Gone Camping
An Alleycat Crew Short
They stopped at Mirrico-5 for some much-needed R&R. Kash had Calynn set the Alleycat down in a clearing deep in a remote forest, thousands of meters from anything that resembled civilization. No lights. No engines. No alarms. Just the hush of tall trees and the scent of damp earth.
He gathered fallen logs, made a ring of stones with practiced movements, sparked a campfire to life… and then simply sat there, staring at it.
When Calynn finally asked, “What are you thinking?”
He replied with a single, unblinking word.
“Nothing.”
He didn’t look her way—eyes locked on the flames as if they were going to reveal something more than smoke and firelight.
As night settled in fully, the forest woke up. Chirps, grunts, distant howls—an entire alien ecosystem singing around them. Shadows shifted in the treeline. Leaves rustled. Wings fluttered overhead.
Kash didn’t flinch. Didn’t react.
He just stared into the fire, occasionally adding another log like the flames had lured him into a trance.
Calynn eased down beside him in the chair, arms around her knees.
“You’re doing a lot of… staring,” she observed.
“It’s a fire,” he said, pointing at it.
“I noticed.”
“This is what you do with a fire.”
She glanced at it, then at him. “You watch it… burn?”
“Exactly.”
She gave him a sideways look. “This is a man thing, isn’t it?”
He snorted. “Yeah. Pretty much.”
“Explain it to me.”
He scratched his jaw. “It’s simple. Men like fire.”
“That’s not an explanation.”
“It’s the only explanation.”
She folded her arms. “So you just sit here? For hourns?”
“Yep.”
“And do… nothing?”
“That’s exactly the point.”
“I still don’t get it.”
Kash finally turned his head toward her. A small, soft smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. “Then come here.”
She straightened a little. “What?”
“Come here,” he repeated, patting his thigh. “Sit with me. Maybe you’ll see what I see.”
Calynn shifted in the chair so she was leaning toward him.
“No,” Kash chuckled, picking her up and settling her properly on his lap. “I said come here.”
She snuggled into him. He held her tight. Kash rubbed his cheek against hers, eyes fixed once more on the flames. But this time… his hand drifted out, pointing at something only he seemed to notice in the fire.
“Just look into the fire… you know it will burn, but you never know how. The way the tips of the flames lick the air is completely random while also being exactly what you expect. They curl and dance around one another. The symphony of colors blends together as the flames move. It breathes in the air and consumes the fuel because it’s alive… and captivating… and calming.”
Kash paused, admiring the flames for what they were before he continued.
“It’s quiet,” he said softly. “Inside my head, I mean. This is one of the few things that makes it happen. Fire… slows everything down. Makes life stop for a minute.”
Calynn leaned her cheek against his a little harder and placed her hand on his chest.
And for the first time since they landed, he truly exhaled.
She watched the fire through his eyes, listened to the forest around them, and felt the tension finally ease out of the man she loved.
“I think…” she whispered, “I’m starting to see it.”
Kash squeezed her gently.
“I knew you could.”
Author’s Note:
We live in a world buzzing with notifications, screens, and constant noise—so much that we forget how healing quiet can be. Sometimes the most important thing we can do is step away from the chaos. Drive out of the city. Leave the glowing rectangles behind. Find a patch of forest or a stretch of sky big enough to remind you how small the world’s problems really are.
Gather a few friends, or go alone if your soul needs the solitude.
Build a fire.
Sit still long enough to hear your own thoughts again.
Let the flames dance.
Let the world slow down.
Let yourself breathe.
I’m going first.
Who’s coming with me?
