A Story from the Black Summer
We're sure you've gotten your fill of headlines about the Omicron variant lately, so we're taking a break from pandemic stories in this edition of Unmasked. For this newsletter, we're taking a trip around the globe to the Blue Mountains region of Australia, home of Ebony Macfarlane.
A primary school teacher by day and an emerging writer by night, Macfarlane has an affinity for writing middle-grade children's fiction. Lucky for us, she departed her comfort zone in order to recount a personal experience from 2020.
Named for the haze created by a unique mix of eucalyptus oil droplets, water vapor, and sunlight, the Blue Mountains are located only two hours from Sydney. Macfarlane spends much of her spare time exploring the beautiful area in which she lives, hiking nearby peaks and courageously battling deadly snakes and spiders. However, her intrepid hobby became a bit more dangerous thanks to a new obstacle in 2020: bushfires.
Bushfires have become a seasonal part of life for Macfarlane and many Australians in recent years. It is often that some area of the mountains is smoldering, but the fires never posed any immediate threat to everyday life. As Macfarlane explains, that changed in 2020:
"The 2019-2020 'Black Summer' bushfire period in Australia was unprecedented. Over 80% of the Blue Mountains National Park was impacted, with devastating effects on biodiversity. This place played such a significant role in my life, and many of those close to me. The ferocity with which the fires surrounded and engulfed our little corner of the world was surreal. The day described in my story was one of many in 2020 spent both in awe and terror of Mother Nature. In my story, I have tried to convey the sense of support and strength which so characterised our community at that time."
We may be biased, but we think Macfarlane's story, "Flames," manages to do just that:
"'Is this weird?' I asked no one in particular, as we settled on the cliffside. Everyone laughed. No one bothered to answer properly. Of course it was weird. We were sitting with take-away pizzas and beers, overlooking the valley. We'd done this many times before.
Across the canyon, angry red smoke billowed up the side of the plateau. Glowing red lines highlighted the side of the cliff and made strange patterns. That was the unfamiliar part. The main fire looked like a steam engine hurtling through the bush, smoke surrounding it and trailing behind. This steam engine was destroying with flames.
I was sort of used to bushfires by now, having lived in the Blue Mountains my whole life. We had been living with the threat for a while. I was even used to them this fire season, with two burning nearby for weeks. Monitoring the Fires Near Me app had become part of my daily routine. I had already left work early one day to help my parents prepare to evacuate their home. My partner’s parents had evacuated and then been able to return. But this one was closest to home."
Thanks to Ebony for sharing her story with us. And as always, thank you for taking some time out of your day to hear another person's perspective. The full text of "Flames" will appear in our print anthology.
A final note: While our deadline has passed and we are no longer accepting general submissions, we are still looking to fill spots in our editorial lineup for the following topics:
Black Lives Matter
2020 U.S. Presidential Election