Flames of Solitude - Volume 1
8|| Despair

Weeks passed by, and the once cheerful Jessica gradually turned gloomy, as if life itself was slowly being drained from her with each passing day. Her own flames seemed to conspire against her, appearing more frequently and with increasing intensity. Initially, she managed to conceal her newfound abilities, striving to maintain some semblance of a normal life. However, her powers were prone to accidents, and mishaps began to pile up.

The first victim was an unfortunate flammable blanket, and Jessica found herself confined to her room for an entire day as punishment. Then came the incident with some plants she had touched, igniting them unintentionally, rendering her unable to conceal something that no longer existed. This time, she spent two long days in darkness as retribution.

Jessica eventually developed an aversion to approaching anything or anyone, even her own fingers, which she came to detest. She distanced herself from Melody, fearing that she might inadvertently harm her. However, it was unlikely she could get close to her sister anyway, particularly when their mother was nearby.

Jessica’s isolation grew, and she was no longer permitted to go outside. She overheard her mother offering the excuse of her being too sick, necessitating her confinement to her room.

Standing in her room, Jessica gazed at her reflection in the mirror, her red hair cascading over her shoulders. Over time, she even grew to despise her hair, as it bore the same fiery hue as her abilities. So, she took scissors and trimmed it to ear level. The strands in her grasp promptly dissolved into smoke, consumed in an instant.

Over the past weeks, Jessica had managed to gain some degree of control over her powers, but her control remained tenuous at best, like a drop in the vast ocean. Flames continued to manifest spontaneously and without warning, resulting in punishment from her mother each time.

With her long hair now gone, her shoulders became visible, bearing the bruises that adorned her skin in shades of blue and purple. The memories of how she had acquired those bruises were painful and sorrowful. As she donned her shirt, even the touch of the light fabric made her flinch in pain. It hurt.

Today was Jessica’s tenth birthday, a day she had eagerly anticipated, but it unfolded unlike anything she had imagined weeks or months ago. Normally, she would wake up to the enticing aroma of freshly baked cake, eating sweets for breakfast as a special treat. Last year, even Melody had gifted her one of her toys as a present. But today... she would receive nothing. If she were lucky, her mother might spare her a glance, but if not, the cold darkness would be her sole companion on this special day.

In an unexpected twist of fate, Jessica’s flames remained dormant on her birthday, as if destiny intended to grant her a break.

As the months passed, Jessica honed her ability to control her fire. She did not release the flames; her hatred for them ran too deep. However, she managed to rein them in, preventing her fingers from unintentionally sparking. Her visits to the basement became less and less frequent.

It was during this time that hope knocked on the door of her heart, an invitation she could not refuse. Thus, hope took root in the young girl, offering something she hadn’t experienced in a long while – a modicum of warmth and a fragment of joy, the joy of simply being alive.

Yet, hope was a double-edged sword. One day, it revealed its darker side, tainted with the most potent poison in the world – pure despair.

Seated on the living room couch, Jessica watched as Melody played with her toys on the carpet on the opposite side of her. Nearby, Meren was engrossed in a book. At first glance, this scene appeared perfectly ordinary, a family spending time together like any other. Jessica leaned back, her feet caressing the fluffy carpet, which in turn tickled her toes.

Cozy – that’s how she would have described that sensation. A feeling that was swiftly replaced by an unexpected surge of heat. Jessica had grown so accustomed to her fire appearing at her fingertips that the notion of flames igniting from other parts of her body had never crossed her mind. It was a grave miscalculation, and the consequences became evident as plumes of smoke rose before her widening eyes.

No, please! Her unspoken plea was useless in the face of the carpet now easily ablaze. The flames spread, seemingly jealous of Melody playing with her toys, eagerly advancing toward her.

“Melody! Run!” Jessica’s panicked cry cut through the air, shattering Meren’s reverie as she hastily set aside her book. Her mind transitioned abruptly from the world woven by words to the reality unfolding before her, painted by the fire devouring the carpet.

Instinct outpaced thought, and Meren leaped into action, almost vaulting toward Melody. She scooped up her daughter and, in one fluid motion, propelled herself away from the searing floor. A mere second later, her feet would have met the source of the engulfing heat.

In a fleeting moment, Jessica’s ability could have harmed her younger sister, disfigured her forever, or worse, taken her life.

“No… No! … I don’t want this,” she pleaded desperately. She shut her eyes tightly, as if not seeing the flames would make them disappear. But even behind her closed eyelids, their searing light pierced through. They were an indelible part of her now, tracking her every step like a vengeful ghost.

“Please… go away,” she implored, her voice quivering. The flames flickered but persisted as if momentarily confused by her words.

“Leave me…”

Then, they vanished, not in response to Jessica’s pleas but due to a bucket filled with water that had been tucked away in one corner of the room, a safety measure Meren had implemented in the house to combat sudden fires. The floor was now marred with wet ash, but Meren paid no heed to that detail as she stormed toward Jessica.

“Was I not enough, huh? You even targeted your own sister! You monster!” Meren’s rage permeated the room as her raised hand fell upon the sobbing girl beneath her.

“Nooo!”

A vivid red handprint materialized on Jessica’s cheek; her feeble hands raised in a futile defense. But against the fury of Meren, they were useless, serving only to further stoke her anger, as those very hands had already inflicted too much trauma.

Fresh bruises would soon surface on Jessica’s body, a canvas of torment, madness, and suffering. Yanked by her short hair, she already knew where she was being dragged, though the pain of her hair almost being torn out was hardly as intense as the anguish that engulfed her mind. She was barely over ten years old, yet she had already endured more than her share.

This time, Meren showed no mercy. She hurled curses and screamed words that Jessica failed to register. The only sensation that penetrated her consciousness was that of free fall as her mother flung her down the basement stairs.

Jessica tumbled down the staircase, her body colliding with the edges, each impact feeling like a blow to her stomach, head, and various other parts. The torment came to an abrupt end when her head slammed into the cellar floor with a sickening thud, rendering her unconscious.

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