Fire for the Soul

“The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.”

“Gram, you always tell this story,” a little boy of ten complained, tussling his strawberry hair and rolling his green eyes at his grandmother.

“I tell it cuz it scares ya,” Gram replied, a hint of a smile playing on her wizened face.

“I haven't heard the story yet,” another little boy piped up. He was six, his green eyes were shaded by brown hair.

“Of course not. You’re too young, Toby,” the bigger boy replied, crossing his arms.

“You were about the same age as your brother here when you first heard it, Anthony,” Gram pointed out, “Can I continue?”

“Yes please!” Toby replied, “I'm old enough, like Anthony was.”

“Good boy. Now prick up your ears, for this is a true story,” Gram began, sitting forward in her comfy camping chair, her back cracking with every move she made. Toby leaned forward in anticipation, while Anthony focused his attention on the fire between the family members.

“This abandoned cabin used to be owned by a young couple who had a little boy. He was the light of their life, and they told him so. He had a cherub face, curly brown hair, eyes that sparkled blue and a voice that made anyone want to listen to whatever hubbub he wanted to say. He got along with everyone, and everything he met. Since he was always told that he was the light of his parent's life, he would like to light a candle at night, and put it in front of the window. He did this every night mind you! It was a little white candle that he would put on the windowsill at night after it got dark. He told his parents that he did this so that he could share that little light with anyone who could see it, and spread a little warmth. But they lived in the woods, and sometimes that attracts the wrong kind of attention.”

“Like the boogeyman?” Toby asked in a whisper. He was so scared of the boogeyman that he thought lived under his bed.

“Like that. But it wasn’t the boogeyman that came to visit them. That little candle drew the attention of some kind of spirit in the woods, something that missed seeing light in its afterlife. It’s said that someone long forgotten was killed in the woods and buried deep in the ground to be forgotten. That little candlelight looked so nice to it, ‘cause it hadn’t seen light in so long. Welp. One night, that spirit tapped on the window where the little candle was. Tap. Tap. Tap. Taptaptap. The little boy heard it first, and he saw the spirit out there. Specifically, he saw the yellow eyes of the spirit, staring at his little candle. He never described what it looked like, only that the spirit looked cold, had yellow eyes like his candle, and was so alone.”

“Was he scared of the spirit?” Toby asked, his curious face highlighted by the flames of the fire that crackled between the boys and their Gram. Anthony was even looking on in interest, despite hearing the story before.

“Maybe at first, but that didn’t matter. The little boy felt sorry for the creature that was so lonely. So… the little boy let the spirit in,” Gram answered, pausing in her story and watching her two grandsons.

“I wouldn’t do that. That’s stupid,” Anthony muttered. Toby looked at his brother, then back to their Gram, his eyes wide.

“What did the spirit do?” Toby urged.

“Well it came right on in and went right to the candle. The little boy of the house kept telling his parents, day after day, that his yellow-eyed friend loved the candle, and made sure to light it as soon as he could at night. The candle made him happy, and made the spirit happy. But the spirit loved the light so much, it started to play with the candle. The little boy of the house asked for it to stop, because it could cause a fire. But one thing led to another, and soon the spirit would knock over the candle, growing excited as it saw more fire spread. But when that happened… the whole cabin was suddenly on fire, and it quickly blocked the windows and the doors for escape.”

“That poor family. Living so deep in the woods like that, not a lot of people would notice a fire like that right away, and the parents were sleeping at the time. They say that when the firefighters arrived, the flames seemed to be dancing with how wild the flames were. They couldn’t get the fire under control. But that was not the only thing that bothered them that night. On top of how unusually bright the fire was, the firefighters heard something, clear as day. They heard the screams of the family, still stuck inside over the sound of the flames.”

Gram continued, “Smoke rose from every window as the heat cracked the glass, and the smell of burning wood could be smelled for miles. When the fire was finally tamed, there was nothing left but a foundation of that cabin. The whole family… was lost, including the little boy that was the light of their lives. But that wasn’t the end like everyone thought. People came in to rebuild the cabin and make it seem like nothing happened. But strange things happened while they did, which stopped them repeatedly.”

“Like what?’ Anthony asked, now leaning forward in his chair like his little brother.

“Well, they would hear a little boy giggle, and footsteps on the wooden floors that they just finished putting in. They would see small white candles appear in random places, usually already lit. But the worst was what would happen if they didn’t put those candles out. If the candles stayed lit, a fire would start. Something in that house would always manage to knock over the candle, even if it was lit for no more than a few moments. It made rebuilding so hard. People around town started to talk, spreading rumors. They thought that it was the little boy who would light the candles – but it was the other spirit who would appear to knock them over – so that it can spread as much light as possible. Those rumors seemed to almost be made real with reports being made of a yellow eyed figure that would always appear before a fire would break out.”

“Finally, the cabin was redone, but no one was willing to live in it. The story of the little boy and the fire spread around town. No one wanted to live in a house where you could see a little boy laugh and run up and down the halls. No one wanted to live in a house where an unknown spirit with big yellow eyes could do untold damage. No one even knows what this spirit looked like, so no one knows how terrifying it could actually be. But there is a rumor that if you looked into one of the windows of the cabin, there is a good chance that you would see a candle. If you do see a candle, then there is a good chance that you would see… it… as well.”

“…It?” Toby asked in a barely audible squeak.

“It. They say that if there is a candle in the window, and if it is lit, you are able to see the silhouette of something there. Something that looks human but… wrong. Something that will just stand before the light of the candle and stare with large, yellow, unblinking eyes.”

Gram fell silent. The boys did not speak. They could only hear the crackle of the wood as the fire between them ate the bark of the logs that sat in the small iron pit.

“But you said that the cabin has been abandoned for years. So I guess there is no spirit, or creature or whatever,” Anthony finally stated, his words ragged as if he had been holding his breath.

“Yes. As it so happens, the cabin I speak of is the one that is about a block from us. My home here was built after that cabin was rebuilt from the fire. My house has been here for twenty years. I saw a candle burn in the window once when I first moved in during the day, and I swear, I saw a little boy peeking out from the window, curious to see what was going on. But no one has been in there. Not a soul has dared to buy that cabin, and it has been silent for ages, slowly falling apart despite being brand new. But before you two came to visit me tonight – I saw it,” Gram said.

“Saw what?” Anthony asked while Toby gasped.

“I saw a candle glowing in that window tonight,” Gram responded.

“No way,” Anthony scoffed while Toby seemed to shrink on himself.

“But if the candle is burning in the window… what about the monster that you said appears if there is a candle?” Toby questioned, his green eyes round as he glanced down the dirt road that led to Gram’s house. It was as if he would be able to see the abandoned cabin from here. Gram stood up slowly and leaned a bit over the fire.

“Dunno. Only way to know is if we go walk by,” Gram whispered, “But I betcha that if we do, we will see big yellow eyes staring right at us from that dusty window, just waiting to set another fire again.” She said. She began to walk to her own house, with her cane in her hand to keep herself stable. She turned to see that Toby was gripping Anthony’s shirt, and Anthony looked nervous, glancing down at his brother.

“There is no way that we would see anything, Gram,” Anthony said, sounding uncertain. Gran turned back to them and leaned both hands on her cane.

“Well, what do you say then? Wanna go see?”