to make to it more cozy. They had also added a large hole in the ground for what was assumed to
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be a fire pit, and also tire swing. Most of our summer was spent here and as we had time to ourselves
while the others werent there, we added a platform that we could climb up watch for others that
approached. Some of the other kids that liked to hang out here and do drugs, didnt like us being here ever
and would sometimes try to attack us. So thats why we built the platform, so that we could watch for
them and use the other path to escape from their grasps. We also knew of other spots that we could go and
watch whoever was currently there so we could come out when their done and have left.
After a while, I kind of zoned out from the conversations because it was more for Tarin and
Kiana. They were both older than me, Kiana was 2 years older and Tarin was 4. That still didnt stop us
from being friends though, we really didnt like the other kids that lived in the complex because we
thought that they were annoying. After a while though, we got a little bored and were thinking about
calling it a day when Tarin asked, Why dont we make a fire in the fire pit and roast some
marshmallows? Me and Kiana where both a little obsessed with fire. We just loved the yellow/orange
glow of the simple yet complex thing, the thought of doing anything that involved fire was an absolute
dream of me and hers. So we were both, naturally, onboard. We first, had to discuss and assign jobs for
the proper materials needed in order to go about such things. After several minutes, we decided that we
needed some marshmallows, things to burn, and a lighter. Tarin said that she had some marshmallows at
her apartment and would go and get them, while I went and got a lighter from my grandmas, and Kiana
stayed here and gathered up things for us to burn. We werent really worried about people coming to
Devils tree because most of them came later in the day. So with our jobs, we were all off on our own
quest to gather what we needed.
As I made the short walk across the complex to my grandmas apartment, I had to think how I
would go about this. My grandmas wasnt an idiot (till like 8 years later) and would never just let me
take a lighter to go make an unsupervised fire. So I soon realized that I was going to have to distract her
while I snuck one out. When I got to her apartment, I was so fortunate to walk in on her vacuuming the
hallway. It wasnt that hard to go into the kitchen drawer, grab the lighter, and put in in my pocket so she
wouldnt notice. To avoid suspension though I got a drink of water so she wouldnt think anything of it.
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After I was in the clear and out the door, I casually walked across the complex once more, and making
sure to not reveal that I had in my possession a lighter. When I finally got back to my friends, they were
both gathering up some of the wheat, and branches that had fallen around the base of the tree, and were
piling them up in the fire pit. I helped them to gather up some more and then make another pile so that we
could add on to the fire later. We were now ready to start our fire and roast some marshmallows.
I grabbed a piece of paper that was lying on the ground and lit it on fire, and after it was mostly
burning, I stuck it on our pile of things to be burned so it would catch everything else on fire. Our fire was
now started, and we let it burn for a few minutes before we started to roast our marshmallows. Tarin had
some roasting sticks that her family used when they went camping for us to us when we were roasting our
marshmallows and so we were off. After a few marshmallows we got a little sick and decided to quit and
just watch the fire. Now the Fire pit was in an area by one of the large roots that separated the field and
the hangout area. Kiana found an old, dirty, dry rag and a large stick that she tied it to. She, for some
reason, wanted to make a torch, me and Tarin being the people we were, were all on board with it. So she
wrapped the rag around the stick and tied it tight so it wouldnt fall off and then she stuck it into the fire
so it could catch on fire. It was finally burning after a few minutes of Kiana sticking it over our fire. She
say in the movie the Mummy Returns, one of the main characters seeming try to write their name with
their torch and she wanted to try it. It wasnt really working but that wasnt even our most important
problem.
Part of the rag had fallen off and was carried in the wind into the field of wheat. At first it was
just a little spot that was catching on fire and we thought we could put it out. We were wrong, the fire,
very quickly got out of control and started to spread fast. The field was beginning to be engulfed in this
beautiful yet dangerous phenomenon that I have a little bit of an obsession over. Knowing we couldnt do
anything but get ourselves out, we quickly took a pathway away from Devils Tree and onto the the street
where we were out of harms way. We were trying to think what to do, we didnt want to go back and get
in trouble so we went across the street, down the hill and waited. We soon went back up and over to some
adults that were frantically trying to call for help. We saw Tarins dad and went up to him and asked what
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happened, but he wasnt an idiot and could see that we were guilty. He made us stay on the stairs and wait
till the fire was out so that the police could interrogate us. We were so scared at this point because we
were going to have to talk to the police about our mistake. He asked us what our names where, what
happened, who our parents were, and where we lived. Tarin was interrogated separately, while me and
Kiana were interrogated together. After they talked to us, Tarin came up to us and told us that she wasnt
allowed to talk to us anymore. We later learned that we were blamed for entire thing and that Tarin was
basically the only innocent one. The police officer told me and Kiana that we were going to have to do
community service by cleaning the fire truck one day. He then excused us and told us to go home and tell
our parents what happened. We both lefted and made our ways home without saying anything to each
other. When I told my grandma, she wasnt mad at all but a little concerned that my mom was going to be
pissed. So she told me to stay here while she would go back to my house tell my mother what happened.
My mom was like super freaking crazy insane psycho, that if you catch her in the wrong mood she will
rip your head off and wont regret it for anything in her life. After what seemed like forever my grandma
came back.
She told me that my mom wasnt mad or anything, she just wanted to know how I could be that
dumb and burn down a field, that in her opinion needed to be burned down. She was also a little confused
to as why we would confess to it, when she knows that we could totally get away with it. That was about
the only thing she was a little annoyed about, the fact that we confessed and didnt just try to get away
with it. I would say that this made a huge difference on how I live my life, but it didnt. I do what I want
and will regret things later. as long as Im having a good time at the moment, the future consequences
wont mean a thing. They never sent a letter calling for me to do my community service or Kiana. A year
later after the my own summertime fire, I moved to Hawaii to live with my dad because my mom didnt
have the means to take care of me and my sisters at the moment anymore. We returned back to Utah a
year later and I viewed the world different after that experience. This really did happen but Kiana wasnt
my friend she was my second oldest sister, I dont like to acknowledge the fact that Im related to either
of my sisters because theyre idiots and super annoying. Kiana is currently in a foster home at the age of
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18 almost 19 because she has mental, alcohol, and drug issues. She ran away and got arrested, she pissed
my mom off so bad that my mom wouldnt go get her out and so she was put into state custody, which my
dad wasnt too happy about. My other sister is 20, almost 21 and has no perception of reality or the real
world. She is living in a fantasy world that she thinks will allow her to just blow off things and not have
to an adult. My mom is living a mile from my current living situation with my aunt, she has drug and
alcohol issues, and cant be find a job. Most of her friends are homeless drug abusers or alcoholics that
are super nice people but messed up theirs lives in some way, shape, or form. My dad is a high school
dropout with 12 kids and he only wants to be involved with me and my sisters, the youngest of his kids.
He wasnt even around for most of the others lives. He is also a truck driver currently living and splitting
the rent with one of his friends in an apartment in West Valley. The reason that I include this is so that
you can get an understanding of the people I have grown up with and realize that Im dealing with a
bunch of idiots. Why do I feel that this is important, because it will help you to understand why I have no
regrets about my choice to sneak a lighter out and accidentally burn down a field.