Kindred

By Dandy J. West and Gene Lass

Two kindred souls sat together on a curb of a city block, she sipping on an iced chai, he nibbling away on gummy bears. They sat in silence as they watched the building across the street be engulfed in flames. Windows burst from the heat as random curious and frantic onlookers stood nearby. Firefighters hosed the building to no effect as the flames were too high, too strong.

The two spirits remained seated on the curb undisturbed watching the spectacle with bored expressions. The only sound between them were her soft slurps from her straw as she pulled more chai from her cup. He patted her on the shoulder then reached back into his bag of gummy bears for another handful of chewy delight. Flames grew as shouts became louder. Everything was a beautiful symphony of chaos. In the moment, nothing mattered to the two entities on the curb except the quiet between them.

"Do you think they'll put it out?

"Maybe. Enough has burned now that it's a total loss."

She sipped more, nodding. "Funny how that works, when everything in your store burns like kindling," she said.

He nodded, munching. "The place was a loss already. All the good was long gone," he said.

Each of them shrugged.

"Fuck 'em," they said.