**Writings is a series of posts, as we close out 2017, featuring work by the teen writers participating in our Teen Day program. **
The Fire
A single flame leapt up from among the bed of glowing coals. They were spread, some big some small, across the inside of the fireplace. Their tops were black, their bottoms orange, like something hiding in the depths of a dark cave. The fire tinkled like crackling ice, and whispery bits of ash fluttered down from the largest coal, grey, until they hit the bed of embers and shivered away. It looked like a newly uncovered jewel, with bits of dull black stone still clinging to its glowing surface. The fire was a quiet, curled up cat, nestled in a calm night. A night in which the stars would wink out at you in pleasantly unexpected ways and the trees would sway reassuringly in a slight breeze. Leaves would crinkle softly under your feet, and all around bushes would whisper secrets to you.
—Emily Warner
TEEN DAY Ithaca 