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After the incident three years back, I thought I’d forever be alone, haunted by the guilt and shame of my actions, with my dreams plagued by visions of the burning imp.
Now, though, I started to see a picture come together of what a good life could be.
But did I deserve it?
As I watched Zoe, I remembered my moment of weakness, and what happened the day I first encountered the troublemaker demon.
He had set an entire apartment building on fire, trapping dozens of people, and I hadn’t been able to save them all. The guilt had almost broken me, and it had pushed me to the edge of my sanity.
What I did to him after… It took everything in me not to outright murder him. He had called me a traitor to my kind, a sympathizer of humans, and all I could see was red.
The memory of his blood staining my fur as I tore into his flesh, the sound of his screams, the sight of his fear…
Somehow I had managed to stop myself before I ended him entirely. I was a fireman, after all, and endeavored to live by human law. I wasn’t a criminal like him.
Though I almost was, and the scars I marked him with turned him into an enemy for years to come.
But it had been almost two years since he last appeared, so I had hoped he’d stayed far away, never to return. Now, though, I had to confront the idea that he may have been responsible for Zoe’s apartment fire.
Zoe set two plates full of food down on the table. She had prepared scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee, and the smell of it made me ravenous.
We both ate in silence for a few minutes, just focusing on the good meal and feeling grateful that we made it through that fireunharmed. Or at least, I got the sense Zoe was thinking the same thing.
Once we finished, I said, “That was really good. Have you considered becoming a chef?”
Zoe stood and gave me a playful nudge, grabbing my empty plate along with hers. I followed after, insisting, “Please, let me take care of that.”
She looked like she was going to protest, but after a moment, she relented and sat back at the table as she watched me wash the plates and pans.
The silence continued. There were things neither of us wanted to address, I was sure. It must’ve shown in my aggressive dish cleaning, because soon she leaned forward and asked, “What’s bothering you?”
“You just… You don’t seem as upset as I would have expected you to be.”
“You mean about losing all my worldly possessions?”
I nodded silently.
Zoe looked away, a momentary pain flashing in her eyes. “I mean, yeah, it hurts, but… But maybe this is the reset I’ve needed. I’ve been mentally going over everything I lost, and pretty much all of it has a memory of my ex attached to it. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise to be forced to move on from all of it.”
“I’m pretty sure there are less drastic ways to forget an ex.”
She laughed softly and brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Yeah. But I have to try to find an upside to all of it. The most important things, like sentimental childhood stuff—that’s all in my parent’s attic. And any pictures I had, they’ve all been digitized and saved on my cloud. All I need is to get a new phone and log in.”
“That’s a relief, at least.” I thought back to when I chose to leave the underworld behind and start fresh. I brought nothing with me besides a small memento: a black feather from a friend whose wings had been taken from him. He had been punished for turning his back on the creatures of the underworld, and it seemed my imp rival was hellbent on making sure I didn’t get away with it either.
Zoe suddenly gasped. “Shit. I need to tell Annabelle. I’m sure she heard about the fire—or will soon. Oh, and I need to call Grandma too.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “It’s all yours.”
She nodded and went into the other room to make her calls. I could hear her speaking, her voice a soft murmur as she reassured whoever she called first that she was safe and sound.
As I finished the dishes, I thought about how lucky I was to have found such a resilient woman, with such a big heart and an indomitable spirit. Zoe was truly a remarkable person, and I couldn’t wait to get to know her better.
After I was finished, I dried my hands on a towel and walked into the living room to check on her. She was sitting on the couch, her head bowed and her shoulders slumped as she listened to whoever was on the other line.
She looked up at me, tears glistening in her eyes. I sat down beside her and took her hand in mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
She took a deep breath and continued her conversation, explaining how she’d been staying with a friend, and that she was safe. She assured the person that she would be in touch, then hung up, wiping away the tears that had started to fall.
