Part 2: "Burning Hate"

When I first realized my unique problem I was at first somewhat excited. After the initial shock I thought that there could be some sort of capital to be gained from such a talent. This would require that I alter my mood on cue as to be able to take control of the fire. You see, it only occurs when I'm angry. Being a fairly docile creature by nature I had never really reached the requisite point of anger required for combustion. That is until my 23rd birthday when it was that I discovered it. On my 23rd birthday my lovely bride of 10 months and I had plans to play miniture golf. There was a popular miniture putting course in town at the time. This was before...(clears throat)the big one. Or I guess I should say the bigger one. (Starts a week laugh but thinks better of it.) She and I played together quite a lot in those days. I can't say that we lived a high octane life, but it was ours and we were happy. I was happy. She asked what I wanted to do and I said miniture golf. It was just a birthday and I didn't feel the need to do anything too extravegant aside from maybe two glasses of wine with dinner instead of just one. My bride was obviously unhappy with our plans. I arrived home from work that day to find her in bed with another man. He was our accountant, Steve. A friend. I thought.

As you could imagine I was deeply sorrowed. I had felt sadness before. My father left my family when I was thirteen. Old enough to know exactly what was going on but still young enough to have my innocence ripped from me. My mother entered into a slew of abusive and doomed relationships. Watching my mother make poor decision, one after another, was heartbreaking. No, I'd been burned on more than one occasion...no pun intended. Perhaps that's why I'd always been seen as the quiet one.

But, when I walked into the room and saw him and...and her...I...I reached deep down and decided that it was time to unleash anger. I don't think that it was anger brought on purely from my wife's infidelity but from every person who had wronged me in my life. The anger that had been harboring for so long within the depths of me, that I'd kept hidden and sqelched, was finally allowed to show it's red face to the one person in my life that I'd allowed myself to trust beyond comprimise. It was a betrayal that could be compared with that of Brutus but my rage was that of a wild hyenna. If a wild hyenna burst into flames everytime it struck it's prey.

Coming soon, Part 3: "Side Show"