part1 · 015-ep15

Episode 15: Fire

The next day.

Ren decided to try what he'd been thinking about the night before. Monster meat. Raw, it had been completely inedible.

Tough, foul-smelling — chew all you liked, it wouldn't go down.

But with fire.

"...I want to try roasting it."

The problem was how to make that fire.

Ren searched the area. Dry grass. Thin branches. And hard stones.

He gathered whatever looked usable.

"With these... can I do it?"

Ren took two stones in his hands. He struck them together.

Clack.

A small sound rang out. Again.

Clack.

Nothing happened.

"...No good."

Ren picked up different stones. This time he struck them in a slightly different pairing.

Clack.

Clack.

Over and over. His hands began to hurt. He kept going anyway.

That was when.

A tiny light sparked.

"...!"

Ren's eyes went wide. Again.

Clack.

Another tiny spark flew.

"...A spark?"

Ren gathered dry grass on the ground. On top of it he laid finely shredded plant matter. Then he struck the stones together again.

Clack.

A spark fell. But nothing happened.

"..."

Once more.

Clack.

Another failure. And once more again.

Clack.

A thin wisp of smoke rose.

"...Smoke?"

Ren hurried closer. There was no flame yet. But something had changed.

"Just a little more..."

He shredded the dry grass even finer. He rained sparks down again and again. Even so, it wouldn't catch.

The sparks died. He failed again. Even so, Ren didn't give up.

He'd lost count of how many tries it had been.

A small column of smoke went up.

"...!"

Ren held his breath. Beneath the smoke, a tiny red glow was being born.

Ren hurriedly layered on dry grass, bit by bit. He blew gently on it. The red glow strengthened.

And—

a small flame was born.

"...Fire."

Ren stared at the flame, motionless. It flickered. Small. So weak that a little wind would snuff it out.

Even so.

It was fire, without a doubt.

Ren smiled, delighted.

"...I did it."

He had failed over and over. His hands hurt. Even so, he had made this with his own power.

For Ren, it was a huge step forward.

　　　　　◇

After a while. To keep the little fire from dying, Ren ringed it with stones.

He moved the dry grass back a little, so the flames wouldn't spread to it. Then he took out the meat of the monster he'd killed yesterday.

The meat he hadn't been able to eat until now. Today was different.

He skewered the meat on a thin branch and held it over the flames. After a while, a sound came from the meat.

Sizzle.

"...!"

The smell changed. Different from when it was raw.

Turning the meat over and over, Ren watched it cook, patient. The surface browned. Only after making sure the heat had reached the center did he tear off a small piece.

Timidly, he put it in his mouth. Chewed.

"..."

Ren chewed again.

"...It's good."

The words came out on their own.

Of course, it couldn't compare to normal cooking. No seasoning. The meat was still tough.

Even so.

Compared to eating it raw, it was another thing entirely.

Ren ate, absorbed. One bite. Then another. In no time, the meat was gone.

To finish, he ate one of the nuts.

"...These aren't bad, either, but..."

Ren looked at the small flame.

"Meat's better."

He smiled a little.

　　　　　◇

That night. Ren sat beside the fire.

The small flame lit the rock wall with a faint glow. Different from the darkness of every night before. A little warmer. And more than anything, it put him at ease.

Ren gazed at the flames.

"...Fire's amazing."

But the firewood was shrinking, stick by stick. The flame was steadily getting smaller, too.

Ren looked around in a fluster. There were still dry branches to be had. But he had already done enough moving for one day. His body was tired.

"...Tomorrow, I'll gather more firewood."

Ren thought as he watched the fire. It wouldn't burn forever. When the firewood ran out, it would go out. So using fire took preparation.

Even that, he learned for the first time today.

Before long, the flame grew smaller still. Ren watched the fire to its very end.

The small flame went out.

"...It's gone."

Ren murmured, sounding a little lonely. But he could make it again. That alone was enough.

Ren lay down in the shadow of the rocks.

"I'll make fire again tomorrow."

Murmuring that, he closed his eyes.

In the darkness. Ren quietly fell asleep.