My eyes burn with hot tears, and my clawed fingers rake down my face.The darkness is coming for me. It’ll trap me, and I won’t wake up.I drop to my knees, the carpet silencing my fall.
“Callie!” My name reverberates through the darkness, the voice’s warm timbre turning brittle and cracked with fear.
It’s happening again. The fire is real. Everything I’ve grown to love will burn. I’m sorry. I wasn’t strong enough.
There’s a searing agony in my chest as if the fire has clawed its way inside me, incinerating everything in its path.
“Callie, please,” the voice cries. “You need to calm down. Come back. The fire is getting worse.”
There’s a shivering cold through my shoulder, followed by a harsh gasp. “Fuck, that feels weird-- Shit. Shit. Shit. What do I do? I need the guys, but I can’t leave you.”
“What the bloody hell?” A feminine voice shouts from the other side of the darkness.
I can’t remember who they are, my past tearing through my brain, only that they’re important.Run. Save yourself. Please don’t die.
“Oh thank God,” the first voice breathes in relief. “Don’t worry, pretty girl. Mildred will take care of you while I get the guys. I won’t be long, I promise.”
Within seconds, arms wrap around me, the scent of roses breaking through the smoke, and they hold me tight.
“Cleansing fires of change, I extinguish thee,” is shouted with authority, followed a moment later by a gentle whisper in my ear, “It’s okay, my darling. The fire is gone. Open your eyes.”
I blink, only now realizing the darkness was my eyes squeezed shut, and through the haze of smoke, I see my room, not the basement. Not the fire.
“Aunt Mildred,” I cry, my throat hoarse, and collapse in her arms.
“You’re alright. You’re safe now. I have you,” she murmurs, rocking me back and forth, both of us on our knees. “Can you tell me what happened? I heard you screaming, and when I got here, it looked like this whole side of the house was on fire.”
“Outside,” I choke out. My whole body trembles, as I try to piece back together what is real and what isn’t. “Um... burn spot… bonfire.”
“Someone set another fire in the backyard?” she clarifies, coughing and clearing her throat from the remaining haze of smoke. I nod. “Alright. I’ll have to call the police to report what happened. Bloody hell, explaining how the fire is out will be a treat.”
A breath of a laugh escapes me, and I pull away. My smile feels warped and brittle, as I try to feign normalcy; all the while I push down what happened back into my ‘deal with it later’ box. The locks on it are looking frayed and strain under all the shit I keep stuffing into it. I’ll need to find a safe place to hide before it explodes, but since my house was nearly burned down, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
Mildred gazes at me with worry filled eyes. “Are you…”
“I’m fine now,” I interrupt, not wanting to discuss what happened. Talking at all has tears wobbling my voice and on the brink of spilling down my cheeks. “Go call the police.”
Her dubious expression shows me she doesn’t believe me.
“Felix is here. It’s okay,” I lie.
Please leave before I break.
She looks around, like this time she’ll finally be able to see him.
“Thank you,” she says out into the open air.
Mildred gets to her feet and walks over to the balcony sliding glass door, opening it all the way. She whispers something under her breath. The haze of smoke condenses into ash, and like leaves dancing on a gentle breeze, funnels its way out the opened door.
“That’s better,” she announces. Returning to me, she pets my hair and murmurs, “I’ll be right back.”
“It’s fine,” I reply, my cheeks hurting from trying to keep the smile on my face, and I shoo her away.
Once she’s gone, I drop to the floor and lie on my side. The carpet is soft against my cheek. For a while, I just breathe, staring at my room but not really seeing. Counting my breaths. Concentrating on the feeling of my ribs expanding as air fills my lungs. My eyes burn because I keep forgetting to blink.
It’s only when I feel properly numb, that I try to take stock of my surroundings. My room, though seemingly drenched in the gloom of the grey outside, appears to be fine now that the smoke is gone-- the circling fire was only in my imagination. I crawl over to the open door and peek my head outside. Huge black streaks run up the side of the house, along with singed shingles. Considering it’s another foggy, wet morning, it’s an easy guess that’s my contribution to the fire.
My heart skips a beat, because it only now occurs to me that I may have started the whole thing. I haven’t lit anything on fire before, but I also hadn’t exploded any trees before coming here.Shit.
