The Pyrokinetic's Dilemna

Sometimes only you can be your best friend.

I always avoided people in the fear of getting mad. When I was little, I would burst into flames when I got upset.

But I was never afraid. Often, if no one was watching, I would practice. Even experiment. I found that I could never get burned, but I would get tired when it was cold.

Sometimes it felt cold all the time.

*

"Okay mom. Yes, I'll call you next week. Bye." I snapped my phone shut. I shivered as the cold air nipped my face. God, I couldn't wait to go-

Suddenly the smell of smoke attracted my nose. Who the heck was barbecuing this time of year?

The scent entranced me and suddenly I found myself in front of an apartment building. Gray vapors were now visible.

"HELP! SOMEBODY, HELP!"

I blinked, the feeling of comfort easing away from my chest. I looked around to find myself in the poor part of the town. According to rumors, public protection services would come hours after an emergency call was made. And that was on a good day.

"HELP!"

Next thing I knew, I was weaving around flames, skipping over weak boards, trying to pinpoint the source of the cry.

I turned to a corner and found myself staring at a pair of ice-blue eyes.

Without a second thought, I picked the person up and made my way back, making sure my body enveloped my find.

*

"Wait, this is your fifth fire?"

"Yeah. The second fire took my baby sister. The third one took my parents." The sigh echoed in the white hospital room. "I swear, I try and try to keep fire away but it always finds me. It's like it's trying to torture me. I can't even stand a candle-that's how scared I get."

"So you have no one."

"No one."

*

"What's your name?"

"Kim. You?"

"Richard."

"So what about you, Richard? Are you alone?"

"Well yes...but by choice. I have a loving family, but now I'm on my own."

"You live by yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Is it because you wanted the privacy or you couldn't find a roommate?"

"...Both reasons."

"Why?"

"I-I don't want to talk about it."

*

Dear Celestials,

Today is the day Kim gets discharged out of the hospital.  Even though I told her there was a reason I didn't live with anyone, she asked me if she could live with me. I told her I would think about it.

You guys must be having fun up there.

You give me this gift that makes me isolated in the world, and then the first angel you send over to me to befriend is scared of fire.

I...Am I a monster?

The way she shivers about fire...I'm worried what will happen if she finds out. It's already a miracle she didn't already suspect something, the way my clothes were all burnt that day but there was not a centimeter of scorched skin.

Would she be able to forgive me if I told her?

Would it be better just to walk away and know she would never suffer because of me?

Help me. That is the least you could do after giving me all this trouble.

Love,

Your Pyrokinetic in Dilemna