The Flame

An Ember Ignites

'This is, without a doubt, the worst birthday ever!' Emma thought to herself as the rain grew steadily heavier around her. It was Friday after school and she was fumbling with the key to the front door of her house. The rain plastering her bangs in front of her eyes was really not helping. Finally, she managed to get the key lined up just right and practically threw herself inside to get away from the rain. As she turned to close the front door, a gust of wind blew into the house behind her, giving her a final lashing of rain before she could finally close herself off from the outside.

With the sound of rain and thunder now muffled, Emma took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm her raging emotions. Everything was just so frustrating today. First, her parents had gone traveling for two weeks, practically centered around her birthday. Next, the school was expecting all juniors to figure out their prospective career path, as if Emma had any idea what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Then, to top the whole ordeal off, it had decided to pour a veritable deluge on her head while she was walking home from school. The stupid weather forecast hadn't called for rain until after the weekend.

Looking at the steadily growing puddle underneath her, Emma decided that the house was just going to have to deal with drip trails. There was no way she was going to wait to get into dry clothes. She made her way through the house to her bathroom, where she grabbed a towel, and dried herself, clothes and all.

Satisfied that she was unlikely to drip much more, Emma went to her bedroom to pick out something dry to wear. There, she stared into her closet for a solid fifteen minutes, trying to decide whether she wanted to go out for dinner, or if she was done with the world for today. Finally, heaving a sigh, she figured that going out for dinner would be easier, so she picked out a casual outfit to change into after her shower.

As she showered, Emma considered her mood, and decided that she was most frustrated with her parents. Really, leaving her all to herself right now was quite unfair. Particularly now, with it being her seventeenth birthday. Neither of her older brothers, or her older sister had to deal with this on their birthdays. And, to make matters worse here she was, trying to decide what path to take in her life, and her parents were off gallivanting across the world. Talk about a bad influence.

Emma snickered at the thought. Her parents were actually working hard, and she knew they hated having to miss her birthday. Knowing that didn't help her mood though. She frowned, considering how her classmates often complained about their parents. Frankly, Emma didn't really understand their griping. While her parents were a overly affectionate at times, they also gave her space when she needed it. They were also great with giving advice, helping her line up options and weigh pros and cons of each. Perhaps that was really why she was so annoyed with them. She felt their advice regarding her future planning assignment would be invaluable. But, no matter how helpful they might be, the assignment was due before they returned.

Emma sighed again, and her stomach growled. It was definitely time to get out of the shower and go eat dinner. As she got out, the house went dark with a faint popping noise. Panic gripped her heart, and before she could conclude that the power was out, a yellow-orange, flickering light filled the room. Face scrunched in confusion, she looked around for the source, before she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

Her hair was on fire!

"What...!" Emma exclaimed, her panic rising. She froze. Then the lights popped back on and instinct took over. She dunked her head into the tub, turning the water back on full blast. As the water hit her head, it hissed and turned to steam as it put the fire out. Feeling particularly cautious, Emma let the water run longer than was strictly necessary, but at this point she would rather be safe than sorry.

Finally, deciding she was safe, she moved to the mirror to see what damage had been caused. Fortunately she didn't feel any burns on her neck, so hopefully it wouldn't be too bad. What she saw was not what she was expecting. Her hair, normally a warm black color, was now bright red. As she moved closer, she saw there were orange highlights among the red, making her hair look quite like the fire she had just extinguished. As she was looking, she noticed her eyes had changed as well. Normally dark brown, they were now a yellow-orange. Even stranger, the colors seemed to be dancing, just like a fire.

"What the..." Emma breathed. "How am I going to explain this?" On one hand, her hair appeared completely undamaged. On the other, it and her eyes were now colored like the fire she had extinguished. She ran her hand through her hair, examining it more closely. As she was looking, the color seemed to waver, and began turning back to black. Just like that, her appearance went back to normal, with nothing to show for the change.

Emma stared into the mirror for a few moments, now not even sure any of that had just happened. "What is going on?" she whispered. Deciding that her appearance wasn't going to change again, she mechanically toweling herself dry and dressed, mind still focused on the phenomenon.

Making her way out to the living room, Emma decided she wasn't feeling up to staying out long. She figured she would go to the burger grill nearby. It was a hot spot for students at her school and Emma briefly considered going elsewhere to avoid attention. She didn't particularly feel like talking with anybody right now, not even the few girls she considered close friends. Emma quashed the urge however as the restaurant was only a couple of blocks away, and the food was quick and delicious.

Galvanized in her decision, she made for the front door and looked out. It was still raining, but it had lessened dramatically. Emma grabbed an umbrella and headed out.

Walking in the gentle rain had the opposite effect on her mood from earlier. The gentle patter of drops on her umbrella soothed her emotions, and Emma was feeling much calmer as she arrived at the burger grill. Glancing around, she was glad to see that it was largely empty, with only a couple of cars parked outside. She walked inside, shaking her umbrella.

The burger grill had a simple menu: burger, or double burger. Both came with a side of fries, and choice of toppings. Emma ordered a burger and sat at the bar facing the main street that ran in front of the burger grill.

As she waited for her food her mind to wandered, considering her future path assignment. While she had all weekend to give it consideration, she knew she would not be happy until she had it figured out.

Emma had always wanted to do something that would help people, but none of her options seemed particularly great. Nursing was out, she was a too squeamish for anything in the medical field. She figured law enforcement was a bad option too, she would likely be more a liability than anything when confronting criminals. And being a lawyer was out too; her eyes tended to glaze over when she read anything too technical.

Huffing in annoyance, Emma got up to get her order when she was called. Taking the tray, she took a deep breath in through her nose, inhaling the fresh smell of golden french fries, and a hamburger cooked to perfection.

Emma returned to her seat, setting her tray before her. With some effort, she paused before eating to say a quick prayer of thanks. When she finished, she took a big bite of her burger. Sighing, she chewed slowly, enjoying the juicy perfection. Perhaps this birthday wouldn't end up being entirely irredeemable.

Emma forced aside thoughts of her assignment, instead, opting to watch the out the window. While the foot traffic was lessened due to the rain, there were still plenty of people walking outside. The road the burger grill was located on was a relatively major road, and there were a bunch of other restaurants and small shops along either side of it. Behind the rows of businesses there were several neighborhoods, much like the one Emma lived in. Really, it was quite convenient having so many nice places to shop and eat within walking distance of home.

Finishing her burger, Emma started on her fries, eating them one at a time to make them last. As she was eating, she noticed one of her classmates passing by on the sidewalk out front. It was Natalie, a fairly average girl. She had medium brown hair, brown eyes, and was average in both height and build. As if to mirror her unremarkable appearance, Natalie also preferred to keep to herself, doing everything possible to not stand out, including not making friends, or even talking to others.

“Strange,” Emma muttered to herself. “I would have assumed that she was a recluse, what with how she doesn't talk to people. Guess you can never know with the quiet types.”

Emma turned back to picking at her fries, but as she ate the next one, another figure caught her eye. It appeared to be a man, but it was difficult to tell, as the person was wearing a hoodie that was a couple of sizes too large, obscuring their figure. He was walking erratically, flitting from object to object along the sidewalk, apparently hiding from someone ahead.

Emma tried to follow the person's gaze, and surmised that he must be tailing Natalie. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him continue. She glanced down at her half finished pile of fries and let out a low growl. It went against her general policy, but she took several fries at once, packing them into her mouth. A few handfuls later and the fries were gone, and she was out of the café, umbrella in hand as she set off after the strange man.

Emma saw him turn onto the side street a block ahead, and hurried after him. She turned down the side road just in time to see a figure turn down an alley behind the main street businesses. As she reached the alley, Emma heard a low voice saying, “Easy now, easy now. Hand over your cash and valuables and I will have no need to hurt you.”

Emma peered around the corner to see the man had Natalie against the back wall of one of the stores. It was tough to make out details as the nearest street lights had gone out. Glancing around, Emma thought she saw a surveillance camera, but none of the LEDs were one, so it probably wasn't working either. 'What the heck?' Emma thought. 'Why is technology so useless when you need it the most?'

Backing around the corner Emma took a deep breath, trying, and failing, to quell a rising tide of fear inside her. She could hear Natalie sobbing, “Don't hurt me. Please, don't hurt me.”

“I have to do this, don't I?” Emma whispered. She took another deep breath, feeling her whole body tremble. She didn't think she had ever been so terrified, and she had just had her hair spontaneously combust less than an hour ago. But, despite her trembling legs, and, well, everything else, Emma stepped around the corner.

“Hey... Hey!” Emma shouted. “Le- Let her go!”

Both Natalie and the man turned to look at Emma who was standing, bold stance betrayed by trembling legs, at the mouth of the alley.

“See what happened because you delayed?” The man asked, turning back to Natalie. It was then that Emma saw that he was holding a knife.

'Oh. Oh that was bad. How was she supposed to deal with a knife?' The man had raised said knife, looking like he was going to strike Natalie. Emma pushed past her rising fear and began to step forward.

As she did, she noticed that a flickering yellow-orange light had begun to light the alley way. She noticed too that her upper back began to feel warm. A comfortable sort of warm, like the feeling of a warm spring breeze on a cool day.

Fear rising even higher, Emma realized that her hair was, once more, ablaze.

Noticing the light as well, the man turned to find its source, and with the increased illumination, Emma could see his eyes widen. The knife fell from his slackened grip and the hand holding Natalie in place fell to his side. He stumbled back a couple of paces, mouth working silently. “Mo... Monster!” he was finally able to spit out. He stumbled, half falling as he turned to run. He scrambled back to his feet, taking off at a full sprint.

Natalie, on the other hand, had slumped against the wall, and was now seated in a puddle of water. Her wide eyes reflected the flickering light coming from Emma.

Seeing as the fire was not burning her, Emma decided to ignore it for now, and moved instead to help her classmate. She squatted a couple of paces from Natalie, saying “Natalie. Its me, Emma. From school. Are you okay?”

Natalie nodded slightly, barely moving her head to indicate that she was unharmed.

“That's good at least,” Emma said. “Uhh, look, I'm sure this looks crazy. I don't really understand what's going on either. But, I am not being hurt by it so...” Emma shrugged as best she could from her squat. “Look, why don't you come to my house? It is just a couple of blocks away. I promise I'm not some sort of monster. And, if I do try anything, just splash me with water, it puts my head out just like that.”

Emma pulled a lock of hair to look at, and found that the flames were dying down. Then it hit her. The fire was tied to her emotions, perhaps even fear specifically. Now that she was feeling calmer, the fire was dying down. Comforted by this realization, she stood and offered a hand to Natalie. The girl took it, and allowed herself to be hauled to her feet.

“I guess it is a bit late for the umbrella now, isn't it?” Emma asked, looking down at Natalie's soaked clothes.

“I guess so,” Natalie whispered.

Emma shrugged and grabbed Natalie's hand, tugging her behind. "Come on, you can get a shower and dry clothes at home. You're not that much different from me size wise, so my clothes can work for you until yours can go through the wash." Natalie gave no resistance to the tugging, allowing herself to be pulled along behind Emma.

They reached Emma's house quickly, and Emma had a much easier time opening the lock this time, now that she wasn't being interrupted by pelting rain and gusts of wind.

Emma pulled Natalie past the dark living room and kitchen to the bathroom. "Here," she said, opening the door. "The shower is through there," Emma pointed towards a second door, standing open. She pulled open a closet, and tossed a towel and washcloth at Natalie before grabbing a towel for herself. "I'm going to dry myself off. I'll bring you clothes to change into and set them here in the outer room."

Natalie nodded, still quiet and wide-eyed. Emma gave her a smile that she hoped was reassuring, before leaving the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

She made her way upstairs to her room. There she dried herself off as she changed into pajamas. She was definitely not going anywhere else tonight. Not after experiencing something like that. She was no longer even certain this counted as a bad day; it was closer to totally crazy now.

Emma looked back into her closet considering for a moment. Finally, she decided that she would bring another pair of pajamas for Natalie. They would be more comfortable while waiting for the wash cycle, and Emma figured she could offer to let the girl stay the night if she didn't seem up to going out again.

When she returned to the bathroom, she could hear the shower running, so she called out, "Natalie, I'm putting clothes in the outer room," before she opened the bathroom door and set the pajamas on the vanity. Then, Emma turned toward the dark kitchen. She figured it would be polite to at least offer something to drink, so she set out to make some hot chocolate.

She turned on the light in the kitchen and stopped dead. Her parents were seated at the small kitchen table they used for most meals. Sitting on the table before them was a decorated birthday cake.

"Happy birthday!" they both said as she entered. Emma was so stunned that she couldn't even speak.

"Oh dear," her mother said while pointing an amused look at Emma's father. "It appears we have broken our daughter."

"That’s alright. I think we still have the warranty."

"What... why... huh?" Emma said.

"Ah, excellent," her father said, amusement still sparkling in his eyes. "It appears not all is lost.”

"Emma," her mother began. "We are sorry for having to trick you."

"Trick me?" Emma asked. "What do you mean? Why are you home so soon?"

"Simple, we never went on a business trip." Her father said, leaning back in his chair. "It was a ruse, devised to see how you would act."

"You may want to sit," her mother said, standing and pulling out a chair for Emma. "And I will get plates and utensils for eating this lovely cake. Your father can explain."

Emma sat as her mother moved to the cupboards for everything. "So, I am still not following. What is happening?"

"Well," her father started, "I suppose saying we didn't go on a business trip is a bit of a... well not so much lie. It wasn't a business trip like you were thinking. We didn't meet with clients or anything. Consider it more of a... secretive interview of a prospective employee."

Emma raised her eyebrow at her father. "You still sound evasive. Can't you just explain it plainly?"

"Dear, stop teasing our poor daughter," Emma's mother called from where she was counting out small paper plates. "She has had a frightful evening after all. No need to keep her in the dark now. We decided she passed after all."

Emma looked back to her father. "Passed? Passed what?"

"I was getting to that," her father protested weakly. "Your mother and I have never really explained what our business is, correct?"

Emma nodded. They had kept fairly secretive, but would go on extended business trips all the time. They also tended to talk about their work vaguely.

"Well, we find people like you, and then connect them with people that can use their powers." He paused for a moment, and Emma appreciated the time to consider what he had said.

"So..." Emma began.

"Yes, the fire you summoned was completely real. Unfortunately we had to put you under some stress this past week, but it was unavoidable. Powers like yours rarely make themselves manifest except under heightened emotions."

Her mother returned to the table and set to cutting the cake. She set a plate before Emma first, then paused to give her daughter a tight hug. Emma felt her head swimming.

"So, let me get this straight. You want me to join your company, where I will use my powers... like a contractor?"

"Basically"

"But, I don't have any idea how to do anything with my power, as you call it. I can't even make it appear unless I'm really afraid."

"Not to worry," her mother said, sitting back down with a plate of cake for herself and Emma's father. "We can, and will, train you. It gets much easier as you figure things out."

"And, do any of my siblings know."

"Only your oldest brother, who works for us," her mother said brightly.

"Unfortunately, the other two show no particular signs of manifesting powers," her father said. "It can happen later in life, but it is most common in your teen years. It is likely tied to puberty."

"And, what about Natalie? Does she know she was part of a test?"

"She does," a quiet voice said from behind Emma. Turning, Emma saw Natalie, now wearing the provided pajamas.

"Natalie is also an employee, of a sort,” Her father explained. “Actually, so was the attacker. We had this staged to bring out your powers, but we didn't want to allow for harm to come to either of you, so we tried to control all variables. Anyway, labor laws dictate we can't hire her, or you for that matter, full time until she graduates, but until then she does some part time work."

"Ah!" Emma exclaimed, causing her mother's cut for a new piece of cake to go awry. "Sorry Natalie, I was going to make hot chocolate, but I forgot with, well..." she gestured at her parents and the cake.

"Oh, that is a wonderful idea," Emma's mother said, handing cake to Natalie. She moved back into the kitchen proper and began pulling things from the fridge and pantry.

"You are certainly welcome to stay the night," Emma's father said, looking at Natalie. "Or, of you prefer, we can give you a ride home."

"I will stay, thanks. I would like to know my new co-worker better," Natalie said, voice still just above a whisper.

"That is assuming she accepts our offer of employment," Emma's father said, giving her a look.

"What? Oh, yes! Of course! How could I not? This sounds way more interesting than nursing. Oh, its perfect timing too! Now I can put this down for my stupid assignment."

Her father chuckled. "Well, we'll decide exact terms later. For now, think of it like an internship. Lots of training and paper pushing."

"Just be glad he won't make you fetch coffee," her mother said, gliding back to the table, four mugs of hot chocolate in hand. “He is very particular about the mix, and won't even let me make it for him.”

The four of them laughed before they each fell quiet. They ate cake and sipped hot chocolate in a contented silence, which allowed Emma to think back on her day. She was reconsidering her earlier notion of it being the worst birthday. Sure the beginning was pretty much subpar all around, but it had ended pretty well. Maybe this wasn't such a bad birthday after all.