Reignition

Marjorie had gotten up from her comfy seat in the well-adorned living room. A smell of fire, burning wood and other materials she could not identify had dragged her to the window. She adjusted her glasses and rubbed her aching back. It was a quiet afternoon, a little too quiet for her own taste and a part of her really welcomed the distraction provided by the fire. “William! There must be a fire somewhere near!” she had addressed her husband who was in his workroom repairing one engine of his model railroad. He did not react properly, just muttered something Marjorie could not decipher. Communication had become few between the two of them and she did not even remember how long it had been like this. They had been retired for quite a long time. In their younger years, they had been known as The Magic Mystery Duo, playing with fire, bonds, chains and huge tanks of water in front of a growing audience. They knew how to fly through the air without getting fatal injuries and enchanted everyone with special effects created from light and darkness. They had to rely on each other, catch their hands in the right moment so the other one would not fall off. They had to be reasonable, but adventurous, quick but precise. And they trusted each other, communication was a flow between them that was so much more than mere spoken words.

Now Marjorie could barely see anything clearly without her glasses. After she had adjusted them, she could see the source of the burning smell. There was a small fire in the front yard of her neighbour’s house. The neighbour, Elena Franklin, was walking in and out of the house, carrying things to where the fire was, throwing it into the flames. Marjorie did not know much about Elena. She had moved here a couple of months ago with her husband, but they had never actually talked besides the usually welcome to the neighborhood small talk. Marjorie remembered she had made a cake and brought over some fruits and a bottle of wine as welcoming gifts. They had been standing right where the fire was. Mark, Elena’s husband, seemed ok, although his smile was a little too, bright, a little too white.

William had now stepped into the living room. “Is there something burning?” he enquired incredulously. “That is what I told you just a few minutes ago. Do you ever listen to anything I say?” Marjorie could have been furious about the lack of attention paid by William, but she was far too distracted by the happening outside. She looked a little harder, trying to figure out what Elena was throwing into the fire. It looked like pieces of fabric, clothes, and pieces of paper. Marjorie took a breath. What was Elena burning there? Her own things or someone else's possessions? She turned around, grabbed the keys. “I am going to check on her. Probably she will not be able to control the fire. Remember us when we did that number with the fire ring? That escalated too quickly. We must have been as young as she is.” Marjorie looked at William with a silent wish of seeing a sign of remembrance in his eyes. “Probably.”, he mumbled. Marjorie opened the door and went outside. The cracking of the fire was well hearable. When Marjorie approached the fireplace, Elena was just arriving with another pile of clothes. It was women’s underwear and men’s business clothes. Her eyes were red with tears, her face swollen. She must have been crying for hours.

“Hello Elena.” Marjorie said softly. “Are you alright?”

Elena snorted. “How does it look? He has destroyed my life, so I am destroying the underwear he has made me wear and his stupid cocky suits. I do not need lingerie anymore anyway since he is fucking his whole cohort of secretaries!”

Marjorie cleared her throat. “Why don’t we finish the fire and then you come over to us for a cup of tea. You can also have tea with extras…”

“Thanks, but first I need to finish this. I need everything GONE.” Elena wiped her face with the back of her hand and was just about to throw the next bra into the fire when a car stopped just next to them. The car door was opened and slammed shut. Quick steps approached the two women.

“My SUITS!!! What are you DOING there?” Marjorie turned around. The male, aggravated voice belonged to Mark.

“You have removed me from your life, so I am doing some clearance, too.” Elena’s voice had this deadly tone that would freeze any desert flower in an instant.

“You have no right to…. STOP it!” Mark went towards Elena and grabbed her arms.

Marjorie intervened. “Let go of her...NOW!”

Mark laughed. I was a patronizing laugh. “Mind your own business, granny.”

“Leave me alone!” Elena tried to free herself from Mark’s grip. “You are going to pay for the stuff you burned. With your behaviour, it is no surprise no one wants to fuck you.” He grabbed her harder.

Something inside Marjorie awoke. “Enough!!!” She pulled a long silk scarf from the clothes Elena was still holding and with one, two, three quick movements she had tied the scarf around Mark and secured it with a tight knot. Marjorie was surprised by herself. She did not know she could still do this. Mark stood there, with his arms tied to his frame. “You old hag!!! I will get you and then you are done!!!” No matter how hard he tried, he could not escape the scarf.

“The police is on their way.” Suddenly William was there, too. He smiled a smile he had not been smiling for ages. “The special Hellendahl knot. Nice work, Jo.” He had not called her Jo since…. Marjorie could not remember.

The police arrested Mark and gave him a restraining order. It was not the first time he had assaulted Elena. The fire was still cracking warmly as they stood in the front yard. “William, please fetch us a good bottle from the basement for us and our new friend.” Marjorie looked at Elena who looked exhausted but had stopped crying. When William got back, they opened the bottle and filled three glasses.

“Tell us more about you.” Marjorie looked at Elena curiously. Elena watched some of the sparks fly into the darkening sky before she started to speak.