Burn

My mind is weak, my memory cloudy, my vision blurry. I search the room vaguely making out shapes and shadows. Disoriented, I attempt to stand, to no avail. I look down to see the tangle of my legs lying useless on the floor. My body had not taken notice that the rest of it was awake I assume. I try again, this time with some extra effort. To my surprise I stand up quickly and regain some of my clear sight. The room is dark, unlike any room in my house, my brain struggles with any type of recognition. "Where am I?" I think aloud, still trying to gain my bearings. To my dismay, a voice from the shadows answers my question, "Don't you remember, Lena," it asks in a deep, gravely voice, "from your last visit?" My mind begins to race as my vision clears, adapting to the absence of light in the room. Slowly, I begin recognizing shapes, an old tattered couch to my left, a small lamp in the far right corner, unplugged I presume. A tall brass door in front of me, tempting an escape, although I observe the lack of any knobs. The familiarity is chilling as I put the pieces together in my mind. I think, 'Not this place again.' making sure this time to keep my thoughts to myself. An inquisitive sound followed by a spine tingling giggle erupts from the shadows, clearly mocking my slow reactions. "I haven't visited this place since I was a child." I manage to utter while searching the room for the source of the voice. Finally after what felt like an eternity, my eyes center on the wooden rocking chair by the fireplace. A shadow in the darkness sat comfortably in its cushion. I take a step forward to get a clearer line of sight. Suppressed memories begin to flood my mind as I find a recognizable face amongst the shadows. "You again," I exclaim with a twinge of anger in my voice, "what am I doing back here?" The sound of silence floods the room for some time, until the strike of a match breaks it. Light erupts from the tip of the match, then light begins to penetrate the darkness as I focus on the now lit fireplace. The recognizable face is now lit up brightly by the orange light of the fire. I had to blink multiple times to determine if who I was seeing was indeed in front of me. It was now undeniable, I was standing in a small room, face to face with my step father Dan. The voice now matching the face I was seeing. "This, this can't be," I drop to my knees, "I told you to leave me alone! It wasn't my fault! After all these years, why come back now?" I sputter, through the tears that had begun rolling down my face. The fire behind him begins to grow with his words, "Hello my little Lena, I'm glad you could join me." he smirks. "What do you want from me??" I scream, the tears have begun pouring out of my eye sockets like a never-ending stream. "What I always want my dear," he giggles as a gut wrenching smile springs across his face. "No! No! You can't keep doing this!" his smile growing even larger, a smile no human could accomplish. "My my have you grown my dear, how old are you now, twenty three, twenty four now?" His voice echoes throughout the small room. "You know exactly why I've brought you here my dear, are you ready to confess?" "Confess??" I wail, "I have nothing to confess! It wasn't my fault! Not then, not now!" I bury my face in my knees, tears running down the sides of my legs. "You still don't want to confess hmmmm, I take it you still believe your own lies." The fire continues to grow in height behind him. "What lies??" I squeal. "Cmon now my dear, you and I both know, deep down that you know exactly who started the fire. The same fire that took my very LIFE." he booms, his voice being the only sound I can hear now. "I-i-i.... I was ten years old! How could I have started anything! I- " my voice trailing off into the abyss. The fire has reached the ceiling now, the curtains over the boarded up windows begin to ignite. Soon the entire room has been engulfed in flames. The heat becomes overwhelming, the thick smoke fills my lungs, I begin to hyperventilate. I cannot breathe, I am suffocating and burning to death and the only face I see is his, the only voice I hear is his, the final words he speaks to me ring through my ears, "Suffer my dear Lena, as I suffered for so long! Pay for what you did to me you hell spawn! SUFFER!" My body drops, limp on the floor. I shoot out of my bed, gasping for air, breathing hard and fast. I sit back down on my bed trying to calm down, checking my phone for the time; 5:23 it reads. I check the date on my calendar, May 15th, 2017 with a reminder set beside it, 'REMINDER: Pick up dress for mom and step dad Mark's wedding this evening'. An exhausted expression quickly turns into a grisly smile, a single thought pasted in my mind, 'You should've learned with the first one, mom. Now Mike has to burn too.' I lay in my bed, alone with my thoughts. 'You should've learned, you should've learned, you should've learned..."