untitled

Don't Get Too Attached

The candle lay in bed with the lighter sleeping in her arms. It was one of those rare occasions when nothing was burning, and she relished in the pleasant warmth in her chest and from the lighter's body. It was almost cool for her, which was a rarity indeed.

Of course, it was not meant to last.

"You fool," the flame hissed, licking the candle's ear as it crawled around her shoulder. "What do you think you're doing? You think it is good now, but wait, he will hurt you, it will hurt, to keep on like this, you fool, fool, you fool-"

The candle squinted her eyes shut, clinging tighter to the lighter as she tried to ignore the flame's words. The flame ran its fingers along her cheek, and she felt drops of wax roll like tears down her face. The fire in her chest blazed hard and burned and she could feel herself melting again. She clung tighter, trying to forget, trying to ignore, trying to force herself to sleep so she could go back to the memory of that pleasant warmth and not worry about the burning...

"Just sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep," she muttered to herself, digging her softening fingers into what she was holding. 

"Fool-"

"Sleep-"

"Fool, fool, fool-"

"Sleep, sleep, sl-"

"Love?" 

The flame vanished in an instant as the fire in the candle's chest flared at the word. The candle opened her eyes to see the lighter awake and looking at her. "...Yes?" she breathed.

She was afraid he was going to ask if she was all right because she wasn't sure what she should answer to that, the truth or a lie. But her fears were misplaced.

"I'm... a bit stuck," he said with a gentle smile and gesturing vaguely to the ring of wax that now encased his torso.

"Oh. Oh, sorry, I'll, umm-"

"It's all right, love."

The candle struggled a bit to let him go, but it wasn't happening. "Do you think maybe you could, umm, turn on, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, one moment." The lighter's white-blue flame sparked to life and he worked on freeing himself, melting the candle's arms away from around him and helping her collect the wax back towards her body. At last, they were separated.

The burning in the candle's chest now ached quite badly, though she wasn't sure why. "I'm... so sorry about that," She said, flustered.

The lighter was cheerfully looking himself over. "It's all right, no harm done."

"Yeah." The ache got worse. "...Do you want to go back to bed? I'll keep my arms off you this time so that won't happen agai-"

"Eh, no it's fine, I need to get up anyway," the lighter answered, stretching. "You ought to get some sleep though."

The fire in her chest suddenly went cold. "Yes. I should."

The lighter was standing now, fully out of bed. He leaned over and kissed the candle's forehead. "Get some sleep," he whispered with a warm smile.

No warmth reached the candle. "Will do."

The lighter left, and the candle laid back down in bed, her arms empty. Her pleasant warmth was gone.

It was a cold and lonely night.