Unexpected Devil

The ground was illuminated by the vivid flames. Whipping shadows danced along it, reaching the small feet of a child. She stood still, mesmerized by the fire that engulfed her home. The flames were dimmed upon her body but showed what she experienced shortly. Smoke stained her alabaster skin. Her bunny nightgown was singed and torn. Large strands of her hair were burnt off. Her appearance held a little of the damage the fire caused. If she were to stay in its embrace longer, she would have become what her family is now.

But outside she was, sucking her thumb, and holding the hand of her friend, who stood as a statue beside her, watching the flames devour the house, the hues of orange and red flicker within his dark eyes. The wind the fire produced blew back his hair, making it lash out at his face and the ends lashing at the little girl. Veins bulged from his hand as he squeezed the little girl’s; she flinched. 

“Please do not be scared,” he pleaded, swaying her hand forward and back.

While biting her thumb’s nail, she replied, “I’m not.”

She watched the fire flicker toward the sky, imagining them as arms extending outward to grasp something that keeps escaping. As her imagination brought her into brighter thoughts, her friend knows the truth that the fire killed what she knew as love and sacrifice.

The little girl spat out a part of her nail and cocked her head. “Why isn’t anyone leaving the house?” she asked, confusion lining her voice.

He gulped and squeezed her hand again. What should I tell her? he thought, wanting to spill the truth. But he decided against it. He released the little girl’s hand, turned her to him, and tossed her up, catching her within his arms. He stared into her lifeless eyes. “Why don’t we leave this place?” he said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear with his onyx claw.

“Where are we going to go?”

“We’re going to a healthier place.” He pushed the girl’s head down onto his shoulder and gazed off into the fire once more, questioning how such an innocent creature could cause a hellish event.