Kissing Flames

I was 12, when the first of my tragedies came to be. My Mum had been sick, and after two long years of fighting with the disease, it was gone. But so was she. I remember the Saturdays spent dancing in the front room, reading in front of the fireplace, Sunday dinners, which I always attempted to make myself. We were so happy together. But as always, life is too short. She was here one day, and gone the next. Now, Saturdays are spent visiting her body in the graveyard, full of tears and my Father attempting to comfort me. ’Dont cry, sweetheart. Mum will always be here, inside your heart.” He would say, in his effort to comfort a grieving 12 year old. My Dad did everything to help me get myself and my life back to normal, distracting me from the pain of losing my Mother. We spent a lot of time together in the time after we lost her, I managed to be happy, thinking of our future together, even if it was without Mother. Until Jessica came into our lives.

“I love you Daddy,” I whispered quietly as he bent down to my height, in order to give me one of his great bear hugs. I smiled into his arms, stepping out slightly to look up at his dark hair, as something from behind barreled into me, sending me crashing to the ground. I cried out, throwing my hands in front of my face as I landed in the mud and grass of the field around me. I looked down at my pale hands contrasting with the mud and dirt around me, slowly pushing myself up to my feet.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?” My Dads voice cutt through the silence as I managed to get myself to my knees. No, I am not okay. I thought to myself, standing up as I brushed the remaining mud off the bottom of my blue dress, What even was that? I thought, hearing a chuckle from behind me. I groaned angrily, spotting Jessicas disgusting son, Devran, chuckling at me from beside my Father, smirking. I clenched my fists, staring him down as I pushed my long, red hair out of my face, imagining what it would feel like to sucker punch his stupid face. I sighed shakily, looking up at my Dad for help, not wanting to put myself in trouble. My Dad sighed, placing his hands on his hips as he turned to face Devran, “Young man, please apologise to my daughter here, you pushed her over.”

“No way.” Devran stated simply, shrugging his arms as he crossed them over his chest, raising an eyebrow at me as he glanced over to the woman coming to stand at my side. Jessica. Great. Like I need yet another witness to me about to lunge at him.

Jessica cocked her head, looking down at us both, sighing heavily, “That was incredibly rude, Devran.” She said to her son, her shoulder length blonde hair flicking behind her from the breeze. She’s almost 30 years older than my Father, a too big age gap for me to imagine them being together for much longer, but, as usual, I can guarrantee that I will be wrong. Knowing my luck, they’ll be together for the rest of their lives.

Devran groaned annoyingly, “But Mum,” He winged, pointing over at me, “It was all her! I didnt do anything!” He lied, looking up at his Mother with those pathetic puppy dog brown eyes. I should have punched him in the first place, I glared over at him, crossing my arms over my chest, knowing that if I tried to defend myself, he would only start whining more. And that was one sound that I really didnt want to hear today.”

“Well,” My Dad began, clasping his hands together as he smiled around awkwardly, “Lets just forget this all, and start over again.” He smiled, desperate to please Jessica. He seemed to be under the impression that I was only going to become truly happy again, was with a different Mum to fill the Mum shaped whole in my heart. But she was a whole different shape. Unfortunaly though, my Dad didnt realise this, instead deciding to fall for the first woman to pay him attention since my Mother died, trying to get me to do the same. And that, is how I became part of the big, ‘happy’ family, with Jessica and her son.

*18 months later*

My Dad sighed deeply, “Look, Madison,” he started, patting my leg supportively, “I promise you that we will start spending more time together.” He promised, smiling over at me as I sat at the end of my bed, unsure whether or not it was worth getting my hopes up.

“Just the two of us?” I questioned, taking a strand of my hair, and pulling it round my finger, in an effort to distract myself from looking at him.

“Well, yes. And the whole family.” He added, looking over at me as I visibly groaned, I shouldve known better than to trust him, “Jessica and your brother, Devran will always be there for you.”

I scoffed, sitting up straighter as I stared him down, “Jessica hates me.” I hissed, pulling my legs away from him, “And Devran? He will never be my brother.” I responded, irritated at even the suggestion of that. “He is a selfish and annoying kid.”

“Madison dear, you cant say that. We’re family.” He debated, growing tired of this constant argument. I shook my head, looking away from him as I wrapped my arms around myself, No way, I sighed, looking down at my legs, drawing pictures on my thigh with my finger. “You need to be strong, discreet, and always remember who you are. No one will ever replace you in my heart.” He finished, smiling over at me.

I sighed deeply, nodding slowly, “I love you Dad.” I smiled back at him as he leant forward to kiss my head.

“And I love you.” He smiled, sitting back in his place, “Do you want me to read to you?” He asked, gesturing over to the bookshelf above my bed.

I nodded, smiling slightly as I pondered the decision, “Sure Daddy. I love it when you read to me.” I answered, pulling my blanket up over my legs as I watched him.

“Fine. This story is going to be about... one brave, and beautiful girl.” He reached over to take a book of short stories off the shelf, settling back down to open it. “She was so stunning and kind, so much so that she was unlike anyone else. Many bad people along her life attempted to break her down, but she did not give up. No, she was a fighter. A strong woman.”

“Cool.” I smiled, pushing my ginger locks away from my face to watch him, leaning against the headboard of my bed. “I wish I could be like her.” I thought, imagining what she must be like.

“Oh, I have no doubt my love.” He laughed slightly, pulling me in for a hug as he ruffled my hair.

I laughed, pushing his hand away from my hair, “Hey! Stop!” I chuckled, looking up at him.

My Dad stopped for a second, glancing around as he took a deep breath, “Theres a weird smell, can you sense it?” He questioned as I stepped away from him, also breathing deeply in order to try to suss out what it was that he was sensing.

I frowned slightly, putting my hand to my nose, “It kind of smells like burning. Shou-” I was cut off, hearing a short scream coming from downstairs, Jessicas voice coming from the direction of the smell, “Someone! Please! Help me!” She called out, as my Father and I both gasped in shock, looking at each other quickly. “Fire! Help!” She cried out again, fear showing through her voice.

My Father grabbed my shoulders, “Madison I have to help them. Go wait outside, please, just get out. I’ll meet you there, I promise.” He said, letting go as I reached up to grab his hand, to stop him from leaving.

“No! Dad, please dont go.” I begged, fear gripping my voice, causing it to crack.

Dad shook his head, pulling free of my grip,“I’ll come back, dont worry. But I need to help them.” He spoke frantically, pulling me quickly down the stairs, pushing me to the door. The smell of smoke got stronger the closer to the kitchen that we got, the sensation of it stinging my eyes, causing the air to feel heavy all around me. I looked over to the kitchen, unable to see inside as my Father pushed me out of the front door, closing the door between us. Forever.

I lost my best friend that day.

How am I supposed to live my life without the two people who gave me it in the first place? Without the two people that I loved more than anything in the whole world? I’m not sure that I even really know anymore.

All i remember after that are the flames. The scorching, boiling heat emitting from the fire engulfing our family home, the place I had lived for my entire life. Everything, the photographs, the furniture, the memories, gone. Everything we’d ever done in that house was gone. There was nothing left, every trace of my Mother had been scorched off the face of the earth. Dad has saved our lives, but not his. He told me that I would always still have a family, in Jessica and her son, but if I do, then why do I still feel so dead inside? Nothing was ever going to be the same. Little did I know, the scene unfolding the other side of the house..

Devran scowled, shoving back, “Oh, god. What the hell have you done?! The fire is everywhere!” He yelled, his eyes darting around frantically as he pushed his long hair behind his ears.

Luke, Devrans close friend stumbled back, holding his hands up in surrender “I did.... oh god I didnt mean to.” He whimpered quietly, placing a hand on his chest to take a deep breath, “But... at least we are alive. This is good.” He nodded, looking Devran in the eye.

Dev shook his head, “No, we should tell the others.” He insisted, wiping the sweat beading on his forehead off with his shirt sleeve.

“No!” Luke exclaimed, “No, no one can know about what we’ve done.” He explained, stepping towards Devran.

Dev threw his hands in the air, glaring over at him, “Are you crazy?!” He snarled at Luke, “This isnt right!”

Luke took another step towards him, “This? This is a crime, Devran.” He spoke calmly, the fire reflecting in his deep brown eyes, flashing them a shade of red as he glared towards Devran. “Do you want to go to jail?” He asked pedantically, already knowing the answer.

“No...” Devran gulped softly, putting his head in his hands.

“Then keep your mouth shut.” Luke smirked, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared back into the fire, the flames licking up into the sky from the ground, beautiful but capable of destroying everything in its path.