Quote:
Burning Bright: (9) : This time of year there are candles popping up in just about every shop selling anything. Maybe you stopped by one of these shops yourself, or maybe a friend wanted to get you a thoughtful gift, but somehow you’ve come into possession of a pair of candles. They don’t seem to be anything spectacular upon first glance; they are pretty and well made and have a pleasant fragrance. They would be pretty decor on their own, but once you light them, they really shine. Nonstop. For twenty four hours. No matter what you do, you cannot put the flame out. No wind, no water, no fire extinguisher–nothing–will extinguish the flame. You just have to wait until it burns itself out. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem very flammable so you don’t have to worry about other things catching on fire in the meantime. Wherever you keep the candle will have a pleasant smell for several days after the flame extinguishes.
Admiring the effect of the matched candle pair nestled amidst some pine boughs on the mantle, Angus grinned and nodded to himself. It looked good and on some level, reminded him of Christmases spent in Scotland with his grandparents. The shop he’d gotten the candles from had had a damn near surplus of the things. Not that they could have complained though. He’d seen plenty of people buying them before he’d even checked out. And why not? They were gorgeous, all soft, pearlescent white and molded into gentle twists and curls. They even smelled good. It wasn’t the usual chemically vanilla scent either. No, these smelled like fresh snow and pine forests.
Just magnificent.
And since it was getting dark outside, why not light them now and let the warm, dim glow fill the room. He knew the kids would be charmed. And Bindhi always enjoyed candles. Humming to himself, Angus went to find his lighter and touched the little flame to the wicks of the candles. And then blinked. Once the fire caught, the candles nearly blazed with light. It was unexpected, but he liked the effect of the dancing shadows around the room. When he called his little family in, they all exclaimed happily enough. And really, it was the most relaxing thing to put on some old fashioned holiday music and play with a jigsaw puzzle that the twins had picked out. All that was missing was a fresh snowfall, he thought, utterly content.
By the time that the twins needed to be put to bed, he helped Bindhi carry them to their rooms and get them tucked safely in. He'd even shooed Bindhi off to their own room, promising that he'd put the candles out and turn everything off. Or at least, that had been his plan. The candles, he discovered, clung stubbornly to life and refused to be put out. Now, he knew about trick birthday candles, but couldn't see how much larger versions could possibly be appealing. And there'd been no mention of anything like this at the shop or in the packaging. He tried blowing them out repeatedly. And when that didn't work, he licked his fingertips and tried to snuff them manually. Even that accomplished nothing. Taking both candles into the kitchen, he tried running them under water for a few minutes. But rather than go out, they simply kept burning, even with the watery deluge. Ach! It was just his luck that he'd end up with the exceptionally weird candles! Sighing, he considered his options. He couldn't stay awake all night. Well. He could, but it would only make him slow and stupid. As he thought, he absently waved a scrap of paper towel at the candleflames and blinked. Did it again. And again and again. The flames wouldn't catch on the paper. He tried holding it to the fire longer and... nothing. Ran and got a tiny sprig of pine from the mantle garland and brought it back tot he kitchen. That, at least, should have caught, but still nothing.
Were these things seriously not dangerous? A few more experiments yielded the same results. The candles were not setting anything else alight. So... maybe it was safe to put them back and go to bed? Well, they had smoke detectors everywhere in the house. After everything he'd tried, he was willing to take the risk. Putting the candles back on the mantle, he crept off to bed, remaining half awake through the night.
When he got up the next morning, the candles were still burning, but only the candles. He'd explained to Bindhi and she'd laughed and said they'd just have to be patient. Well, he'd be patient then.
It wasn't until two days later that the candles burned themselves out. Nothing else had been touched by the flames and the family room smelled amazing. Well, so far as weirdness went, he supposed truly magic candles weren't so bad.
Word Count = 659
