LOTTIE WILLIAMS The Last Funeral Pyre

FADE IN:

We hear a MATCH being lit then the warm crinkling sound of burning paper. We see blue-orange-yellow light fill the screen. The VOICE is Henry Jacob’s. He is 18 years old, his voice deep and slightly raspy.

I’ve been burnt many times, on purpose and accidently. That’s the risk you take when you play with matches. Sometimes I’ve taken a match and extinguished it against my own flesh. It scars, but it’s not noticeable. It’s just a small tissue-paper change. First nothing, then searing light. The skin bubbles under the heat of your actions, then scars, leaving a paper-thin memory. The skin is delicate, but it remembers. Remembers the pain, the excitement, the feeling of relief and utter despair. But most significantly it remembers that exact moment when the burning gold flame electrifies the flesh.

I’m sure some would say it’s like a cup of coffee. It wakes you up and makes you feel alive. But personally, I like to steer clear of caffeine. It wreaks havoc on the nervous system and apparent