The Match in Her Hand

A Story by Gia Houseman

The beginning of a short story.

This story starts with a man. A man that by first glance has it all. A beautiful wife and a simply gorgeous daughter. However when you take the time to watch a little closer you will soon see how a man seemingly happy was far from it. Anastacia was the most beautiful woman that anyone could have laid their eyes on, she took pride in sharing her happiness with all who would take it in. Maybe that’s why he was drawn to her; he needed something, someone to balance out his sadness. His daughter Cherry was the apple of his eye, only six months old and already so full of life and joy.

Sadly all that you just read is now in the past, Johnny, he lost himself in his sadness, this thought to be non-existent side of him started working its way into the whole of his mind… over taking every part of his lame body. And so it began, this mad man driven by the lost and crazy thoughts that were once never there. The neighbours with no understanding of what details mean simply said there was a lot of screaming followed by silence and then the smoke started rising. “Maybe it was an accident?” said one of the neighbours in worry and disbelief. Well worry you must because what you are about to read will not only shock you but it will awake all your emotions.

The search for the sick and despicable murderer of families went on for days. As the body count kept rising, people started packing. Johnny was killing off any and all fire survivors in an envious rage. How’s it fair that that they were still alive and the people he once loved are not? Would his story become the new genocide? Videos would leak and Johnny himself would publish voice recordings, you could tell he had lost his mind and yet... you could also tell that with every new recording something was different. After every third or so recording it became obvious that all this death was catching up to him, reminding him of the piercing cries that escaped the roaring flames that engulfed his wife and baby girl. His little angel that he would never drive to prom or walk down the aisle.

His last recording had video footage; words leaving his mouth ever so silent yet screaming. He was falling apart at the seams. “I’m sorry I took away what was precious to you, your sons, your daughters, your parents, your wives, your husbands.” You’d think he’d never stop. Until now, there was a painful silence and then the screen went black but there was a voice now speaking in another language not of human tongue, however Johnny could understand and was replying. Johnny asked for a moment before they left, one last apology was said followed by the last words that were ever said by Johnny, “I told you to stop smoking in the house Anastacia or you could burn something.” And the video cut out. Some say he ran away with the other person in the video and was never heard from again, some say he turned himself in and no word was told to the public of his arrest. But there are few who say it was death in the form of something beautiful that he could die with his mind at rest. The voice in the video was never identified and Johnny’s body was never found.