A Child’s Innocence

• Imelda Hardman, Grade 9, Ormeau Woods State High School
• Short Story
• 2022

Excellence Award in the 'Unleashed 2022' competition

Hypnotic, bright, inviting. Orange light cast shadows unevenly around the barren room, illustrating stories on the dark, wooden walls. She crept closer to the heat, needing more. Her eyes grew larger, and with it the flames, as fire fairies jumped over the metal rail towards her. The light flickered in her eyes, and her flushed face was open with curiosity. Of parents, there were none, the fear and caution that should have been taught to every child insubstantial. One of her chubby hands reached out, engrossed, and with a leap and a spin, a fairy landed on the outstretched invitation. Her body refused to respond properly, only a slight, safe heat emitting from the dying spark that had alighted on her skin. Bringing the flickering speck closer to her eyes, fascination overtook all other emotions.
Hands reached out of the burning woodpile, beckoning her to come, join the dancing, as more creatures flew out of the fire to join her. The cheerful crackling of the blaze disguised the screaming of its fuel, as the flames sung and danced to a haunting melody designed for its victim. They only needed one more. One more. Her hands and knees patted on the stone of the floor as she answered the siren call echoing from beyond the grate. Fairies circled her, guiding, caging, forcing. Her face both reflected and emitted the colour of the heat and light in front of her, indicating overwhelmed skin, but allure erased all thoughts. Almost, almost.
The hands of the fire moved quicker, revealing shadows despite the light, and the beat elevated in excitement. One hand over the heated metal. Two. The pain was intangible, her body ignorant of the danger. Entirely over the grate, she looked back at the fairies, inquiring. Grins of eternal magnitude and hunger spread across their faces, but she could only see the beauty of their dance.
More faces emerged from the blaze, previous claims of the fire’s spirit reaching from another world. The starvation written on their faces caused her to stop, pause, and hear, just for a second, the screaming of the dying wood beneath it, and feel the thousands of needles digging into her skin where her body touched the reaching heat and light. Questioning her movements, she started to move backwards, but it was too late. Frantic paranoia caused the flames leap out, arms reaching for her, sparks blocking her movement.
The song warped, turning into primal cry of emptiness and need, releasing her body from the spell, and exposing the pain. Flames pulled her into their embrace, consuming and deadly. Her wails rang out in the night, the sound of a premature death, as she fell, down, down, down into a void.
The fire smiled. Finally, the last key was inserted into place. Pulling itself free from its cage, a demonic form crawled over the grate, spreading fires as it moved.
The child’s death was only the beginning.