Old Fireplace

• Hannah Thai, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2017

I was an old fireplace. My family had kept me for so long I could not keep track. They treated me as a piece of gold. As a member of the family, I truly loved them.
In winter, everyone huddled around me trying to keep warm. They read a book or knitted. Some told me stories and asked me questions. The problem was, I could not answer. Others offered me a bickie which sadly, I could not eat.
In spring, I was cleaned out. I had a bath in cool water, my skin polished of the soot that had gathered and a comfortable wood bed to sleep on.
In summer, I slept through, having endless dreams. I was left alone to rest after a long winter of working hard. The children still sat in front of me willing winter to hurry up. I smiled in my dreams willing the same wish too.
In autumn, my family started collecting and chopping up pieces of wood preparing the next cold winter for me. I was so thankful for their kindness. Near the end of autumn, I was woken up getting ready for another hard working winter. Kids squealed with joy!!!
As the years went by, my family grew old and so did I. They promised they would never replace me with a modern heater. "Just stay with the old until the never ending stories are told," they said. That was my life as a Fireplace!