Burned by John Kujawski

I have always been afraid of fire. I’ve never once enjoyed lighting matches or playing with sparklers. I always feared that I’d end up being burned. Plus, I’m a guy who had a short fuse growing up and the last thing I needed was something in my hand that could do damage.

In my first year of college, I met a girl who did plenty of damage. Her name was Donna and she was truly a bad girl. She had a love for vandalism and vicious pranks but mostly she just loved fire. Donna told me she was a pyromaniac.

Donna tried everything to help me with my fear. Once, she took me to a field to shoot fireworks. Another time, she convinced me to burn some newspapers in a back alley. Eventually, she’d have me light candles in her dorm room before we’d make out.

Donna was a fiery redhead and she always wore black. She stood out in the crowd. Still, I had my eye on a blonde girl.

Her name was Melissa. She mostly wore a lot of flower dresses with sandals and people said she was boring but she seemed to be a true beauty. I could have sworn one day that she had smiled at me when I was on my way to class. I should have said something but I hesitated. I don’t think I was afraid of Melissa, though. She just made me want to melt.

Donna made all sorts of things melt. She burned everything she could. She took me to some fenced in area on campus one night and lit sparklers with me. As I played with the colorful sticks I could have sworn I saw Melissa walking not too far from where we were. I wondered what it would be like to be on her side of the fence. Melissa was truly a hot woman. She didn’t seem so boring to me.

Not long after that, Donna had plans for excitement. She drove us into the woods late at night to where a small log cabin had been built. I wasn’t familiar with that part of Missouri and we were pretty far from campus. The cabin was off by itself and Donna parked right in front of it. She had an idea that would truly free me from my fears.

I must admit, my memories of that night are more like quick flashes than anything else because what we did was insane. Donna brought the gasoline and I lit the matches and together we torched the cabin. The site of the smoke and flames was a like a strange dream but the real nightmare actually came at school the next night.

I was leaning against the cafeteria building playing with a cigarette lighter. I actually set a piece of paper on fire and watched it turn to ash when Melissa walked by. She didn’t smile, this time. I could tell by her eyes that she seemed terrified.

© 2011 John Kujawski

John has interests that range from guitars to the Incredible Hulk. You can find some of his other stories on websites such as Flashes in the Dark and The Fringe Magazine. He was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri and still lives there to this day. You can hear him on the weekly podcast at www.comicbookshowdown.com

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