How to Start a Fire

PROLOGUE

July 17th, 1983 

On a hot summer night, when the weather didn't seem to care that the sun was down already and you felt like melting below your sheets, my brother had sent me out to get him some cigarettes. He had been working in his room for hours while I was trying to kill time until I could go to sleep... I just hoped the weather would cool down again soon.

The fact that he was a smoker had always bothered me. I wasn't particularly fond of the stench, especially because it was stuck in my clothes because of him, making my mother believe I was lying about my aversion from smoking. I never touched a cigarette or a glass of booze, that was for sure.

I left my house in a t-shirt, which I had tucked in my regular blue jeans. Even though the weather practically begged me to wear shorts, I still felt uncomfortable showing my legs in public. The closest place to get cigarettes in this area was the gas station, and I already felt tired knowing that I had to walk for about ten minutes to get there. Too much for these temperatures.

I laced up my torn shoes and put some money into my pocket, yelling upstairs. "I'M LEAVING!"

Upon hearing me, my brother stuck his head out through the door of his room. "Please be careful, don't let the cryptids bite."

"Come on Bill, you know I'm the real cryptid around here. No one ever sees me outside, and when they do they are GAGGING." I laughed, tying my hair up into a ponytail.

Bill laughed with me, his cheek squishing a little against the doorframe, looking at me for a moment. "But for real, be careful, yeah?"

"Yeah yeah..." I already turned to leave, when suddenly my mother joined us.

"Sweety, don't you think it's a little late to leave the house?" She gently ran her hand down my arm with a worried expression.

"Mom, chill out. It's gonna be fine." I sighed, smiling at her. "Thanks for your concern but, like, for real. This is fine, I'll be careful."

She smiled back. "And make sure you stay within the range of the street lights, okay?"

I nodded, taking another look up at Bill, saluting at him. He saluted back and I turned to leave the house.

College seemed to be tough. Even though Bill was on break, he was constantly working on projects and whenever he explained what he was working on I did not understand a word. I, on the other hand, never even applied for any universities after I finished school. I had no idea what I was interested in and after long, in depth discussions with my parents we had settled that I'd just take a year off to calm down and find myself... but if I was honest, I did not even want to change anything about my situation. Everything was fine.

On the other side, Bill also usually managed to keep his friendships alive. Only recently he got engaged with his girlfriend, Emily, and he would always talk about how one day he would have a house, a dog and two beautiful children with her. His friends all seemed to have similar ideas about their futures, while I... did not want to think about it. Whenever they came over, Bill invited me to join them and we would play card games or have barbecues... and I felt bad about being the little sister he needed to care for. I never got any visitors... the friends I made in high school were already off at their dream colleges, we didn't even talk anymore.

Due to the heat, the walk to the gas station felt longer than it actually was. When I finally arrived I felt like I ran a marathon- exhausted, dehydrated and with a weird feeling of frustration. I flung myself against the heavy door to open it lazily and entered the empty shop. The cold lights flickered above my head and I couldn't even spot the employee. After a couple of minutes in which I just stood around, looking at the different shelves, I stepped up to the counter, rested my arms on it and rested my eyes. It was very quiet, the only thing I could hear was the noise of the refrigerators. A cool drink... Yes, that would be nice right now... Unfortunately, I didn't bring enough money with me to buy anything for myself. A shame.