Today I had some pain in my shoulder so I used some lotion that was supposed to remove the pain... It did, it just took a few minutes of my shoulder feeling like it was set on fire. That made me think, what if someone really had his shoulders on fire, and not because he was in a burning house or anything, but permanently for his whole life. This is what came out of those thoughts.


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Shoulders made of fire


There once was a man with shoulders made of fire. Some said it was magic. Some said it was just some cheap sideshow stunt. Some even said that it was a blessing from the gods. But a blessing it was not.
The man whose shoulders were made out of fire never lived a normal day in his life. From childhood to old age there were many things he simply couldn't do out of fear of hurting himself and the people around him.
He never wore a shirt or jacket. During winter and rain he would always be freezing half to death. But no amount of water could put out the flames, for the flames was he himself. He could never lie down on a soft bed. He felt terrible from only sleeping on metal or rocks all his life. No one could ever hug him, they would just get burned.
His mother was nearly burned to death while giving birth to him and wouldn't see him after that. So he was put in an orphanage.
As a child he was always picked on, but only from far away, no one dared to come close to him. One time he accidentaly set fire to the school when in the library. Luckily no one was hurt and the fire could be put out without much damage to the property.
As an adult he always had a hard time finding jobs. Most employers said they couldn't hire him because he would be a health hazard to the rest of the company staff. He kept away from crowded places and never stepped into a car, a buss or a plane. His only transportation was an old bike.
When in his early thirties he finaly met a woman who liked him for what was inside of him instead of just focusing on what he had on the outside. They got married and soon had a fine looking daughter.
A few years later they had a son, his armpits were made out of water. But atleast that could be hidden under clothes and explained away as a bad case of sweat.
When he was 63 years old a tornado hit the town he lived in. He was running home when the massive wind snuffed his flame. He died from a heart attack the same moment. They found him hanging in a tree the next morning.
Ever since, the tree burst into flames at the anniversary of that day. Just to look like normal the day after.
The son lived a fairly normal life. He often had to explain himself why he was always spreading water around, but atleast no one thought of him as a danger for even a second.
He died in his sleep at the age of 93 having lived a full life.



Written by Bo
01-23-2010