Tuesday, August 23, 1:31 PM. Garrett.

Yesterday Dad and I went to investigate some smoke. Dad drove there. He drives really fast. I drove back. I feel like I’m a pretty good driver now. I’m almost ready to take the test. After that I can drive by myself, at least sometimes.

On the way there we kept trying to figure out what it would be. We thought it could be a car and we hoped whoever it was was okay. Then we thought the smoke was too big for a car and might be a brushfire. Everything is really dry and a spark in a meadow could cause it all to go up. But what would make a spark? There haven’t been any storms. Could someone have lit it on purpose to let us know they were there? Dad said, why didn’t we think of that, and he smiled. I could tell he wanted to get there fast and find out who did it.

When we got closer we could tell it was a house fire. A house in a neighborhood was throwing out flames. The smoke went high up over our heads. We could smell it everywhere, like a giant campfire.

We pulled onto the street and got close enough to walk. I kept looking around. It felt like someone would be there.

The flames were really hot and we couldn’t get that close. It was an ordinary house, not very big, and fire was jumping out of all the windows. If anyone was inside, there was no way they survived.

We walked around the house, going through neighbors’ yards. We noticed there was a propane tank in the backyard and were afraid it might explode. We kept our distance.

It was getting dark. Dad said we should check some other houses in case whoever started it was there. We went into six or seven houses. One of them had a pool in the back and we kept hearing little hissing sounds as embers fell into it. There wasn’t anyone there.

It was pitch black when we finished and the fire was still going. We went to the house across the street and sat on the front porch to wait. We waited a long time. I didn’t have anything to do but I thought about my friends and imagined what things would be like if they were in this with me. I asked Dad if I could drive a motorcycle. He said he’d think about it.

Finally he said he didn’t think the fire would really be out until the morning and we’d have to come back then. That’s when I got to drive home.

We went back out this morning before sunrise. I couldn’t believe it but the house was still smoking everywhere and most things were too hot to touch. There wasn’t a roof or any walls except the chimney. We went in and tried to figure out what happened. I was afraid we would find a body or step on something like that.

After a while Dad got really quiet. He didn’t say anything a long time. Then he said he guessed it was just an accident.

We drove back. We didn’t talk much, but halfway back he said he thought he knew what happened.

He said he could tell they had a gas cooktop. Probably the cooktop flame was left on all this time. Then maybe the wind blew through an open window and pushed a curtain or something over the burner. Maybe a raccoon got in and knocked something over. Anyway, he said, it was an accident, not a signal.

Usually I have to go the speed limit. This time Dad let me go 90 on the freeway. It feels fast and slow at the same time. I don’t know why the speed limit is supposed to be 75, because 90 still feels pretty safe to me.