Ember and Ash

A Small Spark

                      "A spark neglected makes a mighty fire."  ~ Robert Herrick

Ember sat with her legs crossed in front of the large mirror that hung in the walk-in closet that she shared with her sister. She studied her reflection, lost in thought. Her hair was some shade between blonde and brown. Freckles danced across her nose and cheek bones. Overall, extremely ordinary. Except for those eyes with the pale blue irises that appear almost iridescent. She was pulled from her revelry by the distant sound of gravel crunching beneath tires.

"Ok, here's the plan," Ashley poked her head into the closet. "I told Aunt Jalise that we're going to that lame play at school. You tell her where we're really going and I'll never let you come with us again. Got it."

Ember bristled at that. She had known about Ashely's little weekend excursions for a while now and never so much as threatened to out her to their guardians, even though it did sting a bit that Ashley was only just including her in her adventures. In fact, the truck that was now waiting for them at the west gate was carrying a group of girls that had once been Ember's friends, not Ashley's.

They had come over to watch movies one night. Ashley had been grounded and decided to relieve her boredom by telling embarrassing stories from Ember's childhood. Then she invited everyone to blow off the movie and sneak a smoke out on the balcony.

The next few weeks of school was decidedly not pleasant for Ember's social life. The stories were told over and over, each new version worse than the one before it. Ember had found it for the best to hide out in the vacant library until it all blew over. Ashley had apologized and pointed out something that her sister hadn't considered. It could have been worse, she could have told everyone what had happened the day Ember discovered her powers.

Ashley leaned over her sister. She pulled out her eyeliner and made a snapping motion with her fingers. A small flame appeared in the palm of her hand. It floated there, just out of burning reach of her skin. She used it to melt the soft tip of the pencil.

Ember watched as small licks of heat tried to escape higher into the air. If she had wanted she could have summoned the flame from her sister's open hand, but it wouldn't have stayed small and neat. The tiny orb would have morphed into a large, molten sphere of fire, nearly impossible for her to control.

"You're not wearing that are you?" Ashley looked down at her sister's outfit as she applied another line of charcoal along her eye. "We can't show up with you looking like your going to study group, you'll give us away."

Ember glanced down at her clothes. A navy satin blouse over dark jeans. She looked up at her sister who was wearing a red tee with the words Crash&Burn tattooed onto the thin fabric. A black denim mini skirt fanned out across her thighs. When she turned around the shirt switched to black lace and if her white blond hair fell just the right way her bra would be visible.

"I don't have anything like that." She said, still eyeing her sister's seductive outfit.

"Fine," Ashley groaned. "You can grab something from my side. Just don't make it a habit."

Ember rolled her eyes. She couldn't stand how selfish her sister could be at times. How many times did Ashley "borrow" things from across the closet without asking? She scanned through her siblings wardrobe. There were designer jeans that looked like they were dug from someone's trash, shirts that were supposed to look that wrinkled, and lots and lots of black lace. She pulled the most descent looking top from it's hanger. It had a greyish blue marbled dye that made Ember's crystal blue eyes look even more otherworldly.

"Better." Ashley pulled on a pair of black stilettos. "Now lets get the fuck out of here before someone notices how we're dressed."

They descended the back stairs as quietly as possible, which wasn't easy given Ashley's choice of shoes. They crossed the darkened lawn with the same amount of success, stopping once to remove an embedded heel from a stubborn patch of soft dirt. The night song of the cicadas covered any small noises that might have gotten them caught. The west gate was too high to climb over but fortunately the lock had been broken long before the girls had arrived nearly a year ago. The headlights of the truck shined brightly from deep within the overgrown thicket that surrounded the house. They cleared the underbrush with only a few snags and scraps and emerged in a flood of light.