A Firebender's Dream

    As the water runs down my fingers and wrist, I subconsciously decide to dry my hands off, but in a very unconventional way. I begin to heat my hand up, instinctively, still just holding it up in front of me. This seems to come natural to me, but at the same time it seems new and undiscovered. There is a very faint red glow, and I hear quiet sizzling, as if the water is being evaporated away. I smile in amusement and go over to a friend of mine.
    "Watch this," I say, and heat my hand up again. There seems to be no odd or unusual feeling that I receive from this; only a feeling no different than moving the fingers of my hand; as if I have known this all of my life.
    "Cool!" she says. She seems to know of this ability, and is only new to the trick.
    "Yep," I smile and walk away. Playing with this trick, I realize that I have a desire to experiment further with this ability. Even though it is natural to me, it is still new, so I decide to begin with just a small flame. I walk over to--
    "Ahlyxs!" My mother's voice, followed by a knock at my bedroom door wake me from my strange experience. "Time for breakfast and school!" I open my eyes and sit up in bed to let them adjust.
    Awake and dressed, I descend our Victorian staircase and proceed to the kitchen. On the table is a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast with cinnamon. I stroll over to an upper cabinet, open the door, and take out a coffee cup. I then go to the coffee maker, fill my cup, and stir in some cream and sugar. Walking to the silverware drawer, I take a sip, "Oh..." The coffee is cool; so I switch it to my other hand and retrieve a knife and fork from the drawer. As I walk to the table, planning on heating up the coffee, I realize that the cup is getting warm. I lay the utensils down and examine the cup curiously, confused.
    "Hey mom, is the coffee hot?" I ask her.
    "No, actually, it is pretty cool." She responds.
    "Hmm..." I take a sip and stare at the cup some more. I then remember school and check my watch, confirming that I do not have much time left. I finish my breakfast and leave for school. This morning leaves me distracted throughout the rest of the day.

    The next morning, I open my eyes, immediately remembering that I had another dream that was quite similar to the one I had the night before. This time, I was actually playing with a flame: spinning it around, tossing it between my hands, making it bigger and smaller. I feel like the dream was cut off, though; like it was not completed; just like yesterday.
    Today is Saturday, so I take my time getting up and eating breakfast and finally get dressed. For some reason, instead of getting on the computer, like I usually do, I feel compelled to go out back, so I do. Once there, I decide to wet my hands with the faucet on the outer wall. I want to try what I was doing in the first dream. I stand still, hands held up, and concentrate on drying them. With heat.
    After a couple of minutes, nothing has happened. I am perplexed, but determined. I try again, concentrating harder. Still nothing. Becoming disappointed, I decide to try warming up a stick, like I think I did with my coffee, yesterday. I find a good one, hold it firmly in one hand, and think about making it warm. It does not work, so I try two hands. No results. Now I am more saddened than before.
    My sister's shrill voice yells out to me, "Ahlyxs!!!" Sometimes she can be a pain; and that tone that she takes on just makes it worse. "Ahlyxs!!!" she screams again, passing by the back door.
    "What?!" I yell, a little annoyed. She comes to the back door and opens it, and I turn to face her.
    "Mom said to-- Why are you setting sticks on fire?" She looks to my single hand that is holding the stick I was trying to heat up. Only it is aflame.
    "Ah!" I drop the stick and take a step backward, but I realize that the fire is now free, so I stamp it out. "That was weird..."
    "You are a strange kid... Anyway, since you are out here, mom wants you to watch the dog." She calls the dog to come outside.
    "Okay," I say. She closes the door and I go over to the big oak tree and lean against it, staring at the half-charred stick.

    I am standing in a field of grass and flowers, facing a scarecrow that does not do a good job at scaring the crows. Behind me, I hear the faint sounds of the festivities that I was recently attending. The sun is low in the sky, but not yet behind the distant mountains. Content, focused, and firm-standing, my hands close together on the right side of my body, I bring them up and circle them around, by my side, and push them out in front of me. A streamlined fireball then erupts from them and is hurled at the scarecrow. The sounds of deep rumbling and crackling fill the air around me. I can feel the intense heat of the ball as it leaves my vicinity and slams into the scarecrow. The scarecrow then explodes into flaming clothes and charred straw, pieces flying everywhere.
    "Ahlyxs!" Another knock at the door by my mother. This is the normal daily routine, Sunday through Friday. Holidays are excluded sometimes. "Breakfast in twenty minutes!" I get up and take a hot shower. After getting dressed for church, I go downstairs for breakfast.
    In church, I am, of course, preoccupied by my recent dream. I do, however, think to ask God about these bedtime visions. He is a busy man, though, so He does not answer yet.
    After church, mom tells me that they are going to the store and asks me if I want to go. I decline, so she drops me off at home. We say good bye and I go inside as they drive off. I go upstairs to the bathroom; this whole fire and heat ordeal is now coming back to me. Thinking it over while washing my hands, I decide that I will try the heat again. I turn the water off and get myself really concentrated. I hold my hands up and stare at them, urging them to heat up. Nothing happens. I do not fret, though, and stay focused, urging them further.
    I begin to feel something... It is a slight warmth, deep inside me. I can feel it coursing through my body. Suddenly the rhythm changes and it calmly moves into my hands, warming them. My hands are not drying very well, though, so I think about making them hotter. More of the warmth moves into my hands and, sure enough, the water begins to sizzle very faintly, evaporating away. I grin in relief and amazement, fascinated with this occurrence.
    My hands are dry now, so I think about the warmth seeping away, and it does. Now that I have realized that I can truly do this, I must experiment more with it. I jog downstairs and out through the back door, excited. I find a stick like the one I used yesterday and stand still, letting it lay on the palms of both of my hands. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and concentrate on heating the stick. I feel the warmth move to my hands again, and transfer into the stick, and I open my eyes. The stick is glowing softly, like embers. I smirk in amusement, but quickly recollect myself. Now, I focus on making it hotter; setting it ablaze; but I remember my latest dream, so I think about it only being a small fire and I heat it slowly and calmly.
    Two tiny flames erupt from the points on the stick where my hands are and spread across the stick, meeting in the center. The flame is now only a glow, so I make it bigger, and then a little bigger, until the stick is burned through and the ashes fall to the ground. I wipe my hands off and sit down against the big oak, heart beating fast in nervousness and excitement. I take a deep breath and calm the beating.
    "This is amazing..." I say to myself, taking it all in.