This Little Light of Mine

ONE

In the little town of Frostbite there lived an old man with a wooden leg and an elderly pug in his own little shack on the outskirts of the town.

The old man was dubbed ‘The Crazy Old Al’ for dedicating most of his life to hunting the mythical Fire Speck that passes through the semi-frozen lake of Frostbite.

Ever since then he would go to the Sheriff's office and report a claim and everyday, the Town Officials would dismiss the poor old man and ignore him for a long time.

To eight-year-old Algernon, however, it wasn't the case. He believed every word that came out of Old Al’s mouth and, every night, he would camp out of his bedroom window above the roof to watch the lake being graced by that tiny speck of fire on his telescope because he saw it, too.

One day, Algernon’s went out with his friend, Eric. The two boys cycled their way to a clearing not far from the shore and they waited until dusk.