For a few days I've wanted to write the story of the lamp post and the firehydrant and here it is. It didn't end up as a sweet story with a happy
ending as I originally planned, but I hope you like it anyway!



The lamp post and the firehydrant

The Firehydrant and the lamp post

She was known for having a light head with bright ideas,
but then again that goes for most lamp posts
so she didn't consider that special for her. What she did consider a great quality about her was how solid she was in most ways, she had the ability to go through things thoroughly and be hard as a rock when needed, but also softly swinging on other occasions. Her life just worked, it didn't happen much, but she held herself grounded or at least she did until those days in the middle of November which changed her life forever.

He was red as a fire on the outside, but kind of blue on the inside. It was a sad, sad existance, being a firehydrant. Dogs peed on you and didn't even seem sorry afterwards and people cursed you because you brought them
traffic-tickets. And it wasn't even the firehydrants fault, he didn't mean to bring people bad mood, rather the opposite and he was completely confident that he did not want dogs peeing on him. It was rude and inconsiderate
and he was wet enough already, being filled with water inside. He used to think of it as inside tears, but nobody knew of his oppinion since nobody had asked. Anyway he felt sorry for himself, it was no fun being the red little
thing that didn't get appreciated. And then came November and everything changed.

It was snowing and snowflakes fell gracefully through the sky. The lamp post watched it in awe and thought of it as beautiful, it was like a dance in her opinion. Thousands of snowcrystals doing a waltz through the sky
which were getting more and more wintery each day. She wanted to join in, dance her own little dance through the sky, but she was rooted in the ground and all she could do was watch. Somebody else watched her
and considered deeply how interested she seemed, it was like all of her metalish body was swinging gently to the snowflakes routine. It was the firehydrant and he found the long graceful lamp post to be very
impressionable, he did find her interesting for sure.
And he somehow wanted to know her name.

The next few days he watched her in secret and it was as if his heart could burst, she was so beautiful and he didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to approach her, she surely wouldn't be interested in what
a poor firehydrant had to say. It would have kept on in this matter if the tragedy hadn't happened. It started burning.

The firehydrant and the lamp post were both standing right by an appartment which seemed to be touching the sky, it was very high and especially the firehydrant found it extremely tall, but then again most things seemed high to him. Anyway, it was burning in the appartment and the air were filled with smoke which made both the lamp post and the firehydrant cough and hope for better air conditions. And then the fire-men came, dressed in their uniform and seemingly ready to fight anything the fire would throw against them.
The lamp post watched them in fright as they walked in to the fire
and brought people out of the appartment and back to safety.
Unfortunately the fire didn't seem to want to end,
the element of fire obviously had fun burning the curtains and destroying whatever it come over. It was time for back-up.

The fire-men decided to use the firehydrant and when they started the operation of using it for help the lamp post could see it.
She hadn't noticed the firehydrant before and seeing him now made her wonder why. He was so clear, dressed up all in red and he was so very helpful, it was a wonderful sight. The lamp post watched the firehydrant and how his help was slowly making the fire disappear and the air was once again getting more and more fresh. She saw all this and felt so happy with how it turned out and didn't consider the flames that were left and had started to attack her.

The firehydrant saw it though and wanted to shout it out that she had to watch out, but he couldn't. And it was already to late when she realised the smell of burn around her and the uncomfortable tingling in her stomach and then she fell. It was like slow motion and the firehydrant coould only watch in fear as the lamp post was approaching the ground. She sent the firehydrant a caring look as if to say that she had finally noticed him and then she hit the ground. She had hit it hard and was laying still and motionless on the ground.
The fire-men, which had killed all the flames now, was watching the long body
on the pavement and one of them sighed.
"We have a new job in front of us, guys," said one of them.
"Yes, she isn't going to stay a lamp post any longer. That time has passed," said another and the firehydranted felt the tears
in his eyes and felt a pain all over as if he was the one that had died. It was a sad situation and he couldn't do anything to help and it was so wrong. Her death felt so unnecessary and then he cried and the tears were dancing with the snowflakes, with the wind which sung it's sad song through the bare trees and with the clouds that drifted in a new rhytm made for her
and her only.
***
He was red on the outside, but kind of blue on the inside and the blueness had only gotten worse through the days. It was a sad existance being a firehydrant, he had always though so, but it was extra sad, if possible,
when your heart had died in a fire together with a lamp post that didn't exist anymore.





Short story by Karoline
Read 858 times
Written on 2006-11-15 at 21:58

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Karoline
Sorry about how it looks, hope it's still readable.
2006-11-15