Sitting by the pool I looked up to see smoke coming out from our apartment window.
Panic-struck, I yelled, “Oh my God”, I’d left candles burning in my bedroom unintentionally.
Panic turned to terror then into shock thinking my step-mother would kill me for setting fire to our home.
A neighbour saw how stressed I was, grabbed me and took me into her apartment where she made me get into a cold shower and drink a straight shot of whiskey hoping that this would calm me down.
Everything turned out okay. My step-mother was happy that I was alright.
This flash fiction was written for a challenge over at Carrot Ranch. In 99 words (no more, no less) write a short story or poem using “Fire” as the prompt.
Susan's Place 
That the girl was terrified over what the step-mother would do is telling of that relationship, although she responded appropriately. It would be terrifying to recall lit candles upon seeing flames. My daughters were burning mantras in a bowl and it set their carpet on fire. They fled the house in terror, but my son calmly doused the flames with a water bucket, explaining he didn’t want to lose his Legos!
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That girl was me 😦 Your son didn’t want to lose his Legos, Thank goodness he was there with a bucket of water.
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How old is our protagonist here? Was the step-mother happy about the neighbor giving her whiskey and throwing her in the shower?
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She was 14 or 15. The step-monster didn’t really say much about the neighbour 🙂
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Guilt is a terrifying feeling, and even moreso that of being unforgiven.
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Phew!
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Nice to know the step-mother was more interested in what is really important..
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