Blazing

I held out my hand to Aunt.

She gazed intently at my ring,

as if it were some fabulous

heirloom. I felt proud, a little

abashed too. So things are pretty

serious with Alice, Aunt quizzed.

I said yes, they were. She looked

hard into my eyes. You are very

young Augustus, take care you

don’t get hurt. She hugged me

warmly, back to her jovial self.

We both moved into the kitchen,

Aunt brewed some tea. The trees

outside had let fall their leaves. It

looked drab, wintry now, but

the blaze in my heart was fierce.