Burnt... A Fireman's Strange Tale

She had a tiny bracelet on her wrist when I had found her. The bracelet told me her name was Sheila. She had said only a few words when she had crawled out of the rubbles... like a lost jewel.

It seemed impossible that she had survived, that anyone had survived. It was a miracle, if there ever was one. And the whole crew had stared unbelieving at me when I emerged with Sheila in my arms.

We had needed to stop work then, at least for a little while. We didn't know how long Sheila had been in that burnt warehouse, and it was way, way out of town. So we all got into the truck, Sheila and I at the front, the rest of the crew in back, and we had headed back into the town to find the nearest child services officers.

At the time I had paid no mind to the only words the little girl had uttered up till then. One which she had also repeated multiple times on our way into town. And soon after we had dropped her off, I had probably forgotten the words, with the thought I would never hear them or see Sheila again.

But I was gravely mistaken. For now I know I can't forget those words, or little Sheila either...

Because she has just crawled out again, from the now burning child services building. And in that soft tender voice of hers which I now know would forever haunt my dreams, she keeps saying...

"I have a dragon,
I also had it yesterday,
I wish, I wish, all your doubts would go away..."

THE END

#SladenSpeaks

Sheila's words are inspired by the poem Antigonish/I met a man who wasn't there by Hughes Mearns

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