The Queen of Flames

Tina

My name is Tina  Vitali, and this is how my story began.

"Ow! Ow! hot! " I yelped out as I rushed across the kitchen, my cup of hot coffee splashing me as i did so. I will admit that I was pretty silly not pay attention to the hot coffee that I had, but my attention was inside focused on the newspaper that I held in my right hand.

"Two dead and girl missing after car crash in Hillsburn." Was printed on the Front page in bold text. "The family had been on their way to a popular fair when a truck going southbound lost control and collided with the small car. The driver, 34 year old Justin Singer, died on impact his wife, Scarlett Singer, was sent to the hospital in critical care, but later died of her injuries. Their only daughter, Sasha, has recently Disappeared from the hospital after her mother's death. If found please call police. She is 9 years old with-"  quickly I closed the paper, not wishing to read anymore.  "Poor child" I mumbled with a shake of my head "people really need to be more careful on the road." Soon after I put my cup down and wiped my hand off, making sure to get all the coffee off it. I then turned my attention to my windows.

Rain drops began to hit the window, making a soft 'Tap' before gently falling and joining the others in a small puddle that was beginning to form in my front yard. "now's probably a good time to get some wood from the back"  I thought to myself. Turning I started to make my way to the back door, grabbing my light blue rain coat along the way. Quickly i threw it on and opened the door, a sudden gust of wind pushing me to the side. A startled yelp left my lips as I nearly fell over "oh no.. with wind like this there's going to be a storm...I really hope the men are off the boats" I said, worry tone in my voice.

Holding my hands up I to shelter myself from the rain I made my way to the small wooden shelter that hid in my backyard. I pushed the dripping tree branches out of my way, my hands getting wet in the process. I shook my now cold wet hands to get the water off then looked at the pile of wood that was stacked neatly und iter a tarp inside the shelter. With a relieved sigh I smiled "good it's dry"  I thought to myself. Reaching forward I pulled the tarp off and went to grab some wood off the pile. Then i heard .

A piercing scream echoed through the woods.

It was a scream of fear, pain and terror.

Instantly I stopped my body freezing. "What was that?"  I asked  myself, but I already knew. And my body did too apparently.Without a second thought I started running towards where the scream came from. "South"  I tried to think, but my mind was clouded with worry "wait..isn't the cliff over there?"  The realization hit me hard. Just south of my place is a large cliff that drops directly into the water. The height would kill anyone instantly.

I ran faster, with every drop that fell it got harder and harder to keep my footing, But i wasn't going to stop, not until I found out where that scream came from. I kept running, dodging trees and jumping over branches that were in my way. Soon i found myself staring at the water, the wind caused the waves to have white tips. Even from where I was standing I could still hear the sound of the waves crashing against the surface of the cliff face down below.

"Hello?" I called out, but it seemed useless for my voice stood no chance against the howling winds that grew stronger and stronger with each gust. Looking around i tried to find something, anything that could help me find where the scream had came from.

Finally my eyes landed upon something small and pink. I ran, almost slipping because the one solid ground had become soft from the rain. Once i made it to the thing laying on the ground, I gasped. Laying on the ground, covered in mud and leafs was a small girl. Her golden hair was tangle with leafs and twigs. Her small body was bruised and scratched. Gently I shook her. Nothing.

The wind grew stronger, rain harder and the poor child was soaked. There was no
One else around and i couldn't just leave her there. I picked her up, her body was cold and wet.  I started to make my way back to my house, the wind was getting stronger by the minute and with every gust it became harder and harder to keep my balance against it.

After a couple minutes  managed to make it back home and once i walked inside i gently placed the girl on the couch. "there...that's better." i said to myself as  turned and went back to the door. As fast as i could, i rushed outside and grabbed some wood then returned back inside. I wasn't sure what to do first.  I could get the girl some much needed blankets or start the fire, wouldn't be much help if we were both cold right? With a sigh I rushed up the stairs and went to my small room. Reaching up, I grabbed some warm blankets and a nightgown from my wardrobe, then rushed back down the stairs.

"Don't worry dear, i'll have you nice and warm in no time!" I said aloud as I laid the blankets over top of her and placed the nightgown on the table beside her. "Maybe she would like some hot coco for when she wakes? I'll go start the fire then boil some water"  I thought. I walked over to the fire place and put some wood in, then grabbed the flint and steel that i kept on the wall beside it and lit it. I sighed with relief as i felt the flames start to warm my body.  The flames calmed me, i felt safe and warm. I was now inside my house, nothing could hurt me here. With my new found calmness I walked to my small kitchen, my coffee sat on the table still, now cold and undrinkable. Grabbing the kettle and filling it with water, I put it on the stove and started to boil it. As i waited my mind drifted off.

"Who is this girl? Could she be the missing one from the papers?" My mind questioned. "No.." I said in a soft whisper "she couldn't be, the city is huge, and she couldn't have gotten all the way out here alone.." I decided. "Besides why is she out here anyway? This is just a small fishing town nothing important here..." I shook my head and laughed a little. There's no way a small girl could get out here on her own. "Probably someone's kid exploring" I decided in my head.

The sudden whistling caused me to jump and accidently hit my hand against the counter. "OUCH!" I yelled cradling my stinging hand. The whistling got louder and with my good hand I grabbed the kettle and put it on a different burner and turned off the stove. With a sigh I mumbled "today's not my day..." Grabbing two cups from the cupboard below me, I filled one with some hot chocolate mix and dropped a tea bag in the other "I'm sure she will like This!" I said aloud. Softly I began to hum, my voice seemed to be drowned out by the rain and the soft crackle of the fire however. Pouring the water i smiled "she's sure to wake soon, at least I hope. Hopefully she likes hot chocolate!"  Gently I stirred both cups then walked them over to the living room, softly placing them on the table. Sitting across from the young girl I took a sip of my tea and waited. "Hopefully she isn't injured  badly, from here it seems like only a few minor cuts and scrapes. I really should have taken those wet clothes off. Oh my silly Tina, you didn't go to medical school for four years only to become shy. But I don't know who she is and i'd  really like to wait till she's awake to do anything-"

Once again I jumped, This time spilling tea on me. With a Yelp i yelled "OW! Ow! Very hot!" The cause of my scare; a soft, but unsuspected groan coming from the girl. Quickly I grabbed a towel and wiped off the tea, but looked back at the girl, who's eyes were now slowly opening. "Oh! You're awake!" I said rushing back to my seat. The girl looked at me, then around the room. She said up and stared at me, confusion and fright in her eyes. Holding up my hands I smiled "don't worry dear, I won't hurt you. I found you in the woods, and brought you here. To my house. There's some nice hot chocolate on the table, and a change of clothes."

She blinked, the scared seemed to disappear. I watched as she reached forward and took a sip of the drink, a soft smile spreading across her face. "Thank you..." She said in a quiet voice. "No problem dear" I said with a nod, she put it down and looked at me again with her innocent grey eyes. Clearing my throat I looked at her and asked the thing I had been wondering since I found her.

"Who are you?"

She blinked again and a soft embarrassed blush spread across her face "u-uh...I'm s-Sasha..." She said shyly. My eyes widened "wait...your the girl from the papers?" I said in surprise. She looked at me, sinking into the couch and nodded. I couldn't believe it. There's no way such a ordinary person like me had this happen to them.