**Note**
This story is the second of a trio I wrote in 2017. It’s interesting to see how my writing has developed in the meantime.
**End Note**
Who am I?
A question I asked myself often enough when growing up.
Do you normal people think of such things?
I am not normal.
The fact that I’m answering a question I asked myself should give you a clue or two. A clue or two… is that alliteration? Or rhyme?
Anyway, why am I abnormal?
It’s all because of the urge.
They all told me that it would end up hurting someone. But it’s an intrinsic part of me, so I guess that means I would be the one hurting someone.
They blabbered on about masters and servants but, truthfully, I wasn’t even listening. Why would it be a bad master? How would it even be my master?
Why would it be a bad master? How would it even be my master?
Right now, the very notion is laughable. But back then, it made sense. Perfect, terrifying sense. I knew that I was an abomination. I knew the madness that resided in my soul.
And sense wasn’t enough to hold me back.
It started small. Very small, with matchsticks and magnifying lenses. And that was normal. Every kid plays with it. Everyone is fascinated by the bewitching dance of destruction that fire portends.
But for me, it went further than mere fascination. It went deeper than a passing fancy.
Each time, I went a little further. First with pages out of a notebook. Then with old clothes and rags. Once an old car in the woods.
That was a bad time. It caused a forest fire that raged for half a day. Maybe not much in the grand scheme of forest fires, but still… how many animals died? Did any person perish in the fire I called up?
To this day, I don’t know. I ran. Ran and ran until I knew not where I was.
But then, everything changed.
The call came.
It came as a tingling sensation in my veins. A half-formed thought roaring through my body. A nascent power awakening.
You may laugh if you want to.
I would too, if I heard a stranger saying this. But I’m merely telling you what happened.
What was I saying?
Oh yes… pyromancy.
What happens when a myth materializes within you? What happens when the manifestation of that myth aligns with your deepest, darkest, desires?
What happens when a pyromaniac discovers pyromancy?
I happen.
This is my secret. No longer do I have to fear a flame. No longer do I have to hope for the best every time the urge calls. No longer do I have to worry about my loved ones.
It started small. Very small, with sparks bending to my will. And that was abnormal, very abnormal. Nobody can control that raging force of destruction. Nobody should be able to.
Each time, I went a little further. First with embers in my room. Then with fist-sized flames in the woods. Once I roamed an entire day with a ball of flame suspended in my pocket.
My power could be used for greatness. There would be countless applications. Not to mention that my very existence would imply the existence of others.
Others like me.
They could generate infinite amounts of electricity using our power. They would find dozens of medical applications.
But they would push us. Scientists and militaries alike are never satisfied with boundaries. There is always a great evil to conquer; there is always an end that justifies the means.
They would help me break my constraints. They would push me to near-infinite power.
They would turn me into a weapon of mass destruction.
And that I cannot condone. That alone, I fear.
But till then, till they find me, I live simply.
No heroics. No supervillains. No deaths of loved ones.
For I am selfish.
But even more than that, I am happy.
I am content.