Heart of Fire | ONC 2020

4. ashes

"So, you won't go home?" Mason asked.

"No," Aera replied immediately.

"And that leaves you, what, homeless on the streets?"

"I suppose so."

"Have you thought this through?" he asked.

"No," she replied.

The old man tried to hide it, but Aera noticed the corners of his mouth twitching with the beginnings of a smile. "My son has sure put me in a tough spot, delivering you to me. You know, this isn't even the first time this has happened to me," he said, chuckling. 

"What do you mean?"

"Nearly twenty years ago, when my son was a young lad, he brought home a girl his own age he'd seen wandering the city, confused."

Aera implored him to continue, sitting on the very edge of the couch. 

"The funny thing is . . . well, she looked exactly like you, spitting image. When I first laid eyes on your face, my heart sank like a stone. I've never seen such a doppelgänger in all my years."

He continued, "The troubling thing is that appearance isn't the only thing you two share. Though she didn't have her wits about her as you do. That girl's head was lost. She had this thousand-yard stare, even more intense than any soldier's I've ever seen. It was as if she'd witnessed something so profoundly terrifying that it had stolen her sanity - something irreplaceable from deep within. Whatever it was she had seen or been through, it had left her in a permanent state of abject, unabating horror. At the time, I was certain she must have been schizophrenic."

He gazed at the frayed carpet beneath his feet. "Anyhow, she told me wild stories about traveling to other worlds . . . at the strike of a match." His eyes shifted to stare into Aera's with a quizzical expression. "And now, for my son to bring home another girl in similar circumstances, this time unconscious, with a match between her fingers . . . it really forces a man to question his own sanity."

Aera swallowed hard, finding herself a bit disturbed by the story. "What happened to her?"

"I don't know. She disappeared just as quickly and unexpectedly as she had come into our lives. Her memory still haunts me. Not many days pass without me thinking of her at least once. I never even got to know her name. She wouldn't - or maybe couldn't - answer many direct questions."

Aera felt tears forming in her eyes. "I . . . I don't know how to say . . . I haven't told anyone . . ." Mason disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a cup of hot tea, which she gladly accepted and began to sip. "Yesterday was my birthday, so I baked—tried to bake—a cake."

"Happy birthday!" Mason exclaimed. He smiled, and his eyes crinkled in the same way his son's did. The smile melted off his face when he saw that Aera's expression remained somber.

"But when I lit the match, I—" she stopped, uncertain whether she should tell him. "Never mind. I think you should have me admitted to a mental institution."

"No. Please go on, Aera," he said with soft eyes, though his hands gripped the armrests of his chair with white knuckles, as if he were bracing himself for some powerful impact.

She took a deep, ragged breath. "When I struck a match to light the candles, I was suddenly somewhere else. It was a beautiful green field. It was like how you described the old days—everything was more colorful. Then I was back in my friend's bedroom as soon as the match burned out. But you have to believe me—it was real. It felt so real. It was more vivid than us here, right now, even." Her eyes flickered to his, but Mason showed no reaction. She went on, "I wasn't alone, and my friend felt something too. She said it was like the sun blinked for just a moment." 

Aera couldn't bring herself to look up at Mason to gauge his reaction. He didn't say anything, so she continued, "So this morning, I tried to make it happen again. I took some ordinary matches and struck one  in an alleyway. Except this time, I traveled somewhere else, somewhere far different. It was pitch black, or maybe I just couldn't see. And I couldn't breathe. It felt like there was no air at all surrounding me. This part could have been my imagination, but it did feel like something was about to pounce at me out of the blackness. I started to hyperventilate, or suffocate, or both. That's when I passed out, and your son found me."

Having surmised the entire situation, Aera was left in an anxious state. She bit at her fingernails and her eyes darted around the room, not settling on any one object. Mason maintained a poker face. 

It felt like several minutes passed before he suddenly spoke up. "Aera, it's about time for me to head to work. How would you like to come with me?"

She blinked a few times, surprised by his response—or lack thereof—to her lengthy story. "Um . . . sure, okay."

She followed him out the door and down the flights of stairs that she had no memory of ever having ascended. When they reached the streets, the sky was clouded over and light rain drizzled down upon them. As they walked, the rain increased in intensity. A barrage of droplets splatted on the sidewalks until cloudy grey puddles began to form. 

Mason guided her into a surprisingly small and nondescript concrete building. 

"Are you sure they'll let me in?" Aera asked.

"Yes, I'm the boss here. If anyone higher-ranking asks, you're my daughter and it's bring-your-kid-to-work day."

"I turned seventeen. I'm not a kid anymore," she protested. He just laughed.

They passed through a security checkpoint, but the rather intimidating-looking guard just smiled and nodded at them. Aera was surprised when they got into an elevator and descended several stories beneath the Earth's surface. No wonder the building's exterior was so small - it was mostly underground, she realized. She felt the air become chilled, and goosebumps formed up and down her arms. The elevator doors opened.