I woke to the smell of something bright burning. My eyes flew open as my nostrils flared immediately, throwing my mind into a state of panic. I sat bolt upright when I spotted the flame, growing in size, smiling back at me as it leapt from the shattered light bulb in which it originated. For a moment, I was transfixed by the embers; the twisting dance was hypnotic, the heat brushing its warm hand across my face. .
I was almost engulfed, when suddenly the blaze came into contact with the novel I had been reading the night before. It hissed and spat, but could advance no further. It was then when I figured out what was happening and joy entered my mind as I realized that I would not fall victim to the same force that had claimed so many people. I even managed a laugh, much to the discontent of the now seemingly shrinking flame. “You shall not take me today!” I proclaimed, “Not now, not ever!” With a final sputter, the last of the ashes retracted into nothingness, leaving behind only a faint scar on the virtually unharmed book. .
What had tried to assault me has affected the life of millions. Like coals being thrown into a brazier, it spreads throughout the world. Everyone knows someone in its flaming clutches. What makes it so deadly is the fact that people rarely even know what is destroying their mind until they’re reduced to cinders. The most frightening part, though, is that everyone has traces of the fire inside them, no matter how much they try to prevent it. The best anyone can do is attempt to educate themselves in order to combat the apocalypse. .
As I continue my education, the more I see people choosing not to learn. Like a moth to the flame, students flirt with danger. The heat lures many people I talk to, some more prominently than others. It needs to change. I cannot imagine living in a world ravaged by this disaster; so barren and gray with all combustible matter consumed so that the flames of ignorance have nowhere to spread until they eventually die out. .
FUEL
Mike Barry, 2017
26