To Be Burned

Chapter 2

She sat next to me at lunch again and in science. Her incessant and unnecessary chattering followed me constantly, driving me to near insanity. "Will you please. Just. Shut. Up!"

She had given up on the wounded puppy face after the tenth or so outburst. When did shouting become so ineffective? It was depressing.

"Oh, Vyri, I could do that, but I could also tell you my ingenious plan." She winked at me.

"Faaaaabulous. Can't wait, Let's hear it," Sarcasm dripped through my every syllable.

"OK, so, I'll come over to your house and- OMG it's Josh. He's here. Hide Me!!"

I stood there bemused as she glanced around frantically. She gave a small squee before plastering herself against the nearby wall of lockers. A tall, blond, muscled jock walked by, staring at Willow as if she were insane. He was right. She was.

"Did he see me?" She asked trepedatiously.

"Nope. Not a thing," I smirked.

"Good. Good. Well as I was saying: My ingenious plan..." She continued as if she had not just geckoed on the wall, "So, I'll come over to your house after school today and we can do homework and best friend stuff then-"

"No. I don't do "best friend stuff". Not to mention that we are not best friends."

"Well you don't have any other friends so that means that I'm your best one by default."

"I'm not sure I would consider us friends."

"Fine then," She frowned, "We can get right into the important stuff. The teaching!"

"Teaching who?" Does this make sense? No. Unless I'm crazy or oblivious. Or both.

"Ummmm, what? Teaching who? Me? I don't think you can teach me anything. No offense."

"Not you, silly," She smiled goofily, "Me!"

"Who teaching you?" I honestly didn't know. Why can't people in the world just say what they mean and mean what they say (Like elephants!).

"Uhhh, You, duh." She gave me the look that makes one feel very stupid.

"And I would be teaching you...?"

"Voodoo! What else?"

"Really? Come on, I thought we were past this."

"But it's true you do practice voodoo." She told me. Not asked. Told.

"Suuure," I said with a 'whatever' kind of face, "If you say so."

She glared at me suspiciously.

"You will teach me. Eventually," She wasn't reassuring herself. She was telling me. What?

* * * * *

When I got home that afternoon, I nodded my head at my 18-year old brother who graduated last year and just kind of sat around our house doing absolutely nothing. Unless you count video games as something. He sat on the couch playing some obscure game, or maybe it was super mainstream. Who knows? From this description you might picture a nerd, but that's not right. Kyle used to be the quarter back and totally popular. Then his football scholarship fell through because his grades dropped and now here we are.

I shouted at my 'mom' not to bother me, but the old coot probably didn't even hear me. She probably didn't even know I was home. That was OK with me.

My door swung shut behind me and the satisfying click of the lock secured me in my solitude. The grey, spherical, felted pendant around my neck swung slightly and seemed to glow softly as I lowered it against the seemingly impenetrable box that usually sat on top of my dresser but in that moment lay next to me on my bed.

A barely audible click sounded and the box opened. The pristine, smooth, wooden inside of the box glistened so that it reflected its contents almost perfectly.

Inside was merely a candle, a large, white, wax candle.

* * * * *

"Vyri, do you see this box?"

"Yes, mother."

"Have you noticed it before?"

"It has always sat on top of my dresser, how could I not notice?"

"Have you ever wondered what's inside?"

"It can't open, mother. It has no lid. It's just a wooden box."

"Take off your necklace."

"What?"

"The one I gave you, take it off."

"But-"

"Vyri, take off the necklace."

"Yes, mother."

"You rest this on top of the box like this, see?"

"Yes, mother."

"Go ahead."

"Mother?"

"Vyri, all you have to do is put your necklace on top of the box."

"I know, mother, but-"

"Just do it. See? That wasn't so hard."

"How did it open, mother? How does it work?"

"It doesn't matter how it opens, it matters what's inside."

"A candle? What matters about a candle?"

"This is your candle, Vyri. You have ten years. Ten years before it starts to run down."

"Mother, what do you mean?"

"Well, until your 20th birthday, your candle will stay exactly as it is. After that is starts to run down. Do you understand?"

"But how does the candle-"

"Vyri! Please, this is important. Light the candle."

"But, how?"

"Stop asking your questions and light the candle! No, stay here."

"But I don't have a lighter."

"Just light the damn candle! See, that wasn't so hard."

"How did that-"

"Doesn't matter. Do you feel it? The feeling? Now, cup your necklace in your hands like this..."

* * * * *

That was six years ago. As I looked down at the necklace in my hands and the lit candle before me, I remembered my mother. My real mother. Not the old coot who stayed in her room and adopted me when my mother died. When her candle ran out.