27 October 2012
The thin piece of wood feels light as air in my shaking hands, the tip, glinting blood red against the moon. My heart slows to a steady beating as I take the cold box in my left hand, pressing it tight against my nails. I shift my fingers back to the end of the match and focus on the scratched burgundy strip I hold at arm's length. Slowly, I draw the box closer, until it is only a couple of inches away from my pale face and touch the match to the start of the strip. Taking a deep breath, I pull it back and, in one rapid motion, draw it across the surface. After a couple of seconds, a yellow flame flickers into life, dancing in front of my eyes. Oh, yes..... Oh, yes..... With a gentle brush against my lips, it climbs into a cold, blue arch of light. Meeting the match again, I coax it even higher, until it is a blazing pyre of scarlet energy. At this point, I am almost giddy with excitement. The firecracker, the pyromaniac, everyone thought it was over. It wasn't even my element. How wrong they all were. Placing the flame on the tip of my tongue, I pour all of my mana into its core. The light piece of wood I held only seconds ago is now a raging bonfire of colours, midnight blue, spirit white, thunder black, sunset orange, merlot red.... My whole body is now ecstatic with this crackling inferno of power I have created. Then the rain comes. The heaven's open up right above my head, dousing the flame. I can't let this happen. Throwing the match high into the sky, I begin to chant, calling upon the spirits of the East, charging the clouds with pure magyck, drawing the horizon down to earth. The sky turns blood red with energy and the sunlight bursts into flame, licking the rain with infinite power, filling the world with my mantra, sending sparks out to all corners of the earth. Everything is ablaze. Perfect, I think to myself, just perfect....
Playing With Fire • Opuss № I