"Jes, help your sister with bathing," Meren spoke to her daughter before leaving the house.

"Okay, Mom," Jessica replied.

Taking four-year-old Melody by the hand, Jessica led her to the bathroom. Although she was only five years older than her younger sister, at nine, she had already started helping her mother with household chores and taking care of Melody.

Since their father had left them, their mom had to work twice as hard. Jessica could see the growing shadows under her eyes and hear the quiet cries from her mother's bedroom in the darkest hours. So, young Jessica, who would have loved to go out and play with her friends, stayed at home to bathe her younger sister and do whatever needed to be done.

She believed that everything would be alright when she could finally see her mother's smile again. She prayed to God that this day would come soon, the day when she could play outside without worrying.

Splash

The sound of running water filled the bathroom, accompanied by a young girl's cry.

"Ah, it's too cold!" Melody exclaimed, holding her hands over her head to shield herself from the freezing water.

"It will warm up soon, just wait," Jes reassured her. She turned the showerhead away, testing the water until it reached the right temperature.

"Better now?"

"Yaa," Melody replied happily.

Despite the chase through the entire house to get her into the bathroom, she seemed to enjoy her bath. Jessica applied a bit of soap to her hand and began to wash Melody's hair, marveling at the color – the same fiery red as her own.

Jessica had endured a slew of nicknames for her hair at school: tomato head, carrot top, strawberry...

Hmm...

As she pondered this, she realized that all these names were related to food. There was one nickname, however, that stood out – Firecracker. It was a name she hadn't heard in years. Her father used to call her that, and it was also why it had been so long since she last heard it. He used to say it described not only her hair but also her personality, although Jessica hadn't understood that at the time. Back then, she would just run around wildly, screaming, "I am a firecracker!" and laughing like crazy.

Strong emotions welled up in the young girl's heart, accumulating until a tear formed in the corner of her emerald eye.

"Are you crying?" she heard her sister's voice amidst the splashing water.

"No," she replied quickly, aiming the showerhead at her face.

"Ahhh, stop!" Melody protested.

***

After taking care of Melody's shower, the next task was to prepare their meal. Meren had prepared sandwiches for her girls, along with some ingredients that Jessica would need to mix into a sauce just before eating. Jessica followed her mother's instructions dutifully.

Soon, the sound of munching could be heard emanating from the small kitchen. At a table large enough for three or four plates, Jessica and Melody enjoyed their meal.

"Mhm… It's yummy," Melody exclaimed.

"That's because I made it," Jessica replied with a smile.

"I want to make it too!" Melody exclaimed.

"Maybe next time, I'll show you how," Jessica promised.

"Yaay!" Melody cheered, swinging her head from side to side and kicking her legs under the table. Jessica knew this because her energetic sister kept accidentally bumping her shins.

After the meal, they settled in for the wait, knowing their mother would return. Of course, Jessica wouldn't just sit around. Someone had to clean the house, play with Melody, and do her homework. So, in the living room, Jessica sat on the couch with a book in her hand, while Melody played with her toys on the floor.

Jessica despised studying, simply because... it was studying. An irrefutable argument, not that anyone would dispute it. Nevertheless, she pushed herself, hoping that a good grade might bring her closer to her ultimate goal – seeing her mother's happy face.

The image of her mother's happiness brought a small smile to Jessica's lips. With renewed determination, she gripped the book and began reading the first sentence, which happened to be about history.

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God made the whole world. All of us must follow God's rules. The first rule is…

That's when Jessica gave up and tossed the book aside.

“Ahhh, I hate studying," she grumbled.

Her plan to work toward a good grade went up in smoke. Surely, there must be different ways for her to achieve what her heart desires. She didn't have to ponder this for long, though, because she heard a key turning in the main door – her mother had finally returned.

"Mooom."

The girls dropped everything to fall into their mother's lap. Meren hugged her daughters tightly, kissing both their foreheads, her brunette hair falling into their faces.

Trying to get Meren´s attention, Jessica grabbed her mother's upper arm, only for her hand to be pushed away.

"Don't touch me there," Meren hissed in pain, immediately reaching for the spot. Jessica belatedly noticed a bruise on her mother's arm.

"Mom, what happened? Did someone hit you?" Jessica's eyes brimmed with concern, her hand trembling from her mother's cold touch.

"Don't speak! This doesn't concern you."

Meren's voice felt colder than the icy water she had showered her sister with, but for Melody, it was just her skin turning cold. For Jessica, this freezing sensation seemed to seep through her entire being, causing her young heart to ache in her small chest.

"I-I'm sorry," Jessica apologized.

"It's okay. Did you take care of your sister?"

"Yes!"

"Good job." Meren gently rubbed her daughter's fiery hair.

And just as quickly as her young heart had been about to freeze into an ice statue, the ice melted under the warmth of her mother's caress. Jessica was like a mirror, reflecting Meren's ever-changing emotions.

As with any other day, the two girls took turns telling their mom what they had been doing all day. Not that they did anything different, but the urge to share overtook them every time. These two girls were a party unto themselves, a trait they had inherited from their father, along with their red hair.

In the evening hours, as the sun cast its final rays in a farewell to the world, Meren took out a book to read to her daughters. It was a routine firmly embedded in their everyday life, and like every other day, Melody would fall asleep before her mother could even read the first sentence.

This was a blessing for Jessica because it meant she could have her mother's attention solely on her. In the living room, Jessica sat on her mother's lap, embraced by her arms that held onto a book. Her head found its resting place on Jessica's shoulder.

"Do you want to read, Jessica?"

"Okay!"

The young girl joyfully hummed on her mother's thigh, her tiny finger pointing at the beginning of the sentence on the first page.

"Princess Marina was like a rose in the middle of the garden, the most beautiful princess in the world. Her hair was curly like a cluster of magical cinnamon swirls… Oh, can we get some cinnamon swirls tomorrow?" Jessica paused to ask an important question.

"Sure, you glutton," Meren replied with lightly closed eyes, savoring the moment.

Jessica giggled, thinking about the tasty snack, before continuing to read aloud. "Her skin was golden brown, kissed by the light of the sun…."

As Jessica continued reading, she noticed something peculiar. The paper under her finger began to curl and turn dark, small wisps of smoke rising into the air. Curious, she moved her finger swiftly across the page.

To her surprise, the dark spot stretched into a line, following her fingertip and the edges of the dark line glowed in an orange-red hue, like burning coal. She was too engrossed in examining the paper to notice the small flickering fire that had formed on her fingertip.

Suddenly, Meren sniffed the air, detecting a burnt scent. She assumed she might have forgotten something in the kitchen and opened her eyes, only to witness a sight she could never have imagined.

"Jessica! Your fingers!" she shouted.

Startled, Jessica looked at her hands, and to her horror, tiny flames curled around her ten fingers as if dancing in her palms. For the not-yet-ten-year-old girl, this scene was a nightmare—she felt like she was burning alive.

"MOOOOM!" she cried out.

Both mother and daughter couldn't comprehend what was happening. Jessica was overwhelmed as the flames grew with every passing fraction of a second, turning into fiery serpents that consumed her arms. Two pairs of eyes reflected terror and fire as they watched helplessly.

In less than a second, Meren reached out to grab her burning daughter, desperate to do anything to extinguish the flames, but it was already too late. There had never been a chance.

The flames, seemingly in response to Jessica's chaotic state of mind, roared with a force so tremendous that scorching gusts of air swept through every corner of the room.

An anguished scream, forever etching itself into Jessica's memory, pierced the living room. The fire reached out for the next source to consume, which happened to be Meren's body.

Like a blazing torch, the flames enveloped both Jessica and Meren, their agonized screams echoing so loudly that they reached the ears of their alarmed neighbors. Meren's chestnut hair, covering her body, was the first to vanish, reduced to ash, followed by the scorching of her skin. In a reflex, Meren threw herself to the ground, rolling to smother the flames.

Jessica tumbled with her, the flames greedily devouring her clothes like ravenous moths. Strangely, they couldn't harm a single strand of hair on her head, but being surrounded by fire was distressing enough for the young girl to overlook that detail.

For what felt like a moment later, Jessica sensed a cool liquid flowing over her body, and the flames vanished. When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring at a familiar face, its mouth agape, and its breath heavy.

Neighbors, who had rushed to investigate the screams, arrived just in time to see Melody running out of the house, tears streaming down her face, pleading for someone to save her mother and sister. Shortly after, they discovered Melody's family members engulfed in flames. It was a horrifying sight, only made worse after the fire was extinguished.

Meren's hair had been nearly entirely singed, her skin charred in some areas and redder than the fire itself in others. She was lucky to be alive. But as if Meren had borne all the misfortune of the house, Jessica remained miraculously unharmed, her clothes the only casualty, reduced to ashes.

The book that had been in Meren's hand lay abandoned on the floor, its pages still smoldering and emitting a thin wisp of smoke. As the flames consumed its contents, Princess Marina's story turned to ash, as though the fire itself sought to craft its own narrative.

A story of a fire that would one day scorch the entire world.