Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire

Seated in front of the fireplace drinking hot cocoa with little marshmallows and snacking on homemade zucchini chips. It could have been a normal winter day in a normal life, except it wasn’t. Because the world outside was dark and grim, ashes coating everything, the air far too thick to breathe.

If Bernie hadn’t ever heard about "Silent Hill," she would have fallen so far into shock that she would have died before figuring everything out. As it was, she was glad there weren’t horrible mutant(?) monsters running around with like blades for hands or something. She’d never played the video game and the movies had been too scary for her to watch, but she’d seen trailers and heard enough about the franchise that she’d been able to realize that she was screwed. The world was screwed, and she was living in it, so she was screwed too, and there was nothing she could do about it but enjoy the last bits of her life before she died.

She’d used packing tape to seal up the windows and doors, and she was glad there was a carbon filter on the fireplace flue to prevent the stuff outside from coming in. Though she knew it was far from perfect, and this was all just borrowed time.

"Hey Mom, Mom, are Dad and Uncle Ross going to be okay?"

No, they’re dead, Bernie didn’t say. She forced a reassuring smile and looked at her daughter. "They’re probably fine. The minute everything happened, they would have gone inside where it was safe. They would have blocked up the windows and doors just like us, and just like us they’re waiting for all this to clear up before they come back home. We just have to wait."

"Oh." Alice chewed on her lower lip with tiny white teeth. She held her reindeer mug with both hands and the pink thermal shirt and pants she wore were dingy and in need of a wash. Her favorite fleece blanket was draped over her shoulders like a cape.

"Honey, don’t bite your lip. You’re going to hurt yourself," Bernie said. "Why don’t you eat another chip?"

Alice grimaced. "They’re gross. I don’t like them. Can’t we eat something else?"

If this were a regular disaster, one where they could expect the government to send in the national guard and rescue them, Bernie would have insisted that they should save the little food they have. She would ration things so Alice would have enough to eat while she would eat just enough to stay alive until help came. But this wasn’t a regular emergency.

This wasn’t the aftermath of a hurricane or a tornado or a flood. This was the aftermath of nuclear war.

Those last few minutes watching the news before everything had cut out had made it clear that this was the end of everything. Those ashes falling from the sky, choking the Earth, were loaded with radiation.

We’re dying already, she thought. She didn’t know much about nuclear bombs or nuclear winters, but she’d seen stuff about Japan after Hiroshima. She’d watched "Chernobyl" on HBO.

Knowing that these last moments were fleeting at best, she forced a smile. "I know, why don’t we roast chestnuts?"

"Huh?" Alice cocked her head. She was so young it made Bernie’s heart hurt.

"I’ve never done it, but I’ve always wanted to try it. Like in the Christmas song. We can roast chestnuts over an open fire."

"How do we do it?" Alice asked, sounding interested.

Bernie thought a moment. "I’ve looked it up before. We’ll use a cast iron skillet when it’s time to roast them, but before that we’ll cut Xs in them and soak them in water. That makes them steam to cook themselves and we don’t have to worry about them cracking and popping. I don’t think they explode, but we don’t want to risk losing any of our chestnuts."

She stood up, carrying her half drunk cocoa with her toward the kitchen. "I’m glad I bought them. They were supposed to be for the squirrels, but I don’t think the squirrels will mind if we eat some."

Alice followed after her. "I’ve never had roasted chestnuts. Are they good?"

"I don’t know," Bernie said. "I’ve never tried them either."

There were so many things she’d never tried before. So many things she was never going to get to do–like growing old or watching Alice grow up–but today, on the eve of destruction, she was going to roast chestnuts over an open fire with her daughter.

She hoped they were delicious.

=END=

~Harper Kingsley

https://paypal.me/harperkingsley.

https://patreon.com/harperkingsley.

https://ko-fi.com/harperwck.
https://amazon.com/shop/harperkingsley0.
https://www.harperkingsley.net/blog.
https://kimichee.com.

https://www.youtube.com/c/HarperKingsley.

https://harperkingsley.bsky.social.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/HarperKingsley.