Still more of My AFTRS application.

Glow

Chirrrrp chirrrrp.
Bugger bugger bugger. He grabbed up the phone without stopping.
Chirrrrp chirrrrp
Jogged into the bathroom pulling the ariel out from the top of the plastic handset.
Chirrrrp chirrrrp
Pressed the connect button, wedged the phone between shoulder and ear.
"Hello" pulled down his track pants and sat.
"Hello Matt?"
Hay Liz how are yah?"
"I'm fine, just cruising around in the car"
"That would explain the crap connection" Matt settled himself for a session and looked out a small window set in the wall at a perfect level to present a slice of life to an occupied throne.
"What did I interrupt?"
“I've been sowing in some extra sequins on my costume. You going to come and watch the parade?"
"If I've got time." He winced.
"So how was your day?"

The light filling the air was a pale orange, not the usual bright hot Sydney white. He noticed small flacks of black on the window ledge, there were a few resting on the paper roll too. Must be fires chewing up through the bush and licking at the rim of suburbia. Singing the edges, tinting the sunlight with smoke and throwing burnet snow flakes into the air.
he sat and stared at the building across the road, tuned out while his sister droned about her day. Imagine if the fires went unchallenged and mauled their way through the hundreds of thousands of houses, the hundreds of thousands of people, the hundreds of thousands of beloved pets. To reach in from the periphery. To touch Mat here in the inner suburbs.
He bunched a finger and flicked a black spot out into the air. It arced out and fell out into the far away street. He tried to pick a likely recipient from the dolls walking around to provide a landing pad for the speck of soot.
"...And I've been out to see mum..."
"Uh huh" that looks allot like Liz's car. Why is she parked out in front of the building. Matt scanned the bathroom and grabbed a spare roll of toilet paper.
He liked to pass the time on the can by dropping things on the loonies. Watching for a new reaction to the gift from god, mostly they spun around searching, not bothering to look up. Sometimes rants floated up to him.
He leaned out of the little window till his dick was pressed up against the cold tile. The roll fell away with a practised curve.

"AAAAAaaaaawwwwwhat in the name of all that's pure and holy in the world was that?" it had bounced off the bonnet.
"So that is you, why are you parked out the front? Too embarrassed to come up?" He sat back and folded his arms, leaning on the sill, peering down at the car.
"You frightened me half to death. You've scared Mrs Buff too."
"Mrs Buff, what are you doing with Mrs Buff? What’s going on, she hates cars. I'm surprised she's not chewing your face off"
"She WAS lying quietly in the back"
"Is she all right, have you been to the vet?"
"Look Matt..." there was a quality in her voice, a sub tone.
"Are you all right? What’s wrong?"
"Ummmmm" it was almost a wale, punctuated with a gulp or a choke. Matt felt it in the coils of his intestines.
"Do you want me to come down?"
"No, I want you to just listen" he looked down at her red roof, noticed the toilet roll, it had rolled into the gutter.

Her voice had tears in it, He could hear her trying to calm down the cat.
"You know how I said that I've been out to mums place?" He vaguely remembered her saying something.
"There’s been some fires out there, her house has been burnt down." bloody hell, he leaned back against the cistern. "I was just visiting. The sky was filled with smoke as I drove up there," His butt felt cold from hanging over the bowl.

"There was a barricade across the road, I was pulled over by a fire man, he wouldn't let me drive down our street. I couldn't see our house but firemen were running all over the place.
"I was standing there for ages, A neighbour showed up with Mrs fluff so I've been carrying her around"
"Where's mum?"
"She was taken to St Mary's, she was caught in the house"
He felt sick, muscles shifted, grateful for the toilet he emptied his guts. He sat dazed listening to his sister crying, the cat had started to howl, staring at the orange cordial light.