Embers

• Short story
• Fiction

								
	I am the burned, I am the charred. You killed me, and now I rise again. This pathetic town shall be reduced to cinders, and its people shall be consumed by the very fire they sparked. Beware, town of Salem, for I, Ember, the women you burned for your suspicion, shall enact my revenge. 

	 

	I hide in his closet, clutching a knife to my chest. Why is my heart pounding? Murderer... Must be punished... They whisper in my ears. I decide to steel my nerves, for he deserved retribution. The wait is agonizing, every second feels like a minute, every minute an hour. I just stand here, waiting for the mayor to arrive. Once he’s gone, I can finally move on to the town, I could finally... 

	He’s here now; undressing and getting into bed. I wait another hour. Once I hear his breathing soften, see his chest rise and fall slower, I know it is time. Quietly, I walk to him. I must walk so softy I float, or their entire plan could be ruined. Finally, I am standing above him, heart beating so hard I fear it would break through my ribs. 

	I... I need to do it; I need to kill him. If I didn’t, more would die at the hands of paranoia.  But... did I have the right? If I did, could I even bring myself to- 

	He stirs. He is awake. Oh god, if I don’t, I will surely fail. Surely die. 

	I don’t have a choice. 

	Now my knife’s red with the blood from his throat, and he could only stare at me horrified, both from what I did and his fate.  

	Oh god, what have I done. I’m a murderer, a monster. I’ll surely go to hell, and I’d deserve it. Was this truly for the sake of punishment? No, I decide, it was for the sake of revenge. Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh- 

	I scream. I scream loud enough to pierce the oppressive quiet of night. I scream loud enough to wake the town of Salem. 

	“I did it! I’m the murderer! Please, burn me just as you did the rest!” 
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