The Fire Brings Us Closer

The burning building had excited him.

Stirred him.

He felt the burn of it begin to consume him, insatiable.

He closed his eyes and lay on the floor, the map spread beneath him, his arms wide.

He was a bat, soaring over the city, random in his flight.

He could see it in his mind’s eye.

He would cut up his pillowcase for wicks.

Many wicks from a single garment, their origin joining them forever in his mind.

He would set the fires, he would wait, he would watch.

There were all the houses, all the city, all the world.

15 thoughts on “The Fire Brings Us Closer

  1. That was excellent. I really got the sense of obsession and insanity of your character in the story. Well done. I even thought of a (whimsical) name for him, “The Wick-er Man” (“The Wicker Man ” a film originally made in 1973 and remade in 2006 and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have to do with arson).

  2. Your idea of making all the wicks from the single pillowcase to link the arson attacks in his mind is rather good. And I like the title very much. Before reading the story I assumed it meant emotionally closer. Now I realise that it means closer to a fiery link with the arsonist.

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