The Last One You'd Ever Suspect of Setting the Fire

by [pens&feathers]

He stands on the edge of the scene as the fire trucks pull in, sirens blaring in sharp contrast to the still silence of the night.

Tomorrow morning, Connie will ask him where he got the sunburn, and he will tell her that he was out walking on the bridge again, like he always does. And in her eyes, he will see that she doesn’t believe him. But she won’t question him. She never does.

Men dressed in dirty layers of fireproof yellow stand on the sidewalk. The hose unravels and the water pours out, destroying everything he has worked so carefully to create. Little by little, water replaces fire.

He watches on the edge of the scene, but in the commotion, nobody seems to notice him standing there with flames in his eyes.

No one would never think for a minute he was responsible. Not even if he were covered in gasoline.

The fire trucks leave in what seems like a convoluted whirlwind of time – has it been seconds or years since he lit the match?

He stays, savoring the thick scent of burnt wood.

Comments

Average Reader Rating: 5.0 stars out of 5

  1. The Last One You'd Ever Suspect of Setting the Fire

    kells' Buddy Icon kells

    Posted 6 months ago

    Fantastic! This sounds like it would be a great into to a novel – I’d be curious to see who he was – why wouldn’t anyone suspect him? And why did he do it?

    [PS you win at life for having the Survivor quote in your profile!]

  2. The Last One You'd Ever Suspect of Setting the Fire

    emma jo_234's Buddy Icon emma jo_234

    Posted 6 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Wow. This makes you really, really want to know more. What’s the story?? In desperate need of a sequel.

  3. The Last One You'd Ever Suspect of Setting the Fire

    Apostrophe 's Buddy Icon Apostrophe

    Posted 6 months ago

    emma jo is right, please sequel this story. Imagery here is fantastic.. You illustrated the story well, leaving us begging for more. The calling card of a great writer!

  4. The Last One You'd Ever Suspect of Setting the Fire

    flute faerie's Buddy Icon flute faerie

    Posted 6 months ago

    Wowzers, this is realy good! It makes me wanna keep reading! Write more plz!!

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